Unicender w/ Barrel Attachment

On March 11, 2005 I was at TCIA Expo in Long Beach, CA. While facing the Sherrill booth a few rows over and talking with Bill Weber from Arborwear I noticed a different shiny thing on a rope. I excused myself and walked over. Morgan had a crowd around him and was showing off the Unicender.

From the first moment I saw it I new that the future of tree climbing that I'd been predicting was starting right there.

The next morning I got Morgan and Denny Moorehouse together for breakfast. Denny complemented Morgan on his clever design.

This is hardly 'new fangled' anymore. The Uni has gone through some changes and is now produced by a very respected company.

Here's a pic of Morgan on that day.
 

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I can't lie I have busted myself in the face a couple times. Even drew blood once. Been a long time though. You learn to stay clear of things that hurt. It's been a while since I've sliced my wrist with a handsaw too. If you keep slapping yourself there is a problem.
 
All I'm saying is having that much metal in such close proximity to your face might be a good reason to encapsulate the device in a kinder gentler material?

Like maybe a high density foam football you can insert either hand into to activate the device?

I used to sport a long handlebar mustache, until that inevitable day when it came a little too close to my three fingered monkey fist, got sucked up into it, ripping one side of my mustache out by the roots, and I too was a cursing bloody mess, who'd learned yet another valuable lesson the hard way, as usual.

Live and learn!

jomoco
 
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On March 11, 2005 I was at TCIA Expo in Long Beach, CA. While facing the Sherrill booth a few rows over and talking with Bill Weber from Arborwear I noticed a different shiny thing on a rope. I excused myself and walked over. Morgan had a crowd around him and was showing off the Unicender.

From the first moment I saw it I new that the future of tree climbing that I'd been predicting was starting right there.

The next morning I got Morgan and Denny Moorehouse together for breakfast. Denny complemented Morgan on his clever design.

This is hardly 'new fangled' anymore. The Uni has gone through some changes and is now produced by a very respected company.

Here's a pic of Morgan on that day.

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Thanks Tom for that bit of history.
Im really considering going with the Uni. Ive been humming and hawing for a bit now about taking the SRT plunge and this latest development for the UNI is really making it look like the best 'all-in-one' Ascender Descender to get. As miuch as I like the look and idea of the RW, and the HH as well, the Uni is looking like the one to beat.
What do you guys think, is the Uni a solid choice for a DDRT vet looking to spread his SRT wings ?
 
Climbed on the barrel today and i dont think it is any better than the RW. My buddy got one from morgan and we have been giving it a go. The Rw is sweet because of the gap between it and the uni allowing for one handed control. Also not being able to clip into the top of the uni is annoying. Only my thoughts, maybe others will like it.
 
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... Ive been humming and hawing for a bit now about taking the SRT plunge... What do you guys think, is the Uni a solid choice for a DDRT vet looking to spread his SRT wings ?

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Take the plunge! The Uni is a great tool and was my first introduction into the SRWP arena. Even though fine control with the Uni seems to baffle some climbers, I found the tool was easier to master than the technique.

But with that said, do not rule out the RW or HH. They have a large following for a reason. These days I use the Hitch Hiker for most every tree I do. Out of the three, it fits my climbing style and requirements the best.

With the right tool and an understanding of how to utilize SRWP I have not found the need to use nor have missed DdRT.
 
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Yeah...Treebing has a cushy life...includes winning the GUTSS event at Charlotte!

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been thinking about this. At the Charlotte comp, GUTTS was instead of a footlock event. People could choose however they wanted to reach 50 feet, footlocking, body-thrusting, SRT ascent etc. Back In September I had my fastest ever 50 foot footlock time at 16 seconds at the ITCC. That time will probably never be repeated by me and was a full second faster than my previous fastest. It required a lot of focus. I was exhausted at the end of the climb.

In charlotte For 50 feet SRT with a rope runner, I knocked a full three seconds off of that time... down to 13 seconds, almost a full second faster than the world record footlock time. I could have come down and done it twice, maybe a third time. I could do it again right now or tomorrow as well. I dont know if it will make a good competition in the future because it so dang easy unlike foot locking which requires a lot of skill and training. It might be a somewhat boring event although maybe a super star could break ten seconds?
 
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Climbed on the barrel today and i dont think it is any better than the RW. My buddy got one from morgan and we have been giving it a go. The Rw is sweet because of the gap between it and the uni allowing for one handed control. Also not being able to clip into the top of the uni is annoying. Only my thoughts, maybe others will like it.

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Was it mid-line attachable? If it gives improved control, why can't you use one hand, even without the space?
 
It is midline attachable. Maybe with more practice one hand operation would be more fluid. I couldnt find the sweet spot though. I always felt i should maintain control with a belay.
 
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I always felt i should maintain control with a belay.

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this is a basic principle of rope work that arbos don't abide by...even if they think that they'd Dudes hehehhehe

A self belay should be incorporated into treework, its pretty standard in other rope disciplines.

This evening I talked with Morgan. He and I have both heard reports of people not finding the sweet spot as well as people who find it right away. What I've found is that for some people the gradient for friction only needs to be 1-10 with single digit increments. For most climbers though a gradient of 1-100 is needed to find the same sweet spot. Its just the way it is. Kind of like the car manufacturers say...YMMV...your mileage may vary.
 
I think its hilarious to see that level of production mixed with innapropriate configuration... "Frank, make a fancy looking video, but dont consult anyone that has used this thing...OK?"
 
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I think its hilarious to see that level of production mixed with innapropriate configuration... "Frank, make a fancy looking video, but dont consult anyone that has used this thing...OK?"

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Me too and I'm not trying to make fun of anyone or company but it is so typical for the disconnect...they give the product to sales and say, "make it look cool so we can sell lots of them". I just found it funny.
How many times have you seen a product in a catalog and the picture is upside down.......again, kind of funny but I can just see some guy at his desk in sales and gets the Uni and thinks, "what in the heck is this but it is pretty and shinny so we can work with that".
 
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Canyon rescue is no joke. What those guys do is pretty technical and impressive.

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Its rope work.
Most rope disciplines are pretty technical and impressive too me. Including tree climbing.
It can be overcomplicated, and especially overgeared just like anything else.
Ask a rescue vet and most will tell you they can do the same thing with 80% less gear, like they used to in the old days, and it will be faster.

Rescue Response sells gear, thank god they dont do rescues, obviously given their videos, this is a good thing.
Manufacturers figured out, about fifteen years ago that people who do this sort of of work nowadays, arbos included, are usually gear whores, they will buy something because they think it might come in handy, as opposed to buying gear for a specific purpose.
Its called marketing and it works, this forum is a shining example of it, look at all the gear people on here buy and use it once, if ever.
 
Compared to floating a litter out and down into a canyon, sending a tech down and then bringing the tech andthe package back up, our climbing systems are elementary..
 
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