Best lineman's rope
Equipment
I can recommend the Treehopper belt. Works well for me.
treehopper is the only one ive ever used.
Any pics of that rig in action, JTV?
I made one exactly like the one JTV has. It works great and is very light weight, but it's a little spendy...just the ascender is $35. I'd much rather use an ascender than a prussic knot though.
Griz, Where did you get the ascender for $35?
Scoot I've rock climbed for 30 + years,,the device in my pic is similar to the ascender,I use it to climb alone or to hang my lock on stands,what they do is allow you to take in or gain slack in rope,with one hand safely.if you go into any rock climbing shop,they'll hook you up right,,,ordering off line ,you don't get the quick know-how ,that they can show you,,,however they are simple devices if you order,,,,,check it out.
Sorry ,it's a petzl mini traxion.....
Are aluminum carabiners safe to use on lineman ropes
Lol yeah the caribiner in pic,,,, its strength is measured in Kilo newtons.. elongated strength as well as side strength,,it will hold a truck...and you,,
Not just any ol' aluminum one I'm guessing, but one specifically designed for loads. Lots of cheap china junk out there..
HSS products are as good or better as any.
if your going to be using it for your climber or loc on stand and want to be portable those HSS ropes are a beast. Muddy and some others make a smaller/lighter version which are the way to go. You definatley want to go w/ the aluminum caribiner too. This set up is probably half the weight of the standard HSS.
I have the same set up as JTV but use a rope I got from SafeTreeHunt online. The rope is a lot stiffer so it is easier to slide up the tree as you go.
I made one similar to JTV with the ascender as well. Jason Samkowiak has a youtube video on how to make them.
With the prussic you need two hands to adjust the length of the climbing belt and have to lean towards the tree to take tension off of the belt. With the ascender you can adjust with one hand and don't have to take pressure off of the belt by leaning in as much. It is much quicker and more convenient.
Scoot,
For a linemans rope which you specifically asked about, an ascender is going to be quite a bit easier to manage and faster compared to a prussic. Prussic setups become very tight if you lean back while climbing, making it more difficult to loosen/ adjust easily 1 handed. I personally run the Ropeman MK1 in conjunction with a quality static rope and carabiner.
I've been told relying on the Ropeman isn't a good idea before... maybe more due to risk of functional failure than its material....since its forged 7000 series aluminum if my memory serves. I'm not too worried. As a design engineer I have a lot of faith in the ropeman 1 given the cross sectional area of the material around the mounting hole would have a shear/ tensile strength far exceeding what my 150lb body exerts on it.
With that said though I would not dream of using it without making a stopper knot at the end of the lineman rope, as well as tying it off, in the event that the torsion spring/bitting mechanism fails and the rope slips through.
I will post a pic of my lineman rope setup later when I get to the woods!
Thanks for the info as well, guys! Gonna order the ascender and the rope tonight. My old linesmen’s type belt still works, but this new rig looks like it will be easier to maneuver with.
The brand of carabiner I run is a Camp USA Atlas model with a screw gate lock. 40kN major axis closed, and 13kN open strength. Super light for its size compared to the average steel carabiner that comes with your muddy and HSS lifelines/ linemans ropes etc.
FYI for anyone trying an ascender... DO NOT buy the Ropeman 2. It has much more aggressive teeth and will not do any favors to your lineman rope... The ropeman 1 is more than enough for biting power
Also for everyone's peace of mind.... 1kN = approx 224.81lbf. So the Ropeman MK1 has a 15kN break strength rating equivalent to 3,372lbf
