Throwline or hook?

JTree

JTree

Participating member
Location
East Texas
Alright, it's past time I rig up something better for setting little traverse/positioning lines while in the tree. The way I see it, there's really only 2 options worth considering.

Throwline and either a grapnel or magnet

Or

A hook, whether it be epple, DMM, or whatever

Polling the collective:

If you are using throwline and a chaulkline reel for it, what chaulkline are you using? Anyone have a source for good magnets now that yoyo's currently occupied with other concerns? (Rooting for you buddy, I'll send you what little I can)

If you are using a hook, which one and what was the motivation of using that one over the others?
 
I use the Captain, it’s less involved than throwline and than pulling the rope through. But it is limited on the diameter of the branch, throw line for the win. It’s larger than others but is nicely balanced for retrieving. A throwline attached to the top of the hook allows even easier retrieval. The larger the chalk line reel the more line available, most can hold 70-80 feet.
Richard is still open for business, buying from him would also help I imagine.
 
Brocky said:
I use the Captain, it’s less involved than throwline and than pulling the rope through. But it is limited on the diameter of the branch, throw line for the win. It’s larger than others but is nicely balanced for retrieving. A throwline attached to the top of the hook allows even easier retrieval. The larger the chalk line reel the more line available, most can hold 70-80 feet.
Richard is still open for business, buying from him would also help I imagine.
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He's still open for business, but sadly most of his products are out of stock. His site says he's busy preparing to fight the good fight. Imma buy a HHX from him soon, as it seems he still has plenty of those. Need to post some seldom used gear in treebay to help fund the purchase or my wife may skin me alive.

Do you have much trouble getting the hook to come home? How does the throw line help retrieval? Tied to the top to provide a different spot to pull from?
 
Whipping the rope and twisting a firmer rope is usually all that’s needed for it to come off the branch. The throwline tied to the top only needs to be pulled, like a fifi hook, to rotate and pull it out off. Another way is to run the throwline over a branch or twig above the hook to lift it off and then lower the hook under control, rather than bombing it to the ground.
 
Am I rightfully worried about the safety of a throwhook? I'd not trust one to do a traverse where a failure would be catastrophic. The most I'd be ok with as far as throwhook usage goes would be for work positioning on limbwalks or double stems.
 
I bought a couple of the super magnets off eBay and encased them with large shrink tubing. They work great. Also I have been using a Captain Hook for a couple years. I am not sure why they are not rated OK for life support because they are certainly strong enough. I tested mine by lifting the front of my pickup with it using a chain hoist. The Hook never even felt it. Compare the visual strength of the hook and its little shackle with one of our swivels we hang from. The Hook details are just as beefy if not often more so. The integrity and angle of the limb you toss it around seems a lot more of an issue than the hook itself. One thing about the Hook to always remember is that they will slide sideways on a limb that slopes down. They don't grip the same way as a normal tight canopy TIP and that is about the only disadvantage I have experienced other than a limit on limb diameter. Same thing with a traverse on the hook, if the limb is slanted towards you. The Hook can slide out the limb as you put your weight on it. But this is not the fault of the Captain itself. It is very strong, CNC machined from solid billet aluminium.
 
Jan_ said:
Am I rightfully worried about the safety of a throwhook? I'd not trust one to do a traverse where a failure would be catastrophic. The most I'd be ok with as far as throwhook usage goes would be for work positioning on limbwalks or double stems.
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Lengthy traverses would be on a case by case basis regarding the hook. My main purpose in this is just as you've stated, vectoring out when the angle to TIP is less than ideal, and returning to near vertical of course after the work at the end of the walk is done. I doubt I'd ever feel comfortable in a situation where is the hook slipped it would be more than a decent knock against the bole of my TIP if the hook slipped.
 
Limb size isn't as much if an issue with the hook.. just flip a bight if rope so the hook hangs low, flip another bight, catch the hook with the rope, cinch tight. Take a bit if practice, but once mastered is ready

Or flip enough rope through you catch another branch that's smaller below the one you threw it over ;)
 
JTree said:
Do you use both and if so, which specific pieces do you use?
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Magnet and Yellow throwline grapple, and DMM hook.

It all depends, I do quite a bit of work on steep slopes/cliffs so getting the bag back after a line setting shot can be a chore or impossbile without the newtribe throwline grapple. Some times I'll use the magnet.. In tree use I tend to pull out the DMM hook quicker than the above.
 
Brocky said:
I use the Captain, it’s less involved than throwline and than pulling the rope through. But it is limited on the diameter of the branch, throw line for the win. It’s larger than others but is nicely balanced for retrieving. A throwline attached to the top of the hook allows even easier retrieval. The larger the chalk line reel the more line available, most can hold 70-80 feet.
Richard is still open for business, buying from him would also help I imagine.
Click to expand...

Hook is quicker/less trouble establishing an anchor compared to throwline. Light throwline with say 8oz weight is more effective for advancing when there are big vertical gaps between limbs. For east coast trees i’m not using in-tree throw line anymore, I’m “scramble climbing” to advance up or hooking to go sideways. Depends on your climbing style, I like to do a little “bouldering” to advance, with rope support in the mix. With SRT/SRS redirects on smaller upper branches it’s now possible to get further out on the outer crown and get good position to more easily move over to another tree or another part of the same tree. It’s easier now to make traverses happen without throw line in the mix.
-AJ
 
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I have done maybe a 30 foot traverse on a dmm captain hook. It was to another tree from a taller one up a hill. Would a hook failure have sucked? Yes, but not catastrophic. Doing a flat open air traverse is probably going to be a properly anchored maneuver for most climbers. The hook just needs to be in a good position, like a rope in a tree and that usually requires some practice with manipulation. Learning was super easy with the dmm one, I got the hang of it first time, flicking and twisting. It can be tough to throw it beyond 20'.
 
theatertech87 said:
Limb size isn't as much if an issue with the hook.. just flip a bight if rope so the hook hangs low, flip another bight, catch the hook with the rope, cinch tight. Take a bit if practice, but once mastered is ready
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This works great on large limbs, for sure, although the line needs to stay loaded once set since the hook is side loaded sort of awkward. If it goes slack any appreciable amount, I have had the hook instantly drop off the line. The tricky situation is if you hang a limb with the hook that may look OK for diameter at a distance but is actually very slightly too big so that the hook jams when you set it and yet it is not seated well enough to traverse safely. It can be a real PITA to flip it loose again. A number of times I have had to drop back down to the ground instead of traversing and set another rope into the tree with the stuck hook to go up and rescue it. All good practice I guess! I forget who uploaded it, but there is a funny youTube of Captain Hook fails, with lots of mumbling and cursing.
 
If one had a hook already in place on the end of a long lanyard, this might be very quick to implement. Is it retrievable by pulling the hook line?
 
My hook setup. Get out to where you have the hook set, unclip the hook and ddrt with the rope to get back if need be. 50 feet of rope in the bag, ready to deploy. Lots of uses for this. I would never bring throw line into a tree with me. Not because its an all around bad idea, just because it would not work well for me I think.
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RBJtree said:
My hook setup. Get out to where you have the hook set, unclip the hook and ddrt with the rope to get back if need be. 50 feet of rope in the bag, ready to deploy. Lots of uses for this. I would never bring throw line into a tree with me. Not because its an all around bad idea, just because it would not work well for me I think.
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What's the purpose of the short piece of rope attached to the hook as opposed to clipping in at the hook?
 
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