New Climber's First Rigging Gear

Crimsonking said:
Dang thumbs on the phone, I hit post by accident. I admit I cheat with the rings when negative rigging smaller chunks, but otherwise, I try to take heavy picks, so I use the big gear.
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If you don't get hurt and don't break anything it's not cheating it's doing it right. If you have a light system smaller pieces if you have a heavy system bigger pieces that's smart good rigging don't knock on that.
 
TreeRookie said:
Great discussion going on here guys. There are so many options and it doesn't seem like a "right or wrong" one, just preference.
Cost isn't that big of an issue, so I may buy a bigger block and a 1/2" rope. then there are the slings too.. So many choices!!
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You can narrow your choices by asking yourself what kind of jobs do you do 90% of the time. Honestly we have shorter trees than a lot of the videos you see on YouTube etc so we can't take monster pieces to rig due to lack of space so a 1/2" system holds what we do.

So we have 5/8" line systems as well but it's often easier to take 2 pieces than pull out new rigging. So just be practical and honest with your planning. Light or heavy
 
KevinS said:
If you don't get hurt and don't break anything it's not cheating it's doing it right. If you have a light system smaller pieces if you have a heavy system bigger pieces that's smart good rigging don't knock on that.
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Sorry, I should have clarified. By cheating I meant that I have negative rigged off of a single ring. But after this thread, I went with two today. Thanks guys for helping me break that nasty habit.
 
Sling size.... Whole other deal, i find 8ft sling to come up short sooo often it's frustrating. I have 4ft-12ft sling assortment myself. Cause who wants to deal with a long ass tail when you don't need it?! I love the loopies for this reason.
Think of the weight you are aiming at with this setup and what diameter does that weight fall under,trunk wood,girthy trunk wood,large limbs etc. lol girthy trunk lmao
 
I first bought a omni block/sling combo for smaller 1/2'' rope stuff and would just natural crotch with a 5/8 rope for the bigger pieces. I just bought http://www.treestuff.com/store/catalog.asp?category_id=235&item=12399 for my first big block. I don't know if I will ever use 3/4 rope with it but it should run fine with my 5/8 right? It seemed like a cool block, priced well, and just came back in stock. Has anyone else used it? I have a 3/4 12' Yale dead eye sling for it too
 
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paul phalloides said:
I first bought a omni block/sling combo for smaller 1/2'' rope stuff and would just natural crotch with a 5/8 rope for the bigger pieces. I just bought http://www.treestuff.com/store/catalog.asp?category_id=235&item=12399 for my first big block. I don't know if I will ever use 3/4 rope with it but it should run fine with my 5/8 right? It seemed like a cool block, priced well, and just came back in stock. Has anyone else used it? I have a 3/4 12' Yale dead eye sling for it too
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Yeah any rope up to 3/4" is fine. A block really can't be to big. A small bend radius is not a great thing but bigger is fine, it'll sit down into the pulley deeper is all.

Let me know what you think of the block. I have steel blocks and rings wondered how those Ali blocks are
 
I've seen some crazy things caught on a 1/2'' rope that should have snapped the rope. I've also seen things that should have been fine to be caught on a 1/2" rope snap the rope. Cycles of failure. You might get lucky a few times and ruin your rope in the process. If I'm asking myself is this to big for a 1/2'' rope I generally just get the 5/8'' rope out.
 
TreeRookie said:
If I am taking pieces of a spar, will a 1/2" rope be strong enough, as the load will be dynamic?
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Maybe if you are negative rigging an 18" spar and you take them relatively small. But yeah, lots of factors and variables at play. I would bite the bullet and get a 5/8" line if you are blocking down spars. If you have to rig the wood, chances are you can't afford to have the rope snap on you. Your insurance claim/damage will likely cost you much more than that 150-200 dollar 5/8" rigging line. Look into vertical speedlining as well ;)
 
TreeRookie said:
If I am taking pieces of a spar, will a 1/2" rope be strong enough, as the load will be dynamic?
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That depends on the line and the size of the piece if you use 3 strand 1/2" yellow poly you may running an issue trying to take decent size pieces. But likely you are using a durable rigging line staying within you swell and comfort levels so you should be fine.

I use 1/2" rigging line for nearly everything it'll wreck a lot and give you some bang for your buck
 
A good bit of reading if you have the sherrill catalogue (which you should they put a lot of work into it) is they have a green log weight chart and a rope chart. If not get a catalog or google it. But There rope chart nicely lays out and compares strength, knotability, splicableness, stretch, etc.
So if all you do is small tiny rigging you can use there 1/2" 3 strand but more likely look at there db/sb lines.
As for the green log weight chart every worker should have it available to them at any time (that's a real rule, not just my opinion). Take some time with it and play around so you have a half decent idea what you are doing. Pick your 3 most common trees and sub some numbers in so you get a basic handle on it. Once you get used to that you can get a feel for it and go with your gut after a while.

Your original post says 'future proof', others may differ but I often use my 1/2" system even on bigger jobs. Don't overload it but my groundies have to deal with it so if I send stuff down in 6-8' chunks instead of 10'15' chunks I still keep the job moving along and it's less weight and size for me to haul up into the tree and deal with.
This isn't always an option but some times it is. I also have trained and put through a number of green climbers, brand new or just out of college, etc. So sticking with a lighter 1/2" systems lets me teach on smaller tops and blocks and I tend to find for the new guys rigging out blocks as big as you is a general comfort max. You can always build up over time but learning steady is key for me.
That said my first rigging was 10' 5/8" tenex dead eye sling 5/8" block and 1/2" db and I still use it today. Another plug if it's for rigging out pieces basic and not crazy lifting etc and you are used to natural crotches you may look at xxr's they are a nice meet in the middle solid choice I use them a lot.
 
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