SRT

[Burnham]

David, my esteemed friend. You also are a wizard, and one we who have tried to improve our skills and abilities aloft over many a year must thank.

Gary puts his fingertip on a fact all of us here should acknowledge, especially those of us with enough turns in the barrel to be able to see what was and compare it to what now is, climber technology-wise....that being, you have been waaaay out in front of almost all of us for at least the 20some years you and I have been aware of each other.

Mechanical and mech/fabric hybrid DRT and SRT systems especially. Exploring and sharing your trials with all the newly developed tools, and refining the self-advancing qualities, the harness attachment points, the secondary foot-slings and rope-grabs. You have my complete admiration at how you have been so open-minded and flexible in exploring/adopting and then educating the rest of us arbo-Neanderthals...especially so in that you are no spring chicken, sir. Please take that as intended, a compliment from another old bird .

It takes a very special mind to do as you have.

It pleases me no end to have spent time with you, both here and in person. Your very talented partner Sylvia included in the latter.

Kudos, sir.

 

[pantheraba]

Yes...that is what caught my attention as I read thru that old thread...how DMc saw the big picture before it was obvious to the rest of us.

David...what do you see as a good SRT system/video/teaching info source right now? If you have a favorite video (yours?) you can direct us to I would be most appreciative.

 

[DMc]

Thanks for the kind words, Burnham.

Gary, when asked a direct question such as you have in "what is a good SRT system" the answer I give needs to be taken with the understanding that I'm a very opinionated person. I don't apologize for that but it should not be confused with being right about something.

Ok, with that understood, it doesn't get any better than a self-contained knee ascender like the Haas Velox or the Saka by Richard Mumford, a foot ascender like the CT, a harness like the Treemotion, preferably with a dedicated, lightweight shoulder harness that doubles as an attachment point for your HH or Akimbo.

Running those tools on one of the many fine 11.7 mm arborist lines is as good as it gets. I am not a fan of the ultra-static lines for arborist work. In most of our climbing situations, excessive bounce is caused by poor technique.

I really am not up on all the various training videos. Of the ones I have viewed, gumroad.com by Lawrence Schulz is good overall even though I feel he under emphasizes the stand-alone capabilities of today's SRS tools. Other than occasional situations, SRT/SRS should be the mainstay of an arborist's usage as much as possible.

 

[pantheraba]

That's the kind of specific information I was looking for. Thank you.

 

[spankywheatjeans]

I spent about 35 yrs on a taught line hitch and a 7/8 manilla flipline (straightup caveman) and have transitioned to being about 90%-95% SRT over the last 3-4 yrs...A true game changer for my aging body and I sure wish this kind of setup was available 40 yrs ago when I was coming up...SRT has made me look at my trees in a completely different way, and made me approach many of my jobs in a completely different fashion....

My setup is very similar to Dmc's... MCRS or TreeMo S.light. Saka MiniMax or Haas on my left knee, a good footie on my right (CT or JetStep), and a good chesty for tending... As far as hybrid devices go there are many to choose from and they are all, for the most part, amazing...Mechnicals like the Runner, BDB, and the Akimbo are mind blowingly sweet, but I am a hitch guy at heart so I am partial to the Rope Wrench and the HH2.. So smooth, so efficient, and so much easier on my beat up old body....I was staring down the barrel of buying myself a new right shoulder about 3 yrs ago, and now I don't give it much thought.....

i would like to give a huge shout out to folks the Kevin Bingham , Paul Cox, and Richard Mumsford for their twisted minds, their need to tinker, and their quest to push things forward. A huge shout out also goes to folks like Dmc who got on the SRT bandwagon earlier, and who ideas, insights, and tips were invaluable to helping me, as well as many others, make the transition..... Conversion therapy I can get behind....

 

[Underwor]

I want to add my two bits to the acknowledgement of Dave and Sylvia as leaders in the field. I first met them when Sylvia took my online Urban Forestry Program a "few" years ago. The wife and I have had the pleasure to stay in their guest apartment in the horse barn on a couple of occasions and would rate the accommodations with five stars. I had a chance in 2010 to climb with Dave, but the night before, while looking at one of his trees, I stumbled over a landscaping log and got a hernia. We did get a chance later in Minot when they brought their camper over for a session sponsored by Tree Stuff. If I remember right, Dave won the competition of who could shoot a throwbag the highest with their modified "potato" guns.
Although I have done little climbing since my stroke a few years ago, except for giving advice to my son, daughter-in-law and 2 granddaughters, I still keep up to date with posts in this thread, since I may want to get back into the business again, before I get too old.

 

[pantheraba]

I am glad you are checking in...I always have enjoyed your input and willingness to share your knowledge.

 

[DMc]

Yeah, always good to read you, Bob! Thank you also for the kind words.

 

[cory]

@kevin bingham , on a treestuff vid re SRT, you related some of the process that got you started on srt- storm damage in TX on short bushy trees I believe it was . I found it fascinating the process and evolution you described and how you felt it was better and easier than Drt. But Nick frequently interrupted you and the story. Is there another place online where you related the full story that I might check out? Thanks.

The dinosaur that I am, I was in a short, wide bushy magnolia today, reducing it with Ddrt and it got me thinking about srt advantages

 

[DMc]

What climbing system do you use, Cory?

 

[cory]

Wraptor up when needed. Alway Ddrt. Using the Zig zag lately, it's nice, no adjusting needed unlike the occasional fiddling hitch cord needs.

 

[ruel]

Redirects on spready trees are amazing for comfort of climbing. You can borrow my hitchhiker if you want. Easy dDRT SRT transition.

 

[Tree09]

+ infinity. I'm an out of shape non climber, and srt makes me almost functional. Huge game changer, especially if you start getting into the redirects. Like how a friction saver can put your ddrt tie in anywhere on a limb, srt allows you to easily change your tip to anywhere in space, multiple times, with the exact same friction. There's a reason no other rope trade on earth uses doubled rope other than tree work. I carry a handled ascender with a revolver if i ever feel the need to have ma to come back from a limb walk, even easier than ddrt. Add an extra long double end lanyard and a throwing hook and it's insane.

 

[cory]

Redirects on spready trees are amazing for comfort of climbing. You can borrow my hitchhiker if you want. Easy dDRT SRT transition.

Thank you for the offer. I have one but its never seen a tree, doh

Yeah, good stuff for sure, 09. All I gotta do is actually do it

 

[Bermy]

I remember being where you are now Cory....I couldn't visualize how SRT would be better.
I copied DMc's setup, got myself a hitch hiker and made a knee ascender (the days before Haas and sakas)
Practiced a bit under the back porch off the beams then started using it on non time dependant jobs...never looked back!

 

[pantheraba]

Don't feel bad, Cory... I'm just now actually using my hitchhiker and my akimbo. I got one of those chest harnesses which seems to make it a bit better but I'm still trying to fine tune friction with these devices....and setback. And foot loops and the off leg ascending is still a developing notion for me.

 

[cory]

I hear ya both!

All the friction encountered from unintentional redirects in this dense magnolia got me thinking

 

[cory]

Looks like this might be what I was seeking

 

[kevin bingham]

SRT is pretty simple. Some advantages some disadvantages. The main thing is climbing much more upright on the rope. Climbing with legs as opposed to body thrusting. For me that was a natural motion but a lot of people are really efficient ddrt in a way that doesn't transfer to srt.

Set is also all about the redirects. Weaving that web. There are many tools for the trade, different qualities to them all. A rope wrench with a hitch climber or a zip zag allows you to quickly switch bank and forth between quality ddrt and srt

The runner, akimbo, HH, BDB. Are good dDrt but not being closed loop, the ddrt is not as quality as a a hitchclimber set up mechanical Like zigzag or spider jack. Nothing really beats a hitchclimber system as far as ddrt goes. Simple, cheap, amazingly fluid. The rope wrench blends right in. A zip zag with a wrench is so sweet that petzl now makes a wrench specifically for it. I won't hate you for running with that option, but I will hate petzl for it!

I find that the unicender and HH are both incredible at the up and down. . The hh really works well with spur work and the conifer guys really dig it. The akimbo and BDB are super compact and versatile and cover all the bases. The runner excells at controlled swings, long limb walks and horizontal activity. tending very well at high angles. It is bit fiddly though coming on and off the line and has more sit back on straight up ascents than some of the others.

Lots of options. They all are great.

If you get a wrench and don't end up using it, convert it into a ringing wrench. I love it as a rigging tool.

 

[ruel]

Do it! Give me a shout if you're in Maine this summer and we can at least get one small rec climb under your belt

 

[pantheraba]

Thanks, Kevin!!! Good input...no...great input.

 

[cory]

Fully agree, Gary. An amazingly concise, information-packed, balanced perspective. Much appreciated, KB. Will watch that vid, loved the Rigging wrench vibe when you introduced it. Im 1/2 way thru the podcast vid, its good stuff, couple priceless nuggets in there.

Sean that would be awesome!

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I needed to replace my foot loop. A stiff step from On Rope 1. Knee ascender clips right into it and you can just leave it on your foot as you work. The stiff insert fell out of it after some wear, i like it better that way for limb walking. It's basically an ankle type strap that also runs under your foot arch.
I ordered 3 with the delta link i use on it. But in a Soft Step version. No metal insert under foot. So.
Levi gets one, I get one, a buddy gets to try my old working one (just looks a little tattered), and the Tree House gets one to pass around.
Still have to send that saddle to Sean. If he wants to try the foot loop first, i can send it with saddle. If not, maybe Gary?

 

[pantheraba]

Keep me on the back burner...I am trying a hand ascender I have (2 of them)...going to see if it can work as a knee ascender.

 

[Bermy]

I made my own chest tether out of some webbing and a couple of clips...I've also used a few bought ones...I still come back to my homemade one, maybe because it's actually custom for me!
I now have a saka mini and love it, the only change I made was to weave a loop with throw line into the eyelets of my left boot so the lower tether clips right into it, no need for separate footloops (I kept losing them anyway) or expensive 'clip 'n step' boots

Oh yeah, and a homemade tether loop on my HH for clipping the chest harness into