Treestand Lifeline-Prussic knot
Whitetail Deer
I was looking into buying one for my 10 year old son, any comments?
Excellant choice. He will be attached to the tree from the moment he leaves the ground until he returns to the ground.
Ensure you make him practice self rescue from a fall.
Make sure the store bought prussic systems have the Tree Stand Manufacturers seal of approval.
I love using it and am attached from the ground all the way up.
I make my own prussic setups now to save $ instead of the store bought. Very easy knot to tie.
Check the link for the easiest tutorial on how to tie it.
Build your own. I built a bunch, they are easy to do, and you can have little $ invested
check out this link, seemed like a pretty good deal to me.
I'm knew to tree stand hunting and while practicing with the sytem. It feel reasuring and easy to use.
Thanks alot guys, that answers my question!
I disagree w/the link advocating the use of a water knot. Use a double fishermans knot to make the loop and pull them together. Make sure the prussic rope is smaller (approx 1/2 diameter is ideal) than the static line.
I have used the Autoblock for years and like it better than the prussic.
I tie mine with a two foot section of webbing. Slides smoother and holds as well and is quicker to tie.
Here's a link showing it. http://www.animatedknots.com/klemheist/index.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com
FYI- I bought a fall guy restarint system and love it. WHen the time comes for Morgan to start climbing in trees she will definatly have one
My Seat O The Pants harness has a Prussic Knot system and I love it. It is so easy to adjust and attaching it around a tree is so much easier than the buckles on other harnesses.
I started using the life line last year and think its a great system. My brother was skeptical and said he didn't need it, then he tried one of mine this year and has bought them for all his stands. You here of to many bad things to not be safe from the ground up......and I do a lot of stupid stuff to inflict pain on my body!
I have three of them and taught my family to use them, wife and son(s) both climb trees and we are all tied on ground to stand and back again!
I use this system and love it. I built my own to save money, and the fact that I have too many stands to buy the manufactured product for each standsite. Very reassuring to know that you are secured from the ground going up until you get back to the ground.
One thing you should note however, when you tie your rope off at the treestand level, tie off as high as you can. Then when pushing the prussic knot up as you go, you want to position the prussic so that when you sit down on the stand your tether has just a small amout of slack. This way if you were to fall, you would be caught probably even before you lost contact with the stand.
Where and what type of static line do you guys buy?
Same here. You guys that make your own...Where do you buy your supplies. All of the climbing rope is extremely expensive. Summit sells them premade 30' (3 pack for 99.00).
Here is what I use, I like to make my own as well and I am a firefighter and we use this stuff for safety lines, rope rescue, water rescue, you name it. This stuff is very strong and durable, the tensile strength is outstanding, its very user friendly with knot's and most of all worth the money investment cuz it will last a long time. Here are the specs on the ropes. you can get it in various colors as well and the price per foot for 3/8 (5,500 pounds tensil strength) is about $1.20 average. Static Kernmantle Nylon 6/6 Prussik Cord Static Kernmantle Nylon 6/6 UL Approved to NFPA Specifications Block Creel Static Kernmantle construction. These life lines are among the finest ropes for the fire and rescue service. Firm, yet soft enough to be tied this rope features resistance to most chemicals and excellent retention in extreme conditions. Ideal for safety, rescue, climbing and rappelling ropes. Specifications Dia. Circ. Avg Tensile Strength (lbs.) Approx. Weight (lbs. per 100ft.) 3/8" 1-1/8" 5,500 lbs. 4.9 lbs. 7/16" 1-1/4" 6,800 6.4 1/2" 1-1/2" 9,000 8.7 5/8" 2" 12,000 12.4
Characteristics - Static Kernmantle Specific Gravity 1.14 Elongation at Break Less than 20% Critical Temp. 350°F Abrasion Very Good UV Resistance Good PRUSSIK CORD The nylon kernmantle construction of this tough cord offers outstanding abrasion resistance, yet soft enough for good holding power when tying Prussik knots. Specifications Dia. Avg Tensile Strength (lbs.) Approx. Weight (lbs. per 100ft.) 1/4" 3,000 1.9 5/16" 3,700 2.7 COLORS: Available in White/Red Marker and solid colors of Red, Blue, Yellow & Black
Characteristics - Prussik Cord Specific Gravity 1.14 Elongation at Break Less than 20% Critical Temp. 350°F Abrasion Very Good UV Resistance Good
Water Rescue Rope Water Rescue Rope is an extremely light, no-stretch braid featuring SPECTRA® the high-strength, no-stretch fiber that meets the needs for coastal and river rescue applications. Specifications Dia. Circ. Avg Tensile Strength (lbs.) Approx. Weight (lbs. per 100ft.) 1/4" 3/4" 2,200 1.7 3/8" 1 1/8" 4,400 3.4 Colors: Bright Yellow with Red Marker
Characteristics - Water Rescue Rope Specific Gravity 0.95 Elongation at Break 3.9% Critical Temp. 150°F Abrasion Fair UV Resistance Fair
Quail Hunter
If you know anyone that works for a large tree company, ask him if he can buy a length of rope for you. They buy it on thousand foot spools.
Otherwise, you can buy it from any good rock climbing store.
I found my static rope at a tool shop, it is an arbor line, (not sure what that means) but it has an 840 pound working load, 8400 pound tensile strength. 5/8 inch diameter 100% Nylon Braided. $70 for 150 feet. For my prussic rope I use a 3/8 inch braided nylon. It has a 325 pound working load rating which I buy at a family farm and home store, or a tractor supply type of store. The 3/8 rope is .44 per foot. $12-$13 total per stand. And that is heavier duty that the manufactured product.
Tonyo made a good point to me one time concerning this, and that is it would be a good idea to run a test with a sample of the prussic knot/short piece of lifeline rope and a harness (cheap one that you don't use) and a weight of 200 pounds or so. Then throw those tested items away. The rest of the rope from that batch of ropes should be good to go.
I started using the system a couple of years ago. This year I bought some rock climbing rope at a local shop and started making my own. I place my portable stands and tie off my rope to where it hangs to within 10' of the ground. To do this I loop the main rope around the tree above the stand, drop the tail down and install an eye screw just large enough for the rope to go through, then tie a knot. This allows the pruessic knot to slide up as you climb and keeps the main rope tight. I like this setup because I can put strap-on steps or sticks up to the 10' height, clip in, and be connected all the way into the stand. The 10' height prevents others from easily getting into the stand yet allows me to clip in when my feet are approx. 4 feet off the ground. Total investment about $10 per stand.
