Look at the line launcher I found on Amazon

[Winchman]

Amazon.com : Innisle Slingshot Arborist Throwline Launcher with Trigger, High Precision Arborist Throw Line Launcher, Suitable for Tree Trimming, Hanging Christmas Lights and Hang Ham Radio Antennas : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : Innisle Slingshot Arborist Throwline Launcher with Trigger, High Precision Arborist Throw Line Launcher, Suitable for Tree Trimming, Hanging Christmas Lights and Hang Ham Radio Antennas : Sports & Outdoors

www.amazon.com

For less than the price of a replacement head and bungee for a Big Shot you get the whole kit with fiberglass pole, tensioning strap, a decent trigger, gloves, and a carrying bag. I've never heard of Innisle and the nothing pertinent showed up in a search. They're also selling lawn mower blade sharpeners on Amazon.

I'm tempted to order one just to see how crappy it is or if it's actually decent stuff at a bargain price.

 

[Bart_]

Interesting to see.

Sherrill patent on head and possibly pouch(?) or assembly

Forget who first introduced use of the archery trigger,

Tie down 2:1 rubber puller backer hooked to base of pole - was that Moss(?)

Advertisement grammar suggests chinese origin.


I'm not a fan of the trigger suspended in the air by pull back tension - unstable.

 

[Winchman]

I've been using a different style 2:1 tensioning system for several years. It has a pulley attached to the trigger and two prussic knots which I slide down the pole one at a time. I started out with a snap release and later changed to an archery release with trigger guard. I've never had an accidental release with either. I stopped using the snap releases because they were prone to break during the release, not while under tension.

 

[ghostice]

"Forget who first introduced use of the archery trigger,"
I think I first saw an archery trigger some years ago on ClimbingArborist when Dan was showing off his rig.

 

[Neill]

That is tempting

 

[Winchman]

Customer reviews weren't much help. There were only two written reviews...one five-star who seemed delighted and one one-star who couldn't get the bag unzipped.

The number in stock has dropped from 8 to 7, so someone recently bought one. There are similar items from other sellers being offered at prices from $90 to $107. One even offers a 3-year warranty.

 

[27RMT0N]

I'm pretty sure at this point Chinese factories are just making knock-offs of literally every item in existence. Some will be just fine, others trash. And they will be priced accordingly.

Just waiting for the half-price-china-version of the new ISC climbing device

 

[flushcut]

Don’t forget the $35 climb line at the bottom of the page.

 

[ATH]

I'm pretty sure at this point Chinese factories are just making knock-offs of literally every item in existence. Some will be just fine, others trash. And they will be priced accordingly.

...

That's my hesitancy in buying things like this...patent infringement. I'm guessing (with little actual basis in legal knowledge, so maybe I'm way off) that these factories know
A) it is difficult to bring suit across international borders
B) the value (to the original owner) of the product they are copying makes hiring lawyers to pursue such suits difficult (IOW: Notch nets ...I don't know, $200,000 selling Big Shots (???). They aren't going to spend $250,000 paying lawyers to maybe win a lawsuit.)
C) if the Chinese company feels the heat of the lawsuit, they just cease and desist, making pursuit of financial penalties more difficult "we stopped when you told us to"
D) if the suit comes, they fold up shop and disappear, likely aided by the CCP, so low probability of having to pay penalties for copyright or patent infringement.

All that to say: my buying that is probably supporting such tomfoolery....to save $100 on something that will last 20 years (rubber will need replaced, but the rest will last as long as it isn't abused). But I am cheap: If I was confident there were no patent infringements, I'd jump all over saving $100! (or even $20)

 

[Reach]

That's my hesitancy in buying things like this...patent infringement. I'm guessing (with little actual basis in legal knowledge, so maybe I'm way off) that these factories know
A) it is difficult to bring suit across international borders
B) the value (to the original owner) of the product they are copying makes hiring lawyers to pursue such suits difficult (IOW: Notch nets ...I don't know, $200,000 selling Big Shots (???). They aren't going to spend $250,000 paying lawyers to maybe win a lawsuit.)
C) if the Chinese company feels the heat of the lawsuit, they just cease and desist, making pursuit of financial penalties more difficult "we stopped when you told us to"
D) if the suit comes, they fold up shop and disappear, likely aided by the CCP, so low probability of having to pay penalties for copyright or patent infringement.

All that to say: my buying that is probably supporting such tomfoolery....to save $100 on something that will last 20 years (rubber will need replaced, but the rest will last as long as it isn't abused). But I am cheap: If I was confident there were no patent infringements, I'd jump all over saving $100! (or even $20)

I agree with you, I will not buy such knock offs because I disagree with the way the Chinese infringe upon patents. I would much rather spend a bit more to support a truly American company then to send my money to the CCP, supporting oppression and child labor and a regime that badly treats its people.

China does not respect the patterns of foreign nations, they only respect patents held by companies with Chinese factories periods. My father was VP for a large manufacturer years ago, they actually opened a small factory in China to stop the Chinese from making knock offs of their products. It was the only way to stop the patent infringement.

 

[Bart_]

Where did you come across a protected archery trigger? The one in the ad looks like the standard one in use, or a close copy of it.

I think use of the archery trigger goes right to the beginning of the big shot when Sherrill shut down the foldable slingshot head guy.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

The trigger had nothing to do with the lawsuit of the folding head

 

[Bart_]

Lazy grammar my bad I wasn't trying to connect the two topics except by timeline and less typing. Sorry. I seem to recall Moss going archery then wichard and he actually purchased a folding head right before the clamp down.

Sherrill can clamp down on the Amazon copy by pressure to Amazon distribution, no? I agree he's got little authority over chinese production.

Kind of odd how the new zigzag-like ascender is "tweaked" enough to evade patent problems yet the unique design of the folding head was not.

 

[Winchman]

Where can I find a pictures of the folding head Big Shot or Jeff Newman's Sidewinder if it's the same thing?