Gear Obsession

Muggs

Muggs

Been here much more than a while
Location
Canuckistan
Excerpt from my article...



For the majority of my climbing career I have been what you would consider a minimalist. The people that I learned from were the same. Just old-school climbing with a rope, lanyard, and handsaw. Natural crotch rigging, because it’s fast, and because, as we used to say, “friction is a good thing”. Trucker’s hitch instead of a fiddle block because it just works. No fancy gear, no new-fangled whatsits. Just one guy, one rigging line, one job well done. Consistently.

I want to paint a picture to illustrate a point. Here’s the scenario:

Early morning, mid-September. It’s you vs. Jack Nicklaus: 18 holes, winner takes all. You are playing on your home course, so you know it better than the bottom of your beer glass. Jack has never played this course before, in fact, he hasn’t even practiced in 6 months. In your corner, you have a professional caddy for expert advice, as well as a fully stocked bag with $5000 worth of the finest golf clubs that money can buy. Jack on the other hand, has to carry his own clubs around, which by the way, are old and crappy. His clubs were old and crappy in 1962. Now, any predictions on how this plays out?

Here’s my prediction: He is gonna whoop your butt.

You see, someone who is great at what they do is not great because they have all the fancy kit. They are great because they put in the time. They practiced. They studied the tape. They were willing to fail in the short term to win in the long term. They earned the right to have a fully-stocked gear bag with all of the latest gadgets and gizmos. The gadgets and gizmos were not the starting point. They were the extra bonus features tacked onto the end. The job could have been done just as well without them.

......

Continue Reading: EducatedClimber - Gear Obsession



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Muggs said:
Excerpt from my article...



For the majority of my climbing career I have been what you would consider a minimalist. The people that I learned from were the same. Just old-school climbing with a rope, lanyard, and handsaw. Natural crotch rigging, because it’s fast, and because, as we used to say, “friction is a good thing”. Trucker’s hitch instead of a fiddle block because it just works. No fancy gear, no new-fangled whatsits. Just one guy, one rigging line, one job well done. Consistently.

I want to paint a picture to illustrate a point. Here’s the scenario:

Early morning, mid-September. It’s you vs. Jack Nicklaus: 18 holes, winner takes all. You are playing on your home course, so you know it better than the bottom of your beer glass. Jack has never played this course before, in fact, he hasn’t even practiced in 6 months. In your corner, you have a professional caddy for expert advice, as well as a fully stocked bag with $5000 worth of the finest golf clubs that money can buy. Jack on the other hand, has to carry his own clubs around, which by the way, are old and crappy. His clubs were old and crappy in 1962. Now, any predictions on how this plays out?

Here’s my prediction: He is gonna whoop your butt.

You see, someone who is great at what they do is not great because they have all the fancy kit. They are great because they put in the time. They practiced. They studied the tape. They were willing to fail in the short term to win in the long term. They earned the right to have a fully-stocked gear bag with all of the latest gadgets and gizmos. The gadgets and gizmos were not the starting point. They were the extra bonus features tacked onto the end. The job could have been done just as well without them.

......

Continue Reading: EducatedClimber - Gear Obsession



-
Click to expand...
I really enjoyed the article. Ive been climbing less than a year, and boy do i love the shiny things. I swear half the money i make goes back into gear for treework. I got a rain day and im waiting on a oackage from treestuff right now. Im still a very new climber. Ive been lucky enough to get the opportunity to climb 95% of the days that i work. I have used blakes hitch a few times to know it, and the hitchclimber ddrt for the majority of my climbing. And srt has been my focus for the last 2 months or so. Although i did enjoy your article, i do not fully agree with it. I can perform my job whether or not my thingymajig that helps me be efficient (energy + time) is with me. All i need is a rope, a saddle, and a handsaw to do the job (pruning). But the shiny toys that i blow alot of my money on, have their time and place when they are needed, or when the opportunity arises where i feel i can shave a few minutes off my day.

As far as your story goes, i feel as if compared to tree service, chances are the guy with the old clubs has been sleeping on a lazyboy for years. At least as far as old climbers that i know that slayed trees efficiently years ago. I hear some horror back and neck stories.

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I respectfully disagree.... Sure it's great to be proficient in the old school, however there is a balance. I was taught oldschool rope snap, closed system blakes, on a old sierra merino saddle. A friction saver was an extra link in the system that could fail, it was a KISS to a T. This is great to know and to have it ingrained in your muscle memory, only then should you add kit because it does make it easier and more efficient. Not all of it does, and not for everyone.
 
Enjoy your articles.

I started and climbed for 3 years on a closed system with a blake's - tons of friction. The upside - it got me in great shape and am now able to do a job with two ropes, a little PPE, and a handsaw - I could just make a saddle out of a double bowline.

I don't care to though.

Downside - inefficient. I can now, by minimizing friction and rope in my system, work twice as long and fast as well as easily get places where I'd blow a circuit trying to reach or traverse to.

To be an ultra minimalist, I could go back to an axe - my core would be more happy.

Big question on this - who are you trying to make the point to?

Climbers who geek out on gear?

New Climbers?

In reality, machines and technology are taking the place of manual work in all fields - even in wars, drones are replacing soldiers and fighter pilots.

I kinda see this as a barbaric yalp and romantic cry for the way things used to be and everyone should be - like when we walked to school uphill, both ways, in the snow, and with wolves nipping at our heels. Things change - evolve - die out.

This is what I think - people come into to this work for many reasons. They either love it, hate it, or do it for the money. If they really love it, and are passionate, most will take steps to learn many aspects of the trade - including the old-school.

If they just want to collect a check and hate climbing, then they are waiting for that cushy job opening, they are going to be resigned to a bucket truck or tracked lift.

If someone is willing to take on the risk of being a climber, they are half-way there...the other steps are humility and ability to be teachable.

Nonetheless, in a couple decades - climbing will be obsolete


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To be honest, while reading this I visualized an old man shaking his fist, yelling "back in my day!" To use your golfing anology against you. Imagine if Jack Nicklaus was using, instead of 70 year old clubs, a brand new set. Dude would be killing it.

Maybe we don't need all the brand new, shiny, climbing shit but you cannot tell me that hip thrusting 80' is more efficient or less harmful on your body than a rope wrench and a haas.

All the respect in the world is due to the pioneers of this industry. But technology changes, usually for the better.
 
This was just something that I have been thinking for a few years now and finally wrote down.

First of all, I am not a Luddite. I don't drive to work in my horse and buggy and make fun of the Englishers. I love the new gear as much as the next guy, and I use a lot of the new stuff. I love the marketplace that has grown up around this industry. It is amazing. I still have my original Rope Wrench that says "Made in Detroit". I am not suggesting that great climbers shouldn't have the best gear. My writing is for the younger crowd. If I had a young climber just starting out, and I could choose between them having a deep sense of personal responsibility, or a [insert newest piece of kit here], I think you would agree with me which is more important.

Gear is great. I love new gear. But that doesn't change the fact that "fancy gear does not a great climber make." Deny that all you want, it rings true.

There is a ton of noise out there. There are literally so many options out there for beginning climbers that they couldn't possibly know what they need. All I am saying is that what you need is experience, and good judgement, and knowledge - not gear. At least not at first. The gear comes later. The Basics are what matter. Learn the Basics and learn how to get the job done with less, not more. This is all I am trying to teach my apprentice. Please don't read anything more into it than this.

Now, as far as artificial intelligence-powered tree climbing monkey robots with chainsaw hands, this I gotta see...
 
Agree completely, I've only been climbing for five years and I started out on a Blake's. Felt like a badass when I started using a split-tail...

As for the future, I'm picturing a lot of lasers. Or maybe a lightsaber handsaw. I should put a patent in now for laser-safe chaps, cash in early.
 
Still thinking about this article, which means there is some truth to it:

1. Yes, every climber should know how to use the fundamentals well.

As a previous educator, I found getting students excited and engaged in a subject would ultimately lead to them doing the hard work in the long run.

Sometimes, getting someone in a tree with a zigzag and ascender helps them make that leap of faith and see in their mind's eye - "Yes, even I can do this".

You are 100 percent right though - every climber should know how to get the job done with minimal gear. ISA agrees and even tests it through hands on demonstration - We have to hip thrust or foot lock to get in the tree, use an acceptable closed or open system, and demonstrate certain knot capability.

As a business owner, it is very tough to get those diamonds in the rough. Do we lure them with shiny or beat them into submission? Lol.

As for technology, look at drones and the tree-mek on a kboom. I. The future, we will be scientists and technicians- I feel.


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I watch your YouTube stuff often and learn a lot - definitely not a Luddite- I've seen you use pulleys, cranes, chainsaws, chippers, etc. I always learn something.

I guess it was just the tone and my love of fancy gear because I can be a douche. When I was a kid, I swore the air jordans made me a better basketball player

The best point you make - can you get the job done if your fancy stuff isn't available?

I had to drive 3 hours to a job once and left one of my gear bags at home - luckily, I had the training to do the job minus my ascenders, mechanical rope friction devices, and knot less fluff


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I think another great point about quicker, 'easier', and mechanized production is it can create complacency - an ACRT trainer once pointed out that when chippers went from chuck and duck to hydraulic feed and saw got lighter and more powerful - injuries and deaths went up.

We got lazy and less attentive to safety


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Muggs said:
This was just something that I have been thinking for a few years now and finally wrote down.

First of all, I am not a Luddite. I don't drive to work in my horse and buggy and make fun of the Englishers. I love the new gear as much as the next guy, and I use a lot of the new stuff. I love the marketplace that has grown up around this industry. It is amazing. I still have my original Rope Wrench that says "Made in Detroit". I am not suggesting that great climbers shouldn't have the best gear. My writing is for the younger crowd. If I had a young climber just starting out, and I could choose between them having a deep sense of personal responsibility, or a [insert newest piece of kit here], I think you would agree with me which is more important.

Gear is great. I love new gear. But that doesn't change the fact that "fancy gear does not a great climber make." Deny that all you want, it rings true.

There is a ton of noise out there. There are literally so many options out there for beginning climbers that they couldn't possibly know what they need. All I am saying is that what you need is experience, and good judgement, and knowledge - not gear. At least not at first. The gear comes later. The Basics are what matter. Learn the Basics and learn how to get the job done with less, not more. This is all I am trying to teach my apprentice. Please don't read anything more into it than this.

Now, as far as artificial intelligence-powered tree climbing monkey robots with chainsaw hands, this I gotta see...
Click to expand...

Well said Patrick....
 
Muggs said:
This was just something that I have been thinking for a few years now and finally wrote down.

First of all, I am not a Luddite. I don't drive to work in my horse and buggy and make fun of the Englishers. I love the new gear as much as the next guy, and I use a lot of the new stuff. I love the marketplace that has grown up around this industry. It is amazing. I still have my original Rope Wrench that says "Made in Detroit". I am not suggesting that great climbers shouldn't have the best gear. My writing is for the younger crowd. If I had a young climber just starting out, and I could choose between them having a deep sense of personal responsibility, or a [insert newest piece of kit here], I think you would agree with me which is more important.

Gear is great. I love new gear. But that doesn't change the fact that "fancy gear does not a great climber make." Deny that all you want, it rings true.

There is a ton of noise out there. There are literally so many options out there for beginning climbers that they couldn't possibly know what they need. All I am saying is that what you need is experience, and good judgement, and knowledge - not gear. At least not at first. The gear comes later. The Basics are what matter. Learn the Basics and learn how to get the job done with less, not more. This is all I am trying to teach my apprentice. Please don't read anything more into it than this.

Now, as far as artificial intelligence-powered tree climbing monkey robots with chainsaw hands, this I gotta see...
Click to expand...

Instead of using these thoughts as a separate explanation, why not add them to the original page thus clarifying your intent and reasoning from the start?
 
I agree that one needs only the basics but I consider the work climbing basics to be:

An srt mechanical (bdb, rope runner or akimbo); rope; knee ascender (Haas or SAKA); harness; foot ascender; a chest harness; and spurs with an ascender incorporated (powerscender or kiwi).

IMO these items will allow any climber to move effectively in the tree to the best of their natural and learned ability.
 
I don't know. Sometimes there feels like there is way too much drama around gear vs. "know the basics" etc. I bet there would also be a long debate on what are the basics too, but this thread is about gear.

I look at it not as gear but as tools. And like all tools, some you use all the time, some very few, some even less, and some are just cool.

I have never heard of mechanic have too many tools or complaining about having too many. I don't know why this industry does.

And seriously, you can build a house with only a handsaw, a ruler, and a hammer, and no one would because it would too slow and you would not make any money. And no one would tell an apprentice carpenter to start there first either. Why do it hold a tree apprentice back? Add to that there is a learning curve on all tools as well and that learning needs to get going asap too.

Just my 2 cents as I await the siren that is the Akimbo.
 
Agreed!

I have three welders...but I'm not a weldor

I have a drawers full of open end adjustable wrenches, pliers and Vise Grips. But there are more
Drawers full of metric and standard wrenches

I have buckets of shiny arbo tools that showed promise. Some lived up to their promise and were replaced by better tools. Some didn't work too well

There is no doubt in my mind that if I hadn't changed ways 25-30 years ago I wouldn't feel as fit and healthy now. Some of the change was in climbing gear. I took rock/ice climbing lessons and became a better tree climber. Buying a front end loader and a clam truck saved my body.

This discussion has been going on for as long as I've been on the Internet. No new spin on any side of
This issue either.

Change now or ache later
 
The appreciation of the minimal gear approach to climbing is not lost on me. I think it is so cool that it can be done with just rope. I mean, what can't be done with rope? (pushing, smartass) Its amazing. One of the oldest tools out there.
I also believe in the ability to make people more effective in what they do by developing new tech. Root syllable of technology and technique.
Rope will never go out of style. How we use it will change and change again. So basically the more you know about using rope, the cooler you are. Educated climber? I should hope so. Time to learn.
 
I love my stuff and stuff and more stuff. I can do everything basics but have found, like Tom, the advancements in gear and technique increase the longevity of my working career. If it looks cool, I buy it and try it. If it works i'll put it in the tool box. If it doesn't i'll sell it cheap or pass it on. I have the most awesome things in my kit i've never used. I will say when I need it, i'll need it and have it. Its important to adapt the tools to the job. Not adapt the job to the tools.
 
Today I used an endless loop rigging sling 4' as a harness and maillon rapide as center tie in point with a mechanical prussik.
old school with new school. some people are just more accepting of new ideas/tools, some are cautious and some are ignorant.
I myself start off fairly ignorant but in the end realize in time things do get better, easier and safer. Took me three yrs to grab mechanical prussik after seeing them for first time. On Rope the book showed me SRT and I instantly knew my next purchase was going to be rope walker system. If I didn't make the connection I am certain working a crown with ropes would be extremely painful at my present age.
New recruits and apprentices should be given the best tools for the job. suggesting anything different is asinine. :birra:IMHO
 
A more apt comparison would have been Jack Nicklaus with his old, crappy wooden clubs vs Jack Nicklaus with the $5000 clubs. It's not about being better than the other guy, it's about making yourself a better (read safer/more efficient) climber and quite often the fancy gear supports that.
 
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