Anyone else give-up on routine "friction-saver" usage?

eyehearttrees

eyehearttrees

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I'd thought these adjustable slings to be "so helpful" - they protect the tree, and my ropes, after all - but over time I used it less & less, til I wasn't using it at all (and saw no increased wear to my rope, or damage to trees- I am <150lbs though just for context) Can't say I'm checking every crotch/branch, but have never seen damage to bark (nor would some lil scuffs worry me on almost-any specie of tree I work on)

Curious what benefits any long-term users get!! I understand that on DdRT there's surely value in saving your rope and reliable friction (I mean, I do use anchorage for my bullrope most of the time), but for SRT the rope just isn't moving at the anchor point/TIP to warrant this, heck not just my bullrope but my flipline also gets protection (chafe sleeve) for "rope-on-bark" protection, but my climblines just don't seem to get any benefit using them* so figured i'd post here as i just dissembled yet another to steal its rings for a rig-sling I had in mind :P Thanks!!

(*I'm only speaking of 'basic' types, I do still use my treesqueeze-type anchor sling where appropriate, and a cinching-choke sling where appropriate, but for like 19 out of 20 jobs I'm moving around a tree never considering setting an anchor for my climbline...just writing this post makes me wonder if I'd get away with pulling my rope back from "almost too-many redirects" by using anchors, would reduce the friction although would also need to retrieve all the anchors..)
 
I should note I never switch over to ddrt in fact I've never climbed it in my life, am planning to try sometime soon because, well, why not, but am able to limbwalk and up/down about as quickly as I could want with SRT so don't see much point...maybe I'll pick up something big, like when I recently swapped-up to a long (20') flipline from sub-10' ones, makes soooo much difference in some cases, almost like a 2nd line if used right!
 
treesap said:
little trick, if your on a ropewrench

tie an alpine butterfly 2ft from the spliced eye in your rope, put a quickie around your rope and thru the butterfly, and a biner in the spliced eye, pull the side you want to climb on, so the quickie sinches up on the limb, and climb that STR till you reach your TIP, then hook the biner to your hitchclimber, take the wrench off, and undo the quickie
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Alright, SRT climber here. I've never thought of that! That's a great trick to transition into DRT. Thanks @treesap good shit!
 
There really is not much point in using a friction saver for SRT, although I almost always do, I love the versatility the Teufelberger Multisaver gives me for equalizing or redundancy, especially in small wood, and being able to pull out lots of redirects easily is great. I almost never climb MRS, sometimes for coming out of the tree though.
I never install it from the ground though, either base anchor and advance, or if I can isolate a limb without much fooling around, I cinch it with a quickie or steel biner.
 
Crazy_Jimmy said:
I prefer using a fimbl climb when I'm using a canopy anchor it provides some different options .Plus retrieval is nice after passing thru multiple redirects. Tree damage is pretty minimal but some really thin bark trees can get damaged , especially in the spring.
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I'm right with you on this one. Helps the tree, helps the rope, makes things generally smoother.
 
I almost always climb SRT these days. And I almost always tie off with a running bowline (Yosemite finish) from the ground. When I get to the top, I’ll switch to a friction saver. I prefer having the option to hit whatever redirects I want and still be able to pull my rope out. Seems to work will a vast majority of the time.
On another note. Moving rope does really damage unions in trees. I’ve climbed several trees and could easily tell where other climbers have tied in years ago. I would not recommend raw doggin it. It’s not about your ropes. It’s about the best for the tree.
 
I use friction savers with SRS when we are practicing rescues where we are lowering the patient on their rope and the moving rope would otherwise wear a groove in the limb. I also use them in conifers where the limbs are really pitchy. Otherwise I rarely bother to use them.
 
For a quick up and down, it’s base anchor, natural all the way. For extended canopy work, it’s Running Bowline access and switch to knot blocked canopy anchor work work.

A short sling for redirects in sensitive branch unions is quick, and can provide far more midline anchoring options depending on whether the tree structure can easily flex or not.

In most Conifers, a cinching canopy anchor is a requirement.
 
Tom Dunlap said:
If I climb using MRS I always use a false crotch. On thin barked trees where I would have reason to believe my rope is going to saw back and forth I would add some sort of false crotch when climbing SRT
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So a comment from the cheap seats again . . . I'm doing a masssive gear clean during our +35/36 degC week of cloudless skies after getting a touch of heat stroke couple of weeks ago (no matter how careful I was - unacclimated I guess). Anyway, one really interesting thing I noticed in this clean fest is that my SRT ropes (base tied) which usually go over a couple of branches on the same whorl, these all had about an eight to ten-ish inch section of really ground-in sap, right about the length where they'd have gone over the branches (spruce or pine usually). I speculate that through the course of the climb/ work as I weight and unweight the rope, the rope gives up stretch it's acquired under load and does saw a bit back and forth on the branch. Never really looked at them before hitting the down button but I'll have to do this next couple of ups. MRS saws conifer limbs no end, so I at least use a leather branch saver if not something more spiffy from Teufelberger etc. But hadn't thought of SRT doing the same (on a smaller scale) cuz of rope stretch. Or is it the heat?
 
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The_Branch_Manager said:
Alright, SRT climber here. I've never thought of that! That's a great trick to transition into DRT. Thanks @treesap good shit!
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This is a nice trick but since its at the end of the line, just do a running bowline with Yosemite tie off. Leave the carabiner on your bridge or harness. The time you spend undoing and stowing the quickie link, and untying the alpine is a wash with untying the running bowline w/yosemite, but you don't have to worry about dropping anything with the Rbowline. The quickie shines as a midline cinch point and would be a great solution if you want to SRS up but the closest branch to your TIP to stand on for stability during the conversion to MRS requires a 5' or longer tail to reach for retrieval.
 
Ring and ring friction savers can play a really great unique role in both SRS and MRS

If I climb SRS and want the ability to retrieve multiple natural redirects from the ground, I often rock a fimblsaver and make sure I’m Jammin on the big ring (quick sub 2 minute video we put together explaining/showcasing cannobasing and big ring jammin for retrieval is attached)

I love cannobasing in the right context, and I wouldn’t want to do that with any other anchor

If I won’t need to retrieve a lot of redirects, but still want the ability to retrieve some, I’ve been rocking the Flintlocker consistently for maybe 3 years
 
I use my friction saver all the time for an SRS anchor. I block the small ring side. I have no worries about retrieval limitations to the number of redirects I can take. This is extremely useful for traversing multiple trees without the need to retrace any redirects before retrieval. This combined with a rigging friction saver means I don't even have to climb back up to get the rigging out.

For removals (that I don't just spike up) I'll have have this setup and then change to mrs for a spar anchor. It's an extremely versatile piece of gear with lots of options.
 
Sprucinator said:
I use my friction saver all the time for an SRS anchor. I block the small ring side. I have no worries about retrieval limitations to the number of redirects I can take. This is extremely useful for traversing multiple trees without the need to retrace any redirects before retrieval. This combined with a rigging friction saver means I don't even have to climb back up to get the rigging out.

For removals (that I don't just spike up) I'll have have this setup and then change to mrs for a spar anchor. It's an extremely versatile piece of gear with lots of options.
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Knot Blocking SRS is awesome. Multiple climbers in one tree without base anchors is a great way to fly.

I used to run a rope just long enough to climb most trees around here plus a few redirects. For retrieval I had a ditty bag full of 10mm Reep Shnur. Connect it to the knot block and toss the bag to the ground.
 
I also love the ART Snake Anchor with 2 Carabiners and an XSRE Carabiner. Super super fast midline attached SRS Redirect or MRS Canopy Anchor with incremental adjustment.

Stab the bitter end of your climb line into the previous span for the pull down.
 
oceans said:
Knot Blocking SRS is awesome. Multiple climbers in one tree without base anchors is a great way to fly.

I used to run a rope just long enough to climb most trees around here plus a few redirects. For retrieval I had a ditty bag full of 10mm Reep Shnur. Connect it to the knot block and toss the bag to the ground.
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I like the idea of a smaller retrieval line, but after learning about how the retrieval side could be used an an access line for an aerial rescue, I now use another climbing line as a retrieval

I’ve been skeptical of knot blocking carabiners, how has that been for you @oceans?
 
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