flushcut
TreeHouser
Bribes and kickbacks make the business world go round.
All RopeKnight - All The Time
- Thread starter bonner1040
- Start date
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Burnham
Woods walker
Nothing from RopeArmour in my held mail at the post office, 10 days worth, as we were away on emergency family business. What say you, Thomas?
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
Uhhhhhhh...
Ha!
Ha!
RopeArmour
TreeHouser
Luke @ www.TreeStuff.com has sent you one. Mb a bit better for you since you want have to absorb all the customs and duty charges.
I did know better just wanted to add Canadiana to the Kit. Maple syrup, Loonie, Mounted Police note book etc.
Sorry about the delay. Better late than never.
I did know better just wanted to add Canadiana to the Kit. Maple syrup, Loonie, Mounted Police note book etc.
Sorry about the delay. Better late than never.
Burnham
Woods walker
Okie dokie...
.
.
Burnham
Woods walker
Box arrived, probably Saturday late afternoon...found it dropped behind my gate by the Fedex guy on Sunday morning. I'll be checking the Ropeknight out over the next few days, stay tuned .
.
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
I bet you're giddy as a schoolgirl!
Cobleskill
Treehouser
Was it put in plastic or just left out to get soaked?
Burnham
Woods walker
Bagged, and all dry...common with either Fedex or UPS to leave things behind the gates, out here in the boonies.
CurSedVoyce
California Hillbilly
Just board up the windows and you should be good to go.
RopeArmour
TreeHouser
Does he need this?
Captain Americas Shield
Ya'all know somethin I don't about Burnhams throwin style.
:roll:
Have to incude a protective shield for the newbies in th new year.
Captain Americas Shield
Ya'all know somethin I don't about Burnhams throwin style.
:roll:
Have to incude a protective shield for the newbies in th new year.
flushcut
TreeHouser
Box arrived, probably Saturday late afternoon...found it dropped behind my gate by the Fedex guy on Sunday morning. I'll be checking the Ropeknight out over the next few days, stay tuned
Be sure to wear a face shield..
Burnham
Woods walker
Sorry, guys...I spent about 45 minutes crafting my review yesterday, only to find that somewhere in the middle my ISP dropped service and the whole thing was lost. I'll do my best to reconstruct it soon, too PO'd to mess with it yet 
.
.
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
Ha. That crap pisses me off, too!
NickfromWI
King of Splices
So is this going to become a traveling TreeHouse rope knight? I hope so!
If so, I call dibs on the first try!!!
love
nick
If so, I call dibs on the first try!!!
love
nick
SouthSoundTree
Treehouser
Maybe re-work it in Word, and cut and paste, to avoid that problem again, B.
Losing work sucks!
Losing work sucks!
Burnham
Woods walker
That's what I did, Sean. Here it is...
OK, I’ve been messing about with the RopeKnight for several days now, probably 6 hours all together…better than 120 hand throws and about 40 Bigshot launches. I worked it in Doug firs and red alders, bigleaf maple, and a cascara.
First off, the RK is very well put together…the machining, the fit and finish, is first class. Unfortunately, that finish suffers damage easily, being aluminum. I used it in my woods and fields, and still hit a rock or two, dinging it up a bit. Over a hardscape, like in the urbs and ‘burbs, it’s gonna take a pounding unless you capture the throw line and stop descent before it hits the ground.
It comes packed in a nice small plastic case that includes two protective covers and a ziplock of accessories…spare closure bolt, fid, a split ring, micro snaphook, and an endless loop. These last two items fail to measure up…the micro snaphook is supposed to fit the hole in the end of the stainless steel weight that extends out the leading end of the RK, and doesn’t…the “endless loop” is merely an 8” length of throw line loosely knotted with an overhand.
The protective covers do not inspire. The large nerf football-like one certainly would protect any struck item, but using it will render any advantages the RK offers moot. The smaller vinyl cover offers less protection, but still hurts the intended performance significantly, imo. If I felt the need for either in a specific situation, I’d prefer to use a throw bag instead.
Hand throwing is fine if you use one hand…if you prefer the cradle throw, you’ll have to figure out how to attach a ring to the tail end of the RK. See Thomas’ website for help there. You’ll end up with a snag point, I think.
If you are a Bigshot user, as I am, I have to say the only way I was comfortable with my personal safety and risk to the rubbers of the sling was with a trigger release. I had bad luck hand releasing, due to the RK not fitting the BS pouch well. A tiny bump against the pole would dislodge the RK from the barely balanced location across the pouch. If you want to launch the RK, I really advise use of a trigger.
The RopeKnight most certainly does ricochet, unless you can do as Thomas instructs and ALWAYS throw accurately and carefully. I fear I cannot measure up to this bar. It’s worse on BS shots, due to the higher launch speeds no doubt. The problem is especially obvious in the Dougs, where I aim to pass over a branch right next to the trunk. A few inches off, hit the bole, and it flies away crazy.
But here’s the thing…the RopeKnight actually works better than I expected it to, once you get it in the canopy. It does pull free from one or two wraps around a branch better than a bag. Really. The tubular shape and tapered ends drop past a branch without sitting on top of it like a bag sometimes frustratingly will. You can pull it gently up and rock it over a limb without the overshoot that a bag frequently will do. In general, I’d say it is quite superior at manipulations to isolate a tie in point. I don’t buy Thomas’ hype that the “rocket ship” shape flies any truer than a bag, but it truly does work well at isolation tricks.
For my use, it is a bit light…it doesn’t have enough weight to consistently pull 100+ feet of throw line over a branch and to the ground. The instructions say I can add a piece of steel rod into the cavity of the smaller cone…I didn’t try that, but if one were to pursue it, I see potential conflicts with attachment of the throw line.
And those instructions
…2 pages of closely spaced warnings, tips, and directions for use. I doubt most climbers I know would wade through it all. There are good tidbits there, no doubt. I spent the better part of 30 minutes on them, and did learn some stuff.
One use I was anticipating being very good, didn’t turn out to be so for me…the RopeShield. The smaller cone is sized to fit 13mm and smaller lines, and since I use a spliced eye climbing rope, it doesn’t fit. You could use the bigger cone, but it’s too big, the fit is sloppy and the tapered end is much bigger than the small cone…not nearly so slippery for pulling through a branch union or a friction saver.
In the end, this review does not constitute a ringing endorsement, I know. On the other hand, as I said it does work much better than I expected. I rather doubt I’d spend my money on one, but I can see where some might, and I’d not think them silly to do so.
Let me also give props to Thomas himself…he went out on a limb with me, knowing I was far from positive regarding his product. That was pretty brave.
BTW, I have some decent pictures of the RK and can post some if anyone wants to see the device close up.
OK, I’ve been messing about with the RopeKnight for several days now, probably 6 hours all together…better than 120 hand throws and about 40 Bigshot launches. I worked it in Doug firs and red alders, bigleaf maple, and a cascara.
First off, the RK is very well put together…the machining, the fit and finish, is first class. Unfortunately, that finish suffers damage easily, being aluminum. I used it in my woods and fields, and still hit a rock or two, dinging it up a bit. Over a hardscape, like in the urbs and ‘burbs, it’s gonna take a pounding unless you capture the throw line and stop descent before it hits the ground.
It comes packed in a nice small plastic case that includes two protective covers and a ziplock of accessories…spare closure bolt, fid, a split ring, micro snaphook, and an endless loop. These last two items fail to measure up…the micro snaphook is supposed to fit the hole in the end of the stainless steel weight that extends out the leading end of the RK, and doesn’t…the “endless loop” is merely an 8” length of throw line loosely knotted with an overhand.
The protective covers do not inspire. The large nerf football-like one certainly would protect any struck item, but using it will render any advantages the RK offers moot. The smaller vinyl cover offers less protection, but still hurts the intended performance significantly, imo. If I felt the need for either in a specific situation, I’d prefer to use a throw bag instead.
Hand throwing is fine if you use one hand…if you prefer the cradle throw, you’ll have to figure out how to attach a ring to the tail end of the RK. See Thomas’ website for help there. You’ll end up with a snag point, I think.
If you are a Bigshot user, as I am, I have to say the only way I was comfortable with my personal safety and risk to the rubbers of the sling was with a trigger release. I had bad luck hand releasing, due to the RK not fitting the BS pouch well. A tiny bump against the pole would dislodge the RK from the barely balanced location across the pouch. If you want to launch the RK, I really advise use of a trigger.
The RopeKnight most certainly does ricochet, unless you can do as Thomas instructs and ALWAYS throw accurately and carefully
. I fear I cannot measure up to this bar. It’s worse on BS shots, due to the higher launch speeds no doubt. The problem is especially obvious in the Dougs, where I aim to pass over a branch right next to the trunk. A few inches off, hit the bole, and it flies away crazy.But here’s the thing…the RopeKnight actually works better than I expected it to, once you get it in the canopy. It does pull free from one or two wraps around a branch better than a bag. Really. The tubular shape and tapered ends drop past a branch without sitting on top of it like a bag sometimes frustratingly will. You can pull it gently up and rock it over a limb without the overshoot that a bag frequently will do. In general, I’d say it is quite superior at manipulations to isolate a tie in point. I don’t buy Thomas’ hype that the “rocket ship” shape flies any truer than a bag, but it truly does work well at isolation tricks.
For my use, it is a bit light…it doesn’t have enough weight to consistently pull 100+ feet of throw line over a branch and to the ground. The instructions say I can add a piece of steel rod into the cavity of the smaller cone…I didn’t try that, but if one were to pursue it, I see potential conflicts with attachment of the throw line.
And those instructions
…2 pages of closely spaced warnings, tips, and directions for use. I doubt most climbers I know would wade through it all. There are good tidbits there, no doubt. I spent the better part of 30 minutes on them, and did learn some stuff.One use I was anticipating being very good, didn’t turn out to be so for me…the RopeShield. The smaller cone is sized to fit 13mm and smaller lines, and since I use a spliced eye climbing rope, it doesn’t fit. You could use the bigger cone, but it’s too big, the fit is sloppy and the tapered end is much bigger than the small cone…not nearly so slippery for pulling through a branch union or a friction saver.
In the end, this review does not constitute a ringing endorsement, I know. On the other hand, as I said it does work much better than I expected. I rather doubt I’d spend my money on one, but I can see where some might, and I’d not think them silly to do so.
Let me also give props to Thomas himself…he went out on a limb with me, knowing I was far from positive regarding his product. That was pretty brave.
BTW, I have some decent pictures of the RK and can post some if anyone wants to see the device close up.
pantheraba
More biners!!!
Thanks for the in-depth review. It sounds like techie-gear-nerds might enjoy using it.
My throw bag money for now is in Nick's hands as he works on an air launcher for me.
My throw bag money for now is in Nick's hands as he works on an air launcher for me.
pantheraba
More biners!!!
Check this line......" The proble is especially obvious in the Dougs, where I aim to pass over a branch right next to the trunk. A few inches off, hit the bole, and it flies away crazy.
"
I first read that as "probe" and had some uneasy thoughts about what was happening with the oval, aluminum thingy.
"
I first read that as "probe" and had some uneasy thoughts about what was happening with the oval, aluminum thingy.
Burnham
Woods walker
better edit
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
Good review, Burnham!
bonner1040
Nick from Ohio
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #73
Was it engraved? How was it as unique as you?
Burnham
Woods walker
Not.
RopeArmour
TreeHouser
Thank you Burnham for the review.
We greatly appreciate the time and effort you gave to the flight of the RopeKnight.
In the next few days.
I will do my best, to address, what you attest.
Your honesty is golden.
Cheers
The uniqueness of the 1st kit sent was the addition of some Canadiana and FASTattach and LONGGun tool and system and throwline and collapsible pale.
Jumped the truck? Who knows?
We greatly appreciate the time and effort you gave to the flight of the RopeKnight.
In the next few days.
I will do my best, to address, what you attest.
Your honesty is golden.
Cheers
The uniqueness of the 1st kit sent was the addition of some Canadiana and FASTattach and LONGGun tool and system and throwline and collapsible pale.
Jumped the truck? Who knows?
- Status
