Michoacán

jawbone

jawbone

Location
Hagerstown
I’m looking to buy a new rope and eye & eye to use with the Michoacán friction hitch. I’ll be using it with the hitch climber. I’ve read where certain climbing lines and friction cord don’t work well together. What rope and friction cord combination are you guys having success with and also what length of cord seems to work best for you? Thanks
 
Height , weight, srt or Ddrt, pruning or removals.?What type of trees are you typically in and how large do they get?
 
I can't offer much in the way of what works and what doesn't, as I'm still figuring that out myself -- but there are ways to get "sample packs" of different kinds of hitch cord that you can play with on your own -- such as http://www.treestuff.com/store/catalog.asp?category_id=127&item=11163 or http://www.wesspur.com/prusiks/prusik-kits.html

You can then try the different types, with different friction hitches, and just tie the ends. Find a cord type and length that works, then you can confidently order sewn / spliced eye-eyes. Getting the sample pack of cord is likely to be less expensive than just buying a bunch of different eye-eyes because you're not paying for all the labor to make the eyes. I'm planning to get one of these sample packs next time I can justify ordering more stuff.

For reference, I'm currently using 10mm Armor-Prus on either Sampson Blue Streak or New England Hi-Vee, DRT with Blake's hitch. It works but seemed to bind up more than I'd like on the Hi-Vee -- but as I said I'm still figuring this out myself. Now that the weather is getting nicer, I can start to gather more data ;)
 
Jem4417 said:
Height , weight, srt or Ddrt, pruning or removals.?What type of trees are you typically in and how large do they get?
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5’ 10” 200# ddrt. I’m removing more than I’m pruning. I’m in Indiana, we have a lot of Shag bark hickory (which is what I’m removing now), walnut, maple, pine, ash. Some can be decent size but mostly around 3’-4’ diameter at the base.
Semifnordic I didn’t think about buying different size cordage and making my own.
 
That’s right around my size I’d do 11 mil velocity with 8mil hrc. The velocity is so static that sit back is not an issue and it has good abrasion resistance. Also it’s very light so passing it around the tree is easy. It’s a little tougher to grip so if your looking to save the hands 11 mil blaze is an alternative but not as stiff and tough. Hrc,contrary to its treestuff description, I find, burns up pretty easy and glazes but it catches every time and slack tends very smooth. I may just bomb out too unnecessarily so if treated nicely it should last for a good amount of time. It also smells the best after it burns a little on a fast repel
 
Jem4417 said:
That’s right around my size I’d do 11 mil velocity with 8mil hrc. The velocity is so static that sit back is not an issue and it has good abrasion resistance. Also it’s very light so passing it around the tree is easy. It’s a little tougher to grip so if your looking to save the hands 11 mil blaze is an alternative but not as stiff and tough. Hrc,contrary to its treestuff description, I find, burns up pretty easy and glazes but it catches every time and slack tends very smooth. I may just bomb out too unnecessarily so if treated nicely it should last for a good amount of time. It also smells the best after it burns a little on a fast repel
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Jem4417 do you use the velocity hot or cool?
 
12 or 16 strand are generally longer wearing when just using crotches. For double eye hitch cords when using 1/2" rope you'll want a 10mm cord. As mentioned earlier, it's best to start with tied eyes so that you can dial in the length, to match the rope you use.
 
@Brocky Ah, thanks, makes sense -- I finally got a chance to try out some different configurations this weekend. Using the same 10mm armor-prus, but distel instead of blake's, it was much more responsive -- almost too touchy the first time I tied it. Time to keep tweaking!
 
For natural crotch Samson 1/2" blue streak works well with a 30"long 10mm Beeline grizzly splice prussik cord. I did a lot of experimentation and that was my best combo back when I climbed with a hitch climber pulley. I tried a lot of different knots and found that the michoacan was the best overall knot for reliable grip, easy slack tending, and minimal setback. I am the same weight as you so if you use that combo the way I have it set up in the photo, it will save a lot of time and money experimenting. The negative with the michoacan is that one spot on the prussik cord burns sooner than the rest of the cord so inspect it often20180407_063017.webp shopping.webp 20180407_063017.webp shopping.webp . Another thing I used to do was get a small pvc T socket that my 1/2" blue streak rope just barely fit through and put it above my prussik hitch so I had a larger area to grip when descending. I'm sorry it is not in the photo. They are cheap and sold at just about any hardware store. I now do my drt climbing with a zig zag and 11.5 mm poison ivy rope. The zig zag has reliable grip, minimal setback, very easy slack tending, and self tending when there is enough rope weight below the zig zag. Overall, the best drt climbing system available at present in my opinion.
 
@delimbinator; Really great post! Welcome to the TreeBuzz forum, in spite of the fact you've been a member for awhile. I just don't think I've read you before.

I know a lot of old-school climbers really love the Zig-Zag. I'm just wondering whether or not you've gotten your feet wet using SRT techniques yet? You might like it if you haven't yet tried it. I think Reg Coates credits it with prolonging his career. Thanks for posting, and please stick around and jump on in!

Tim
 
I do not post very often but I have learned a lot from tree buzz through the years. Yes, I climb srt but I am not a srt only climber . I am open to learn and change to any gear or method that will enable me to be more efficient and productive. There are positives and negatives to drt and srt so I let the circumstances dictate which method I employ. On the same job site I might ascend a removal with my wraptor and remove all the limbs drt with a zig zag and switch over to srt with my hitch hiker to work down the trunk. Then trim another tree srt. What I didn't mention in my post was that I bought a rope wrench and climbed srt as well with that system years ago. I hope they develop the zigzag to go srt also. I decided to post because I remember the frustration I experienced with prussik cord and rope combos back when the hitch climber pulley came out and numerous types of hitch cords were being made. Another climber I know broke his leg when his prussik knot didn't grab so it can be very dangerous to experiment on your own without advise from someone with experience in that area. Seeing what the other guys on tree buzz were doing helped me figure out what would work best for me and I owe the same courtesy to others to share what I have learned. I am a big fan of tree buzz. Thanks for your friendly comments!
 
delimbinator said:
. . . I hope they develop the zigzag to go srt also. I decided to post because I remember the frustration I experienced with prussik cord and rope combos back when the hitch climber pulley came out and numerous types of hitch cords were being made. . . .
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I have been using my ZigZag for both Ddrt and SRT. For SRT, I just slap my rope wrench above it and I use the saddle bridge biner in the rubber lined hole, not in the swivel. Same biner holds the ends of the RW tether.
 
I hadn't thought of rigging it that way. I tried it with the saddle biner in the swivel. It worked but seemed to pull the zigzag out of alignment some so I didn't climb on it. I'll try that way and see how it looks. Thanks for tip. Just wish they would make the zigzag ( and rate it ) for either application. I wouldn't mind using the zigzag in a drt loop configuration at times also. Considering that, It just reminds me what a brilliant idea the hitch climber pulley and rope wrench were and still are. Give me the zigzag chain on the hitch climber pulley and I would be happy.
 
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