'TreeFlex' - New Ergonomically Designed Harness

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My funky bridge

By purchasing a few feet of NE KMIII 1/2" kernmantle rope, and stripping out the core, I made a perfect tight fitting bridge for TreeFlex thats as smooth as a rope bridge. Just tape the ends tight.

The standard sheath works fine, but this way you get to choose a funky colour. Certainly helps during training for me to see what the trainee is clipped to and give colour co-ordinated instructions.
 
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This was the point I was really stretching for.

As professional climbers (they say) we have a limited career span, not that we are more likely to die in accidents, but that our parts take a real beating. We don't even know what ergonoimics are and saddle-makers have simply done the best they know how.

We wrote an article about that and it was summarised in the ISA Southern Chapter magazine.

The full article can be found here:

http://www.treemettlenexus.com/article10.html

The ultimate aim of TreeFlex was to beg the question 'Why?'

'Proprioception' is the word to keep in mind : )
 
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You're very welcome.

I wouldn't want anyone to suffer needlessly like I had to.

Our findings are there for others to take from them what they feel they are worth.

Look at TreeFlex, then fit the shape to the pelvis.

TFX fits just BELOW the iliac crest (marked with red arrows).

These are the hip bones - the big bones felt with the hand below the waist:

http://www.emedx.com/emedx/diagnosi...files/hip_pelvis_images/iliac_crest_model.jpg
 
Hi Nick

Thanks for taking the time with that video review.

Just some responses to some points you made:

1. The waist straps are easy to tuck out of the way - I'll do a vid to show.

2. The leg straps are tucked through the rings for presentation at the factory. Thats not how to work with them, as you found. Its easy to tuck these out of the way too - just make sure the elastic tab goes behind the clips:
http://www.treemettlenexus.com/gallery/3L.jpg

3. The Velcro seems a nice solution, but may interfere with the adjustment in the buckles, and blocks the hip dees as it doubles back. I'll show how I do it with some pics in a while.

4. The waist risers should only be pulled up to the waist buckles as far as the box stitching - the stitching shouldn't go into the buckles.

5. The bridge sheath soon smooths out as it softens from new.

6. The leg buckles must have both clips depressed at the same time to open. Thats a deliberate safety feature; if one is depressed by accident, the buckle won't open.

7. The gear loops at the back are for heavy items when rigging, to pull centrally onto the sacrum. The front gear loop I'd like moved back slightly. The harness was designed to have ice clippers here though for quick attaching of regular gear. Again, I'll get some pics.

8. The nubbins on the padding are half cut from a single layer of closed cell foam.

9. Your Dee ring does rotate easily - I can't get mine to rotate at all. It needs stitching closer at the factory. That type of ring is used becaus it has a flat section, so there are no pinch points.

10. Its up to me to get some key points across that haven't been picked up on yet, based on ergonomic work positioning and adjustment. I did make a video last summer, but there were sound interference issues. Once it stops raining, I'll do it again; which brings me on to my next point Frans : )

11. It has barely stopped raining here in two weeks. The past three days I had to rig down two 90ft x 4ft Eucs over listed buildings - in torrential rain. Its like Turkish wrestling, the bark forms a lather like soap! Anyway - the adjustments are no different in the rain, and the closed cell foam doesn't absorb water (The external heat compressed foam is used in diving tank harnesses).

12. The waist risers I finish off under the ice clipper rubbers a couple of times. Once adjusted properly, they could also be tucked under the waist belt. http://www.treemettlenexus.com/gallery/1L.jpg

Other images here http://www.treemettlenexus.com/treeflex.html#images

Your video and all the points in this thread will be part of a planned periodic manufacturing review shortly.

Thanks again.
P.

--------------------
"What is easy is seldom excellent."
Johnson: Pope (Lives of the Poets)
 

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