New Grapnel

No, I thought I would try limb walking with it first.
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Tom;
The overall length is 12".
The aluminum flat bars(wings) are 3/16" thick by 5/8"wide by 4"long.
The shank is 3/8"square.
The wings are bolted through with 3/16" bolts and bottom out against the center shank when deployed.
The wings will flop out with gravity alone.
I would easily rate it at 400-500 lbs.
It will only be used as support for walking up limbs and rope retrieval, I would expect to place not much more than 25lbs. maximum pressure on it at any given time.
 
"It will only be used as support for walking up limbs and rope retrieval, I would expect to place not much more than 25lbs. maximum pressure on it at any given time."
Sorry, but what possible good can come from using this device. It looks like it can do a lot of cambium damage. Is it supposed to provide some counter balance to the climber that a simple rope cannot? And when dealing with conifers would it get all gummed up with pitch?

Matt
 
Matt;
My primary intended use will be to pull myself up leaning trees and limbs that have fallen across a communications cable.
The trees I climb are for removal.
A simple fix for cambium damage would be to put plastic tubing over the wings.
What doesn't get gummed up with pitch when working conifers?
 
Kevin,
Do you weigh less than 25 pounds? And won't the grapnel arms not deploy if gummed up. It seems to me that it would be much safer to rely on the old, proven method of pulling yourself up with a taught line, or a blake hitch than depending on a grapnel to hold you. Not to mention a potentially electricly charged grapnel.

Matt
 
It's not a substitute for a safety.
A rope by itself works fine but the grapnel is much quicker.
If and when it becomes too gummed up with pitch then I'll have to take ten minutes and clean it.
There isn't any power on these lines, this is a sheathed trans Canada communications cable.
I seldom have an overhead tie in, this is like having a third hand for balance and to aid forward motion.
 
I can see a place for grabs, chocks and hooks in tree climbing. Sure, there's limitations that need to be weighted against experience.

Stop and think about it though. We tie into crotches that we can't say, for sure, how strong they are. Rigging is even more off the scale. Judgement is needed.

If this is a primary support, then the stakes are much higher. Using it as a secondary support to move laterally is a little different.

With the strength of alloys, I could see something like this being really small but super strong.

Keep up the innovation.

Tom
 
If you are an average size man (175 lbs or so) then I could see where the load on the grapnel would be upwards of 75-100 lbs in most situations. From the looks of it, I do not see a problem with that. Heck, the little rivet holding the sheave in my Fixe pulley is rated at almost 5000 lbs.
 
Kevin
There have been cases of communications cable becoming energized from accidents sometimes miles away where high voltage power lines are in contact with communications cable.
Matt
 
Very smart. Some guys that I've talked with say that it takes too much time/energy to be that safe. Bull. It takes too much time/energy to rehabilitate from an electrical shock injury, that is of course if you get the chance.
 
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