Diehard Hunter said:
I make my own lifeline with blue core safety rope and tie my own prusick (sp?) knot for ascending and descending the tree. Still use my summit harness and attach it to the knot. I simply slide the knot up or down as I ascend or descend the tree.
x2
I went to climbing shop and bought 100 or 150 feet of Bluewater climbing/rapelling rope and then just cut it to length for each stand/setup. I got this static rope because it is olive green and looks just like a vine, but dynamic would really be better as it stretches and will absorb some of the shock if you fall. It is not cheap, but worth the price. And for the number of stands you can setup, it is cheaper than pre-fab lifelines from HSS, etc. Plus, I never have to worry if it will be the right length for a stand.
I actually used that Bluewater climbing rope to duplicate and replace the tree rope that came with my Summit Viper. It is at least as strong but much more compact. I also replaced the steel D-ring that Summit supplies with a locking aluminum caribiner that is much quicker and lighter. However, it MUST be a true CLIMBING biner; the biners you see in walmart, etc. will not even slow you down if you shock load them. And if you do shock load even a climbing biner, throw it away--the shock can create microfractures in the aluminum that you cannot see, causing it to fail if you shock load it again. Also, I strongly recommend a screwlocking biner. Without a locked gate, during hours in the stand, it would be way to easy to wedge the gate open without even knowing it, or to shock load the sides of the biner in a fall.
I always carry two tree ropes when using my Viper. If I reach a limb I want to climb over, I can put the second rope around the trunk above the limb and clip in, then unclip and remove the first tree rope, then move my seat above the limb/fork while remaining tied in at all times.
On fixed stands, I tie a lifeline to the bottom of the seat or edge of the plaform, then again to the bottom rung of the ladder. I tie my safety rope to the tree itself above the seat (if you tie to te stand, you are SOL if the straps or stand break), with the tail extending to the top of the lifeline. I can slide my prussik up the lifeline, then clip into the prussick on my safety/tree rope, then unclip from the lifeline, then climb on into the stand. That way, when I move in the stand, or stand or turn for a shot, my lifeline does not dance crazily at ground level and startle game. In buddy stands, I tie the tree/safety rope with two tails and a prussik on each, and two prussiks on the same lifeline. Everbody is tied in the entire time their feet are off the ground.
