Skylotec & Husqvarna Power Ascender

I'll concede that the wireless controller puts it over the top. Note the single sheave design along the lines of Harken/Rollgliss/Wraptor. Still a bit of a porker at 15lbs (without battery?) Mine is 7 lbs. Humble brag. :)
 
Wonder when they will release it for sale and the price point to be competitive with Ronin and Wraptor? At least it is using standard battery unlike Ronin.
 
One of those things that if someone gave me one, I would be tickled pink. But if they are going to cost upwards of 20 thousand dollars like other Skylotecs, or even half that, I can do an awful lot of hoofing it up on my own and spend the money on more important things. For the price it is going to be, the fact that it takes Husqvarna batteries you may already have is really of little importance. 20 thousand dollars??? What difference is a couple of batteries give or take to that cost going to make?
It is on my wish list along with the private Caribbean Island I would like to own.
 
Shadowscape said:
One of those things that if someone gave me one, I would be tickled pink. But if they are going to cost upwards of 20 thousand dollars like other Skylotecs, or even half that, I can do an awful lot of hoofing it up on my own and spend the money on more important things. For the price it is going to be, the fact that it takes Husqvarna batteries you may already have is really of little importance. 20 thousand dollars??? What difference is a couple of batteries give or take to that cost going to make?
It is on my wish list along with the private Caribbean Island I would like to own.
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I see it along the lines of the first VCR or microwave to hit the market. Crazy expensive at first. Then 10 years later everybody has one. I think something like this will be pretty standard in 5-10 years. We'll, maybe not standard per se, but common. Who knows. I'm still holding out for a jetpack...
 
We demoed a Skylotek last year. Great tool, would probably be a really good long-term investment for a young production climber. It was roughly $30000 Canadian.
 
Muggs said:
I see it along the lines of the first VCR or microwave to hit the market. Crazy expensive at first. Then 10 years later everybody has one. I think something like this will be pretty standard in 5-10 years. We'll, maybe not standard per se, but common. Who knows. I'm still holding out for a jetpack...
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Skylotec power ascenders have been around for at least 8 years now. Don't see any signs of them coming down in price. As a matter of fact, they have gone up in price every year. I wouldn't hold my breather if I were you. They sell enough to tower working industries that the few arborist companies that can afford to buy them is a drop in the bucket for them, and I doubt they are willing to drop the prices for us.
But it is a good wish to hang onto.
 
The video for this just came out 3 days ago. I assumed it was a new product, this battery version I mean. You guys really think this sells for $30,000? That's just hearsay at this point. No rope climber on earth would buy one for that price, especially not any tree guy. I just thought it was cool. I have a message out to them to get the actual price...
 
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I don't understand what would make it worth so much money? I would happily find US$1000-1500 to invest in that kind of thing but who could ever justify 20k when you could put that down on any of a long list of awesome tools, equipment, and gadgets that can do so much more for you throughout the week. Shit, yesterday, two guys pulled me up 110' of naked trunk that we'd been rigging off of to go finish the spar. Literally 0 extra gear, and I had the equivalent of a two people-power ascender. That would have been the only time a power ascender would have been helpful on that job. The Skylotec can't set lines for you, so unless it's an open enough tree to get your rope to the top quickly and easily, which is little of what I do, it's less awesome, as you have to deal with that mass while working on advancing your TIP. For the right price, they'll sell 1,000,000 units and turn a decent profit. If they are charging 20k, that tells me that they don't care if they only sell a few per year, and there's many hypotheses in my mind as to why, but that's irrelevant.
 
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They are very common with tower workers. And there are a lot of tower workers out there. I have a friend who does nothing but change bulbs on towers who uses one. When you are going up 3 different 1,500 foot towers in a day, they are the cat's pajamas. I doubt that the tree industry is but a tiny fraction of who they even market these towards. But maybe, just maybe with this Husqvarna battery pack they are branching out and will price it accordingly. But I'm not going to hold my breath.
 
rico said:
Yet another tool that will chip away at the artistry and uniqueness of what we all do for a living. I myself am gonna continue earning my way to the top of my trees, and will do so for as long as my body is willing.
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I'm with you. I got into this because it's the most fun rope access type job. And my previous careers involved lots of pruning, and I love pruning
 
rico said:
Yet another tool that will chip away at the artistry and uniqueness of what we all do for a living. I myself am gonna continue earning my way to the top of my trees, and will do so for as long as my body is willing.
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Just being a smart ass. Wouldn’t your body be more willing to go longer with a ride to the top?
 
rico said:
Yet another tool that will chip away at the artistry and uniqueness of what we all do for a living. I myself am gonna continue earning my way to the top of my trees, and will do so for as long as my body is willing.
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Again I am with Erik here. At 56 I am not slowing down one bit. So I am going forward. I love the exercise of climbing. I go up and down rope a lot daily, pruning and doing reductions. I love walking rope. I have it perfected to an art. Feels effortless most days.
 
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