its time for me to upgrade my style.

So I've been seeing lots of info about using a rope wrench set up with a pantin on your foot..... Is that fashionable these days?

You cannot body thrust in the typical way with a RW... I havent used it but with SRT in its other forms I have always needed an ascender of some sorts, whether it was a Pantin, a hand ascender>foot loop, or a prussick>foot loop; IMO you need "something".
 
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<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lM_RpJHxH44" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

How about this rig?
 
That's pretty much what I rock out on every day man. Few minor changes, like I don't have the suspenders and use a different pulley, but that what I use day in and day out. Been rocking SRT for a good year and a half now I think, never looked back when I made the switch over. SRT is just such a better style of climbing(for myself at least). Personally, I think the rope wrench and SRT has vastly improved my climbing skills and increased my production. I've done trees that normally would take 4 hours with DdRT in 3 or less with SRT.

And the best part is, all you need is a rope wrench to get started. No need for a Pantin, handled ascender, or anything like that. You can just foot lock the single line with your hitch, you just sit back on your hitch every time you take a lock. Though the Pantin makes it quicker and easier, just thought I'd point out its not necessary to start out.
 
Many of us who buy the Pantin do so because we have never been able to footlock effectively. So a judgement that the Pantin is not necessary would depend on the footlocking skill of the climber.
 
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Brian, I'm still liking your suggestions you made earlier on. Just tossing around tons of options.

With srt I gotta start using 200 foot lines I suppose if I tie off to the base of the tree? I have ZERO desire to send a running bowline up a tree and climb from there. No way no how. Not for safety reasons, as I see no safety issue there at all, but for the fact that no matter what, I have to get that line out of the tree manually. I see that as nothing more then a headache in the making.
 
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Any of you do removals SRT? I don't see myself having any desire to do that. DRT feels like home to me when I do removals and I don't want to screw with my psyche. In fact, I won't tamper with my style of removals.
 
As an asthmatic, I will rarely run a bowline up a tree. If I should have an attack... I can descend and retrieve the line. The only time I run a bowline up is a short climb and my breathing has been spot on for a while.
Nothing wrong with 200 foot climb lines ;)
 
I would run the bowline up the tree just because it left me no choice but to go get it. Just some mind games to push myself harder. It was definitely the 'point of no return'.

And I never got comfortable working off SRT. I just used it as an easier way to ascend into big trees. Not many could match me for speed or agility working my way down through a tree on DdRT though. It was a gift and I exploited it.
 
I work removals SRT a lot with conifers and the smaller amount of spreading trees that I do. I find a central lead and cinch it there.

A good thing about the RW, and probably the RW with the midline attachment (have yet to mod mine), is that you can change to DdRT quick and easy. I use my RW to depress the top of my hitch, keeping the RW from engaging, giving a standard DdRT hitch behavior.

You can cinch a Running Bowline to a TIP, then attach a pull line (another rope, throwline, etc) to the bowline part of the RB and pull it out from ground. You don't have to go to the TIP to retrieve. An choked alpine butterfly, or running alpine butterfly (if you will allow the name) has the pull line built right in. You can get a high TIP for good rope angle at any height, climb up and limbwalk out (maybe a simple canopy raise or building clearance at 20'), descend, and pull the choked line back down.
 
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I work removals SRT a lot with conifers and the smaller amount of spreading trees that I do. I find a central lead and cinch it there.

A good thing about the RW, and probably the RW with the midline attachment (have yet to mod mine), is that you can change to DdRT quick and easy. I use my RW to depress the top of my hitch, keeping the RW from engaging, giving a standard DdRT hitch behavior.

You can cinch a Running Bowline to a TIP, then attach a pull line (another rope, throwline, etc) to the bowline part of the RB and pull it out from ground. You don't have to go to the TIP to retrieve. An choked alpine butterfly, or running alpine butterfly (if you will allow the name) has the pull line built right in. You can get a high TIP for good rope angle at any height, climb up and limbwalk out (maybe a simple canopy raise or building clearance at 20'), descend, and pull the choked line back down.
its good you said that. I had a different image in my mind. Guys, forgive my silly questions and ideas. This is 100 % new to me.
 
Any of you do removals SRT? ...

Yup. Fast and easy. In this picture I am tied in with a mid-line Alpine Butterfly because I switched over from a base tie while I was at the top. Normally I would just use a choked running Bowline with a yosemite finish.

Dave

100_4199.jpg
 
Dave...Rope Wrench in conjunction with Unicender, I see in the pic above. If you've talked about that combo I've missed it. If so, a link would be appreciated. If not, do tell, please.
 
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Good pics B. I've got some awesome building blocks now. You guys rule. Dave, your system on removals looks neat. I myself lean towards a much more simple approach on working spars down. I'm not knocking your system at all, just saying that I myself am a more meat and potatoes sort of guy.
 
Dave...Rope Wrench in conjunction with Unicender, I see in the pic above. If you've talked about that combo I've missed it. If so, a link would be appreciated. If not, do tell, please.

I read Dave's info posted over on Arbtalk about this. He feels it smooths out the uni's hand release. And also fells it will make the uni last longer between rebuilds.
Dave feel free to fix any of my paraphrasing. :)
 
And I never got comfortable working off SRT. I just used it as an easier way to ascend into big trees.

Same here. Never really tried working SRT.(maybe I'm just too much ignorant about it...) I use it for the ascent, fast and easy.. I use two single handed ascenders combined with a spelegyca, and a pantin.
Quick and not much pain.

I always work Ddrt, hitch climber pulley, VT and pantin. Fine for me.
Plus I have the pulley on the rope guide or on the adjustable FS, which makes the system even smoother.
To each his own.
Very nice thread.
 
Tucker, this is a link to a thread on UK site. Post #6 is by Reg Coates. I don't know if you are familiar with who he is, but he has a good rep as a high production, contract climber, now working in BC.

Dave

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/climbers-talk/36682-rope-wrench-feedback.html

Nice review from a guy who knows what he's doing for sure.
But like I was saying before I'm pretty ignorant about working SRT.
Is the base-anchor technique the most used by those who climb SRT?

I wouldn't feel so comfortable being up in the tree and tied at the base of it, with people working around my rope.
But maybe it's just me.
Or maybe it's just because I know the attention the majority of the groundie pays to the rope ( at least around here....)

Sorry for the derail
 
Because every tree or work situation is different, you really need to work in a fashion that is comfortable to you. If your comfort level in the work situation dictates you are ok with a base tie in and can continue to work the tree you are on, cool. If not, use a different method at your disposal. I will base tie in for accessing the canopy. If I see where brush could be getting caught in my base tie in, or a new groundie or a groundie that seems to have left his brain elsewhere that day might be a problem, I switch over to Ddrt at my desired TIP and get on with work. A conifer I dead wooded and thinned the other day, SRT up and down with a base tie in went quick and smooth. The tree next to it I switched over to Ddrt as I would have been doing a lot of cutting near my anchored leg. Safety warranted to have both legs close together.
SO what was fine for one tree, really changed in the next due to the work environment.
Now as you get used to working on SRT, you might find higher levels of comfort in doing so. Then you will probably change decisions on when and how you will work the system. Like any new system, you need to acclimate to it and recognize its abilities to aid you in the task at hand. That will come with familiarity. Work on accessing the tree first, which is where SRT excels in larger trees. Once you feel comfortable with that, try working a simple tree with it on a RW or F8 system. If you find comfort with that......expound.
I hope this makes sense...
 
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