New Ascender from Reg Coates

Haha. I was going to say that too. I used to use a bastardized version of the taughtline with only one wrap up(2down) I’d just loosen it close to the point of death and gitter done.
 
if you deal with pitch than you need a bottle of canola oil on your harness. it will disolve the pitch. i mainly climb on a hitch and it works in the most pitchiest situations with plenty of canola oil(conepicking for me).
 
Is a unicender bad in pitch? Seems like less opportunity for rollers or dodads to get pitched up - unless it gets into where the pieces are hinged. I'm assuming the big problem is pitch on the rope transferring to device more that from tree to device?
 
The problem with mechanical devices and pitch is... the mechanical devices stop moving on a rope that has pitch on it. Some of them seem to actually glue themselves in place and won't let go.
The Uniscender is not above having these problems. I have one in a bag that I played with in my yard on a 70' basswood tree for several days when I got it. Up and down, up and down. I was happy as a clam thinking I found a really great tool. Then I took it out into the real world. Found out you couldn't limb walk for shit using it. Was good for up and down, but crap for out and in. Then my rope got into the pitch, and it showed its ugly side. Down, down, down smooth as silk. Then bump to where your mouth slams together and your glad your tongue was far enough back in there or you would have lost part of it. When I got home I cleaned it up and in the bag it went, and to this day it has not seen the light of day. It would be a great tool if you wanted to climb up to the top of a basswood tree and come back down. But for tree work, there are way better inventions. Be okay for a guy painting the side of a water tower.
 
@Shadowscape, you make some mighty strong statements on climbing devices used in SRT systems, and yet you claim to only climb this way 'occasionally' or 'as needed'.

The tools and systems a climber prefers are as diverse as the trees we work on and the conditions the trees grow in. It should be expected that not all tools or systems can excel when conditions and requirements change so much.

To say a tool is 'crap' because it does not work for 'you' is an opinion based on very limited parameters. For the many climbers that climb SRT on a daily basis, myself included, those 'crap' devices work fantastically and are the best choice for their needs.
 
Shadowscape said:
The problem with mechanical devices and pitch is... the mechanical devices stop moving on a rope that has pitch on it. Some of them seem to actually glue themselves in place and won't let go.
The Uniscender is not above having these problems. I have one in a bag that I played with in my yard on a 70' basswood tree for several days when I got it. Up and down, up and down. I was happy as a clam thinking I found a really great tool. Then I took it out into the real world. Found out you couldn't limb walk for shit using it. Was good for up and down, but crap for out and in. Then my rope got into the pitch, and it showed its ugly side. Down, down, down smooth as silk. Then bump to where your mouth slams together and your glad your tongue was far enough back in there or you would have lost part of it. When I got home I cleaned it up and in the bag it went, and to this day it has not seen the light of day. It would be a great tool if you wanted to climb up to the top of a basswood tree and come back down. But for tree work, there are way better inventions. Be okay for a guy painting the side of a water tower.
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Now this here is truth. I laughed so hard reading this. I could limbwalk a bit because I had the pin put in on mine. But it was still pretty rough going. Again great tool just not my style.
 
DSMc said:
@Shadowscape, you make some mighty strong statements on climbing devices used in SRT systems, and yet you claim to only climb this way 'occasionally' or 'as needed'.

The tools and systems a climber prefers are as diverse as the trees we work on and the conditions the trees grow in. It should be expected that not all tools or systems can excel when conditions and requirements change so much.

To say a tool is 'crap' because it does not work for 'you' is an opinion based on very limited parameters. For the many climbers that climb SRT on a daily basis, myself included, those 'crap' devices work fantastically and are the best choice for their needs.
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I climb very little SRT these days because I can't. I no longer have the strength in my legs for SRT. But don't you dare place me in a group that has little experience with SRT. I was climbing SRT on 3 strand manilla rope removing 175 year old elm trees by the hundreds before most people on this site's parents were even born.
You may think a certain piece of equipment is the cat's pajamas. Great for you. I may think other pieces of equipment are fantastic. Good for me. I have my opinion about things as you do. I think the Uniscender, and the Akimbo are crap. If you don't agree, fine. I don't sell climbing equipment for a living, so I don't give a rat's ass what you use or like. And you have the right to think the same about my thoughts on things. Just don't presume you know what my experience in a particular area is.
 
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I use my rrp on pines and firs regularly never really had an issue with sap causing problems it's always worked just fine, I use it for limb walls as well it's not terrible for it imo certainly easier than dealing with a hitch binding up.
 
Vicente said:
I use my rrp on pines and firs regularly never really had an issue with sap causing problems it's always worked just fine, I use it for limb walls as well it's not terrible for it imo certainly easier than dealing with a hitch binding up.
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I agree with you on the RRP. One of the better mechanical choices out there for serious tree work. It would rank second on my list.
 
Shadowscape said:
I climb very little SRT these days because I can't. I no longer have the strength in my legs for SRT. But don't you dare place me in a group that has little experience with SRT. I was climbing SRT on 3 strand manilla rope removing 175 year old elm trees by the hundreds before most people on this site's parents were even born.
You may think a certain piece of equipment is the cat's pajamas. Great for you. I may think other pieces of equipment are fantastic. Good for me. I have my opinion about things as you do. I think the Uniscender, and the Akimbo are crap. If you don't agree, fine. I don't sell climbing equipment for a living, so I don't give a rat's ass what you use or like.
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"so I don't give a rat's ass what you use or like."
Lol, likewise I'm sure.

I have also been tree climbing for longer than most, and I also did tree access SRT when ascenders first became available. That has almost no relevance to how the current multisenders are used or what they are capable of in today's work.

You can no longer use you legs for SRT? Does that mean you can no longer use spurs for removals? If so that sucks.
 
Shadowscape said:
I was climbing SRT on 3 strand manilla rope removing 175 year old elm trees by the hundreds before most people on this site's parents were even born.
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When did you start climbing SRT? What kind of system did you start with?

I started SRT in '84 IIRC. On prusiks for a brief while until I could afford some Jumars and a Gossett box for a Mitchell System. I got into rope work through caving, where SRT is pretty much mandatory.

I'm guessing you didn't start SRT before my father was born; he'll be 99 this summer! (I often fit into the not-most-people category.)
 
19 comments, 705 views, posted 1 hr ago - that's fresh news! I always find it heartening and thoughtful in a good way listening to a Reg video. Sometimes it's like he's reading your mind when he says some of his observations.

Anyone going to pick up the gauntlet and design a new device? Walk a mile in the shoes so to speak? ;)

Reg, if you read this, nice mill-drill-lathe.
 
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Srt on 3 strand manila? Never ever heard of that concept before.

Chiselbit, I learned on tautline 1 up 2 down, was years before I saw 2 up 2 down.
 
chiselbit said:
Haha. I was going to say that too. I used to use a bastardized version of the taughtline with only one wrap up(2down) I’d just loosen it close to the point of death and gitter done.
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Yep.. in my younger days I never gave much thought to sap/pitch because with the taut line I would simply plow through it. Things sure changed when I started using modern setups, and there have been more than a few instances where a taut line was the difference between getting the job done, or being locked up because of pitch…Every tree-man should have the ability to pull a taut line out of their bag o tricks.
 
I figure Reg addressed the salient points.. very diplomatically, but right on the head. He once said you could protect your IP or design secrets by keeping the camera view under constraints, while still showing your stuff. I just keep my stuff camera shy.
 
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