How many active climbers use a blakes hitch all the time.

wyoclimber said:
I don't deny that there are plenty of guys who could smoke me in a tree with a Blake's while I'm on my Rope Runner, but imagine what they'd be capable of if they would update.
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Careful wyoclimber, I agree 100% with your statement right up till the end part I quoted. :) The automatic assumption that newer techniques/equipment will increase production may be over rated! The climber makes the gear.

In fact, all the options may make some climbers more reluctant to change. Too many options for the uninitiated!

In my experience, (I travel and train a lot in North America. I can't speak for Europe) YoYo's numbers are probably pretty close, but I would go a touch higher on open system use. Slack tending/fair lead pulleys are very common. It only took 20 years!

Tony
 
As I said before, I don't just look at an increase in production, I look for increased efficiency. There are things I do at work that don't save me any time, but they do save me effort. I don't think it can be argued that from a pure efficiency standpoint, meaning, how much energy must be expended for the work produced, the higher performing hitches like a VT and Michoacan paired with a hitch climber are more efficient than a Blake's.
 
guys (younger guys around my age) that ive introduced a closed system to over a blakes were all about it, and willing to spend their own money on it.
i can only say this about the guys i know my age, cause i dont work with many seasoned climbers who actively climb, but people are either all about climbing and want to learn more and improve and be more efficient (energy / effort like wyo's saying), or they settle cause they already think they're top dog.
i know where i stand, ill only be using a blakes when i gotta, and be trying to convert others.

and ill always be improving and aiming to be the best. so if your posting videos and pics on here thinking your top dog, remember your just setting the bar for young Dre dog over here, and im aiming to blow right by ya. (with efficient use of my effort no doubt)
 
I was tought on a Blake's and spent my first 3 years climbing on a Blake's. Since then I've moved on to better things, but I still have the Blake's in my aresnal, as it should be. I personally don't think you can consider yourself an experienced or qualified climber unless you're aware of the implementation and operation of the most basic of climbing systems. I would hazard a guess that nearly all climbers have used a Blake's at sometime with probably 40% or so still using it on a regular. I've met climbers that have used a hitch climber/VT (or similar) and reverted to a Blake's simply out of personal preference. Just because another system is faster or more efficient doesn't make it right for the individual. Familiarity is more important to efficiency and safety than speed.
 
wyoclimber said:
As I said before, I don't just look at an increase in production, I look for increased efficiency. There are things I do at work that don't save me any time, but they do save me effort. I don't think it can be argued that from a pure efficiency standpoint, meaning, how much energy must be expended for the work produced, the higher performing hitches like a VT and Michoacan paired with a hitch climber are more efficient than a Blake's.
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Wyoclimber,

I am with you. I made my comment from the standpoint that at times I run into climbers who think new gear or different systems will make them better (read faster) Not always true. (as you stated efficiency is always key. In fact, one definition of production is "efficiency accomplished safely") We are singing the same song. One person's efficiency may be another's time vampire. I agree also that the closed systems are "better" with the caveat of "in the right hands." Many ways to skin the cat of productivity/efficiency.

However, many times it is not the climbing skills that need up graded, but the pruning/cutting/work planing skills that are lacking. These are often overlooked and misinterpreted as "need for climbing system change!"

We climb trees to work in them. The climbing is only part of the equation.

Tony
 
Productivity is measured over the long term not the short. Since the Tour de France is currently running its an excellent example of looking at productivity. These teams are racing for 3 weeks, 2100 miles. Each day is a race but with the bigger race in mind. Each day is planned with the rest of the race in mind. We need to operate in the same manner. It's not one tree, or one day but a week of work before we have a chance to recover. As Wyoclimber and Tony point out, productivity can also be about energy efficiency. This gives us the longevity to perform at our peak for the whole week.
 
As a climber, I feel some of the best skills to have is what Tony mentioned...attention to detail whilst carrying out cutting/pruning and planning the work....climbing is how you get there so one should still be efficient there too..I really don't think Mr Blakes is going to be any slower than Mr VT/ Michoacan etc....he might just use differing techniques to get there, just like DdRT vs SRT...use what you are comfortable with and enjoy....climb on....I use a blakes with my monkey tail still...lol :cool:
 
I can definitely agree with that. My evolution as a climber has seen 3 major leaps, when I switched from a Blake's to a Hitch Climber/VT setup, when I started climbing SRT and when I started to really self educate about tree biology. I was taught the "rules" of pruning when I started, but you can't really prune a tree efficiently and well when you don't understand why you are doing what you are doing. Now I prune with very specific goals in mind, rather than pruning just because.
 
Oh pruning is where it's at, I can go nuts in a tree and lose my shirt but I don't care...it's about the trees after all...I quote them well though....my favorite climbing.....I do removals obviously but I am more a pruning type of guy.....
 
swingdude said:
Whoa it's Ted, how are ya bro.....and you are right if folks love climbing on a blake's then so be it...and there are a lot of climbers that are great with it....but the reality of it all is that those systems will soon be like the dinasaurs EXTINCT....lol :p....hey maybe by 2060 at least.....
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Hi guys. I am a full-time Blake hitch user myself. Removals and spurless pruning. Not because I think it's better but because I have sort of a late bloomer personality. I remember in the 90s when I switched from a taught line hitch tied with the tale of my climbing rope to a Blake hitch split tail system. I was working on a crew near Seattle Washington. All the guys there were split tail climbing, hip thrusting with Blake hitches up some very tall trees when we were pruning. I resisted the change for at least six months while guys all around me were just shaking their heads. When I finally made the change I couldn't believe how much better it was. I expect that in the very near future when I finally switch to a hitch climber system it will be about the same size leap forward. It wasn't until very recently when I started making GoPro Videos and poking around the Internet that I found out that I wasn't on the cutting-edge of tree climbing technology. It's kind of funny really, that I was going around thinking I was so current and yet I was so opposite of current. It's like I've been living in a little time capsule. Just going to work and being expedient all the time. I'm intrigued by all the new stuff, even the SRT stuff. But when I show up to get something done it's hard not to just keep going with what I know.
 
Now August I want to say, I watch your vids with my 3 year old son and he goes completely wild with excitement.....he loves them....man I love them too....and vids don't hold me really....some folks just got that going on...I went from a blakes to VT hitch climber setup and now I only SRT, can't seem to DdRT anymore as it feels so strange....but believe me I am just an old guy who loves climbing....nothing special, just love discovering clean climbing systems...so I experiment on loads of stuff cause I get a lot of down time on this island....
 
I was just rocking the VT and a hitch climber today for a few hours. All this talk of rope on rope made me miss it. Well at least for a little while.
 
Asplundh forces us to use the tautlline while I "illegally" use the hitch climber and srt at my own disposal. My GF blind eyes it cause he doesn't have a clue but if something goes wrong I won't be covered. Any suggestions on how to fight the man?
 
Jem4417 said:
Asplundh forces us to use the tautlline while I "illegally" use the hitch climber and srt at my own disposal. My GF blind eyes it cause he doesn't have a clue but if something goes wrong I won't be covered. Any suggestions on how to fight the man?
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Sounds ludicrous. Man, that's a classic example of how an "organization" gets dumber and dumber the bigger it gets. Working for Asplund no doubt has its advantages too. I hope that silliness changes for you.
 
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