Leg lock

kludge

kludge

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Eastern PA
I am reading through Beranek’s “Fundamentals of General Tree Work”. On page 194 in the section on “Piecing Out The Overhang” in Chapter 15, he states that when working out on an upward angled limb “The preferred way to hold your position on the limb while pulling slack is with a leg lock.” He doesn’t offer any more particulars than that on how to do that technique. Would love to have more details on what he means by this technique. Any thoughts on how Beranek does this or descriptions of how you might do this? (Pictures or Video most welcome.)
 
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Here’s my guess, push straight against the trunk with one knee while the other leg is spurred in normally, tighten your lanyard/flipline so you can lock yourself in by pushing with the knee. That’s what I do.
 
@chiselbit and @Jzack605, those are both great technics. Never seen the tail step before. Good to have another tool in the bag.

Beranek sets up the leg lock as more efficient than using the lanyard while progressing out a limb. Kinda wondering if it might be a classic technique that less commonly used now.
 
Reading in the Beranek chapter again, in the next sub section, he describes changing from a “right-foot leg lock and left-foot spur hold” to the opposite. He has a picture of this position on the facing page. I think this is what he means by leg lock. Any experience with this technique?
 

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A leg lock is to grasp something with your leg. In the above picture he's setup for a leg lock but really he's just resting against the limb with his thigh. If he were to wrap his leg behind that limb he would have something to pull against as he tended the slack. On a small limb like that he could even wrap it with his foot as well. It's about creating a secure point of contact to free up your hands.
 
Tree-Taylor said:
A leg lock is to grasp something with your leg. In the above picture he's setup for a leg lock but really he's just resting against the limb with his thigh. If he were to wrap his leg behind that limb he would have something to pull against as he tended the slack. On a small limb like that he could even wrap it with his foot as well. It's about creating a secure point of contact to free up your hands.
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So trying to imagine the mechanics of leg locking from that position. . .

If you had your right spur in the tree with left leg set up for leg lock (as pictured), on a larger limb you could externally rotate the leg with the knee facing up the branch and wrap your heal in behind the branch. As you note on smaller limbs, you could get your left foot involved to get your toes back around to the top of the branch.

Am I correctly picturing what you are describing?
 
You got it.

You can also leg lock on a ladder against a building. If you pass your leg over a rung then back over the next rung you can lock the top of your foot over the rung or beam. Not really applicable to tree work but handy for awkward jobs on a ladder.
 
Tree-Taylor said:
You can also leg lock on a ladder against a building. If you pass your leg over a rung then back over the next rung you can lock the top of your foot over the rung or beam. Not really applicable to tree work but handy for awkward jobs on a ladder.
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I've done that move while trimming hedges off a ladder. Gives you some extra reach without fear of losing balance.
 
AdkEric's picture reminds me of James the narcoleptic tree climber. Or, ascent is called the Bear Hug and sliding similarly back down is called the Bear Skid. All of them real fun. Watch for splinters and stubs in your chest and nards.:)
 
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