What rope/rigging to buy

[Subitech]

I am by no means a pro climber but more of a DIYer. I have a piece of property that absolutely got destroyed by a wind storm about 2 months ago. I have not climbed in about 12 years and have started climbing again. I never used a climbing line for safety because I was stupid. Now that I am older and wiser, I am looking to rig up a climbing line. I figure I will use a sand bag/throw line to get the desired rope placement but that is about as far as my knowledge goes. What is the preferred climbing line for life support. What is the preferred cordage to tie between my harness D-rings to clip into from my climbing line. Hopefully this makes sense to someone because I really don't know the verbage to be using.


Cheers
Jim

 

[Tree94]

Honestly if you don't have REAL IN TREE EXPERIENCE you might save a lot of money by just paying a professional to do the work. Just tell them you want them to do the climbing and you will haul away the mess to make it cheaper. They will adjust the price accordingly.

But if you must:
First things first, and that's safety.
Always wear a helmet and ALWAYS tie in TWICE. Never climb alone.
I am speaking from experience, young and naive, I have made my share of mistakes that have cost me both money and bodily injury. not worth the risk!

Easiset/cheapest climbing method IMO would be to DDRT with a blakes hitch . You can purchase some mechanical ascenders to help ascend into the tree. While climbing DDRT you should also have on a lanyard, successfully allowing you to "Tie in Twice" .

You should buy all your gear from a reputable site. Like Treestuff.com
DONT try to use roofing harness/rock climbing harnes/rope from Home Depot.
Buy equipment that's MADE for trees.

You should also HIGHLY educate yourself on "how" by purchasing educational videos/books or by looking at YouTube videos. Climbingarborist.com is good for learning.


But again, if you have no tree experience, it would probably be easier to just hire a professional to do the work. Good luck

 

[Gregory Hill]

yes, Take the following example on why the quality of your gear is necessary, rope manufacturers test certain types of ropes and certified as lifelines. Other ropes, I think Stable Braid, do not get such testing to be certified. Maybe the reason is that one should not use ropes outside its manufacturer's intended use, as it was not tested/engineered for such use & therefore opens the individual up to associated liability.

 

[Subitech]

Tree 94, It is not a matter of cost but more I enjoy climbing and experiencing new things. I was thinking 16 strand 1/2" rope and some 3/8" for my friction knot(blakes hitch) Does this sound like a good combination? I will be ascending with spikes and a flip line, just looking for added safety.

 

[miko0618]

Blakes should be tied with the same rope as you are climbing on. A 16 strand rope is great for DRT. You can tie an anchor hitch to a biner and leave enough tail to tie your hitch.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[Tree94]

Tree 94, It is not a matter of cost but more I enjoy climbing and experiencing new things. I was thinking 16 strand 1/2" rope and some 3/8" for my friction knot(blakes hitch) Does this sound like a good combination? I will be ascending with spikes and a flip line, just looking for added safety.

If you are trimming the trees you should not go up with spikes. You could actually kill it.

For blakes hitch, you should just tie it with the tail of the same rope. Always do a stopper knot.

Once you learn that you could go on and get a micro pulley with prussic cord.
I use the Samson blue streak 16 strand for climbing and the Samson 9/16 bull rope for rigging.
I also never mix the two. And try not to drop logs onto them.

Again, always be tied in twice. This is very important if you at all value your life.
You're new to climbing so you're inexperienced and you really shouldn't be climbing. But if you must, go about it safely . And helmet!

 

[BC WetCoast]

If you are trimming the trees you should not go up with spikes. You could actually kill it.

For blakes hitch, you should just tie it with the tail of the same rope. Always do a stopper knot.

Once you learn that you could go on and get a micro pulley with prussic cord.
I use the Samson blue streak 16 strand for climbing and the Samson 9/16 bull rope for rigging.
I also never mix the two. And try not to drop logs onto them.

Again, always be tied in twice. This is very important if you at all value your life.
You're new to climbing so you're inexperienced and you really shouldn't be climbing. But if you must, go about it safely . And helmet!

With a blakes hitch, you CAN tie it with the tail of the same rope, it is more efficient to use a split tail.

Get a copy of the Climber's Companion book. Lots of good information on technique and safety. You can buy a copy from one of the suppliers and occaisionally you can download it as a bit torrent.

For most light rigging applications, we just use old retired climbing line.

 

[Tree94]

With a blakes hitch, you CAN tie it with the tail of the same rope, it is more efficient to use a split tail.

Get a copy of the Climber's Companion book. Lots of good information on technique and safety. You can buy a copy from one of the suppliers and occaisionally you can download it as a bit torrent.

For most light rigging applications, we just use old retired climbing line.

For someone who is just starting out, I'll always recommend learning the basics first. better way to learn imo.

 

[BC WetCoast]

Blakes off a split tail is as basic as it comes these days.

Having to untie your system to change your TIP adds steps that can be inherently unsafe, IMHO

 

[Subitech]

All great tips. I am planning on a blakes hitch. I am waiting for my rope to come in. I got my biners and 12' of cordage but no climbing line yet. I guess it got drop shipped from Yale. Had them add a tight spliced eye to one end.