Treestand question

[CharlieTN]

I was given a Summit Viper climber and am getting set up to use it. I have a safety harness, the HSS tree strap and such from using a ladder stand in the past. From my pas of rock climbing and rappelling I'm very comfortable around ropes and such.

In thinking through the system and method of using the climber I had the thought to use one of the longer 30' lifelines instead of the tree rope for my safety. The thought is that if I was to fall, by having the longer safety line I have a way to get down if unable to get back into the stand. I can also use the longer rope for my haul rope instead of having to carry a separate one.

Does anyone else use one of these with a climber? My only concern is the extra weight and bulk but I like the safety factor as I hunt alone.

Thanks,

Charles

 

[dbierman]

Seems like a great idea, would eliminate carrying a separate pull rope and tying it to your gear on the ground should keep it taught as you slide the prussik knot up the rope.

 

[CharlieTN]

With a climber I would be moving the rope up with me and then back down with me so keeping it taught wouldn't be an issue. I'm going to think through this idea some more but I believe it might be the way to go.

 

[dbierman]

With a climber I would be moving the rope up with me and then back down with me so keeping it taught wouldn't be an issue. I'm going to think through this idea some more but I believe it might be the way to go.

I meant being taught as you climb with a weight at the bottom of the rope so you can push up on the prussik with one hand as you climb.

 

[dbierman]

With a climber I would be moving the rope up with me and then back down with me so keeping it taught wouldn't be an issue. I'm going to think through this idea some more but I believe it might be the way to go.

Never mind, I see you point, using it to climb would be different than having it already tied off in the top of the tree.

You would be moving the rope as you climb so you'd have to use two hands anyway.

 

[dbierman]

I hunt almost exclusively out of an Ol'Man climber and I always use a harness, the HSS rope system has been a great alternative to using the original straps.

 

[diggerak]

Same thing as I use. With locon or climber. It works well never had to self rescue but we're I hunt on wma a coyote wouldn't find my body for a few days so self rescue is important to me.

 

[Mr_TTT2]

I use a rock climbing static rope as my safety rope and pull rope. I've rocked climbed before and used a grigri device to rappel before. I also use this device instead of prusik knot, but also have a safety knot in the downward side of the rope of the grigri. I've had my climber collapse on me because the wire was too low and angle of teeth on stand was too steep (like two 45 degree angles for wire /teeth of stand)... was in hurry and wrong bark on tree. I had to rappel down. You need to know how to use these devices before using them, can fall if not used correctly, but I can get down the tree if needed. If you use a prusik knot as your safety device , need a way to step up into the knot to take pressure off it to move it down if you fall. Can use a nylon web climbing ladder or make a big loop out of webbing to tie to the rope so you can step up into the knot and lower it to get down as well.

 

[Mr_TTT2]

One more thing to mention is if you use a climbing rope and you hunt on private lands, as you scout for trees to climb you can setup leader strings to "top rope" your tree, so the rope goes over a V in the tree versus around the tree. If the leader strings are set ahead of time before the season, using paracords or tree throw lines, then once you get to your tree to climb during the hunt, you can tie the leader string to your climbing rope carbiner and pull the rope over the V in the tree, then down to the ground to make a loop around the V in the tree. This is called top roping a tree which is 10x more safe then moving the rope around the tree as climb. Also, big bonus, you climb 2-3 times faster.

 

[CharlieTN]

One more thing to mention is if you use a climbing rope and you hunt on private lands, as you scout for trees to climb you can setup leader strings to "top rope" your tree, so the rope goes over a V in the tree versus around the tree. If the leader strings are set ahead of time before the season, using paracords or tree throw lines, then once you get to your tree to climb during the hunt, you can tie the leader string to your climbing rope carbiner and pull the rope over the V in the tree, then down to the ground to make a loop around the V in the tree. This is called top roping a tree which is 10x more safe then moving the rope around the tree as climb. Also, big bonus, you climb 2-3 times faster.

Thanks for the tips and advice. I've used a Grigi before. Great device.

Basic plan is to have a basic manner to descent the rope, or slightly ascend if needed depending on what causes the problem. Of course my preference is to not have one in the first place but better to plan ahead.

 

[Mr_TTT2]

You can find allot of tree aborist gear on allot of sites. If I wasn't too chicken I would get an ascender instead of using my climber or sticks to get up the tree in 30 seconds. I don't trust myself using an ascender at 4am with little sleep.

http://www.wesspur.com/tree-climbing-equipment.html

 

[TNTreeman]

A throw ball can help you get a rope in a tree to tie off on then use your prusick or whatever type knot you prefer to asced. I still will put a lock on up and use tree climbing spikes to get up there instead of sticks. You can order lots of gear to climb from Baileys, wespur, or Sherrils.