Good gear, Shit gear?

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RLfailuer said:
Also for the advice on the the maasdam, got some other stuff to pick up first, definitely on the list though, I'm not really doing the big monster trees yet, so I've some time before I see one being necessary in the future. Also, I've been climbing SRT for a couple weeks now, started with the petzl rig, but really didn't like going limbwalking with it as you've got to use both hands for your rig.
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Good advice from Stephen on the Maasdam, you don't normally need a lot of rope with it. Using a prussic is great but you can also just tie a bowline on a bite or a double bowline in your pull line and hook your Maasdam's hook into that. It's a cheap and good investment. I've also pulled my truck out of mud holes and sand beds with it a few times:D. Don't know how it would work with your rig, but when limb walking SRT with the HH you can attach a hand ascender or prussic with a carabiner on your climb line above the limb your going out on, clip the tail of your climb line in the 'biner and then back through another on your saddle. Gives you mechanical advantage coming back in. I think Nick Bonner's got a vid on that somewhere.
 
A Maasdam is great, and a Tirfor endless wire rope puller is also great. The Maasdam is so light, but especially if working alone, the Tirfor has the advantage of the wheel gear not slipping into free if tension lightens up. :O The 3/4 ton Tifror is pretty light plus the cable and covers a kot of territory, and the 1.7 ton is a lug and the larger cable you have to use on it as well, but it's a powerful beast. I picked them up together used which sure helped a lot on expense against the rather costly when new. The take up pull ability of the Tirfors, plus the way you can back off, is much a step up from a Maasdam. The cable pullers are a very well made tool. Got to treat that cable nice, as it runs a bunch to purchase, being a special type with a solid core. Some Chinese cable pullers are put out based on the Tirfors. They do ok, have worked with one that a friend has. Very cheap. Not a Tirfor though.
 
Good idea from Stephen. I've usually set a separate rigging line in the tree and just connect it to the maasdam rope, setting the length to suit, but I'm no production climber.
 
I do that too if the 65' rope on my Maasdam is too short. Better that than the opposite. The Maasdam or tirefor should be at the ground anchor, in a way to get a comfy access to the lever.
One time I had a brain fart about that. I had to cut a back leaning maple, so I put the Maasdam's rope up to 20' high with my telescopic pole. Problem, there wasn't any good anchor in front of the planned lean within a short range, only with an angle, which means I should fell the maple with a side pull. I can't trust the hinge with this brittle wood and I change my plan: puling straight in the lean is mandatory. But I was lazy enough to not want to get back my Maasdam's rope and tie in instead the bull rope. So I put the bull rope between the Maasdam and an appropriate anchor about 60' farther. Taking out the slack was Ok, but then, the Maadam's lever became barely at reach, floating mid air. What a pain to get a hard pull standing on the toes !
The maple was kind enough to do what I wanted, but I was really exhausted.
I spent 10 times the energy and the time actually needed to do that properly, just to avoid the rope's exchange. Silly me !:|:
 
I like the continous pull, I'll find myself in need of a good 30ft pull on a severly back leaning manitoba maple every so often.
 
Have small puller w long line , medium like Holmen's ( w Steel Cable as they started selling them w Amsteel just after I bought) , and the Five Ton Tirfor. MA for every situation.
 
I've had one of those Wyeth-Scott pullers for years, the 2 ton model. They say two or the three ton model because you can double back the line onto the device to double the pulling capacity and get that. Makes for a slow pull and halves the line length. It works quite good, but since getting a Tirfor, the only thing I've used the other puller for was to yank some bamboo roots because I didn't want to get the Tirfor cable muddied up :|:

A Tirfor is the way to go if you are going to be pulling for the next ten or twenty years or so. If you have both type pullers, the preference will explain itself. Not knocking the Wyeth-Scott, it's a good puller.and certainly less costly if buying new. It's just that the take up and release ease and precision is way superior on the Tirfors. Being able to pull the line through the device by hand until up to tension is also a helpful feature.
 
Yes, there's a quick release on that puller, but with tension on it so comes the backlash tangle often. The only way i can figure to release with a lot of tension it it is to back off slow for awhile, and that is a bit of a fiddle and time consuming engaging and disengaging using both hands to pull the handle and release the catch again and again. As I said, I relied on the Wyeth for years. Comparing the one puller to the other is like apples and oranges. They both work, and especially for occasional jobs either is fine. My recommendation is for long term use where the puller is a regularly needed tool...or you just want to make life easier..

Not looking to argue about it, just offering specifics for someone looking to buy a puller and substantiating the higher price on one. I wish I had known those details when in the market for one myself.
 
Raj said:
Good idea from Stephen. I've usually set a separate rigging line in the tree and just connect it to the maasdam rope, setting the length to suit, but I'm no production climber.
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The other thing about that method is that you can then use a p orty to secure the tail of the pull rope if you need to reset the pull, add mechanical advantage to the pull, or use it as a guy.
 
RL, I'm like u I don't have much but I make shit happen when I get a side job...8) I'm no production Climber either but I'm not slow. I'm steady. Buy u a cool vest I got some me one. MB talked about it a lot so I said fuk it. I Havery the conceal able one. It's smaller then the normal ones.
 
Beast of a truck Willard,friggn excellent man. 👍I like the under seat storage with that woofer,wish i had somthing like that in mine
 
Im @ 765ftlb in my stock performance duramax,I will chip it as I approach the end of the warranty but im leaning towards mpg vs horsies
 
I think my 5:1 is one of the best things I've got. Haven't touched the maasdam in 4 or 5 years. I use the winch quite a bit too. As far as fancy stuff for rigging I often find that I don't need much more than a rope or 2 and maybe a block or biner. I did splice up some chains from some hollow braid that I use all the time for false crotches. I find its better to advance my skills and then the gear I really need will become apparent.
 
Correct. Much faster. Throw a Prussic on there to lock it off. I always found the come along to be to short (6')and the endless rope come along to weak.
 
Along with the Fiskers pruning stick (awesome) step up to the Sugoi handsaw. I started with the Zubat, but it's too small and fragile for most stuff in the tree. The Sugoi is bigger and more aggressive teeth to get through branches quicker. If you climb SRT, get a Croll ascender and the Petzl pulley biner for a 3:1 on returns from limb walks, alternatively, you could just use a pulley and biner on your handled ascender. I love my hitchhiker, and can't wait for the akimbo. Changed my climbing world!
 
Zubat..fragile?

You must be cutting some big stuff to say that! I sometimes climb with both Zubat and Sugoi...but since getting the Stihl 150 I only really need the Zubat as a backup.
 
Helmet intercoms. Game changer, no more yelling back and forth and waiting for someone to stop cutting or chipping to get their attention. Well worth the investment.
The new mechanicals are sweet, I liked my unicender, I like my rope runner even more. If you're already doing srt with the wrench, I'd use that to the akimbo comes out. I'll be checking out that art adjuster at the Baltimore expo, glad this thread came up
 
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