New Climber's First Rigging Gear

T

TreeRookie

Location
Vancouver
Hello All,
I am relatively new to the arboriculture industry. I have been looking at getting a block and new rope as I have been using 3 strand and natural crotches. I am stuck between getting the ISC 1/2" and Samson 1/2" bull rope, or the ISC 5/8" medium block and Husky 9/16" bull rope.

I was thinking the larger rope/ block would be more "future proof", as I won't be taking large weights at first, but will start to eventually. However, the smaller rope/block are cheaper and probably enough for me.
 
I have two setups, one for 1/2" ropes, and one for 5/8" ropes. I bought the stuff for the larger setup first, and I now realize that was a mistake. I use the 1/2" setup nearly all the time, and the 5/8" setup only occasionally. To do it over, I would have put together the 1/2" setup first, and then started buying the 5/8" stuff as I went along, with the money from whatever work I can pick up. Taking bigger pieces might speed things up, but it takes more experience and requires making fewer mistakes. I think the confidence you gain from working with the 1/2" system and smaller pieces will better prepare you for working with bigger ropes and bigger wood. Also, I sometimes work alone, and I can handle the 1/2" setup by myself when necessary. It's time consuming, but doable.

This is, of course, an opinion... based entirely on my own perspective, which is admittedly a bit strange.
 
I love my little isc 1/2" mini block,combined with amsteel loopies its the lightest setup,I'm rockin some 1/2" yale dynasorb to boot and i do some neg blocking with it no prob(within wll) which is 1,050 @ a 10:1 ratio,thats not bad,can drop a 200-250lb piece of wood with a good lil drop,but i rig my shnit up super tight and go to the limit of my 10:1 factor with static weight,i always used stable braid prior,little 16 strand is still in the bag for other times. I also have my heavier rigging setup which as a rookie,assuming you are being trained properly,you deff will not need. Imo
 
20X28 X-Rigging Rings + 1/2" stable braid / or True Blue line. cheapest and easiest way to go and still be able to do ALOT of work with. you can tie knots to the rings if you just buy individual rings, or you can by the sling set ups. keep in mind that it is suggested that you should not run rigging lines thru a single ring as your terminal rigging point.
lotta quality stuff out there, cant go wrong. good luck be safe
 
Theres always your 10:1 wll to back u up,that's plenty,you just need to be aware of dynamic forces,that's for any rigging scenario of course.
 
TreeRookie said:
Thanks for the input guys. What I'm worried about is if I accidentally drop a piece that is 300+ pounds, I want to ensure the block will not break.
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Breaking a block would be quite a feat! Or any gear for that matter. The tree will most likely fail long before the gear.

The tree is the unknown variable.

Read some of the articles on this site to get a better understanding of how to setup your rigging system. "The Art and Science of Practical Rigging" is a great resource. Also as said above keep in mind a safety ratio when building your system...
 
I guess I should add a disclaimer to my above post...

I'm not trying to say that gear cannot break, only that if you are working within your safety ratio this should not happen. A lot of folks use a 5:1 for rigging, a 10:1 is a safe bet...
 
TreeRookie said:
Hello All,
I am relatively new to the arboriculture industry. I have been looking at getting a block and new rope as I have been using 3 strand and natural crotches. I am stuck between getting the ISC 1/2" and Samson 1/2" bull rope, or the ISC 5/8" medium block and Husky 9/16" bull rope.

I was thinking the larger rope/ block would be more "future proof", as I won't be taking large weights at first, but will start to eventually. However, the smaller rope/block are cheaper and probably enough for me.
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I strongly agree with the previous post about reading " The art and science of practical rigging" This book will give you an idea on how to start rigging. With experience you will probably run multiple rigging techniques and develop your own style. 1/2 in double braid is always a great investment. You will need dead eye slings in multiple withs and lenthes and a Porto wrap or two.
 
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For rigging 10:1 Generally 20:1 in extreme situations where expensive property or lives may be in danger. Life support has a minimum rating of 5,000 lbs

Different folks Different strokes, with the ratios in place you get proper life from your gear and have that wiggle room for that time when the novice miscalculates his load or his dynamics and accidentally shocks the system beyond what he anticipated. That way its no big deal right?

Of course if your are using knots you need to be aware of the strength loss.
 
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Sgriff said:
a8fa8aef3b18036449635116bb3d9893.jpg


For rigging 10:1 Generally 20:1 in extreme situations where expensive property or lives may be in danger. Life support has a minimum rating of 5,000 lbs

Different folks Different strokes, with the ratios in place you get proper life from your gear and have that wiggle room for that time when the novice miscalculates his load or his dynamics and accidentally shocks the system beyond what he anticipated. That way its no big deal right?

Of course if your are using knots you need to be aware of the strength loss.
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Good write up thanks
 
I have a 1/2" tenex loopie with 2 lg xrrs it slings 3"-6' pieces and runs smooth on small stuff and helps you hold medium stuff easier than a block. I'm like Simpleiowaguy and run a samson 1/2" db rigging line for 99.5% of my rigging and that sling covers that.
I have bigger toys for bigger and intricate stuff but simple and straight forward that's wear I go.
 
Sgriff said:
a8fa8aef3b18036449635116bb3d9893.jpg


For rigging 10:1 Generally 20:1 in extreme situations where expensive property or lives may be in danger. Life support has a minimum rating of 5,000 lbs

Different folks Different strokes, with the ratios in place you get proper life from your gear and have that wiggle room for that time when the novice miscalculates his load or his dynamics and accidentally shocks the system beyond what he anticipated. That way its no big deal right?

Of course if your are using knots you need to be aware of the strength loss.
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Maybe this should be it's own thread but where do you guys draw the line between regular rigging work and extreme rigging? If your rigging is communicated and planned any system I use would seem to me to be regular to me at the time. Even big wood if planned and you use 1" db to get the 10:1 it would be thought out so may not seem extreme or multiple ropes and so on.

Not trying to disagree with being extra safe but I was told by my my first teacher if everything is thought through done right and seems anti climactic then that's when you are doing things right.

Disclaimer: These thoughts don't apply to Xman and the extreme arborist crew, because everything they do is, by definition, extreme, lol.
 
I think if you weren't able to get the drop out of your system, and are knowingly gonna put a large dynamic load on the system ,would be a good time to practice that 20:1,or if you're rigging giant trunk wood and don't know how to judge the weight ,honestly I never noticed that 20:1 statement and have never consciously practiced that guideline.

like you stated,an understanding of your ropes and loads is gonna make all the difference between a great day and a rope failure , my first teachers went by the three point contact guidelines for climbing and one hand chainsaws of all sizes ,does not mean they were/are the know all source of info,these days im showing them progressive techniques, it seems that they know all when you're learning though lol.
TreeRookie said:
Thanks for the input everyone. Is the ISC 1/2" block better than the 1/2" mini, or should I go for the mini?
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As far as the isc blocks go,the mini is nice and tiny, with a 1,900lb wll, the other version being bit bulkier also has a higher wll of over 4,000 lbs; its also 1lb vs 3.5lbs for their weight. I don't know what kind of 1/2in line your using but,if it has a 10:1 wll of greater than 1,000 lbs let me know lol, the yale dynasorb has wll 1,050.
 
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How much stronger do you like your rigging sling combo compared to your lines?

One of my favorite slings I have I made. It's samson 1/2" db same rope as my rigging line with a 1/2" ring with 1 1/2" inside dia. and a big 1/2" quick link on the other end. Each is fishermened on as a rr fs.

Ring is 1100 lbs swl
Rope at 10:1 has 800 lbs swl - 5:1 has 1600 lbs swl
Quick link is the strongest part don't remember the #

So as a basket (5:1) the rope 1600 lbs and the lighter ring # make it 2200 lbs so I say its good for 1000 lbs of work and thats extra safe but it'll hold 1500 lbs.
 
You must of course consider the strength loss from your knots.
Your block/sling/ring is gonna get 2x the weight of the load,that's without a dynamic factor,you want your rigging rope to be the weakest link. I get more critical with my larger setup,the block and sling are much much stronger than my line,by well over 1,000 lbs when im using 5/8 stable braid.
 
Sgriff said:
You must of course consider the strength loss from your knots.
Your block/sling/ring is gonna get 2x the weight of the load,that's without a dynamic factor,you want your rigging rope to be the weakest link. I get more critical with my larger setup,the block and sling are much much stronger than my line,by well over 1,000 lbs when im using 5/8 stable braid.
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Yes, with my big toys I'm pickier, this system I use for limbs, etc. light maybe a couple hundred at most.
 
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