Wesspur beginner's kit vs piecing gear out?

Speedcrab said:
I'm looking to learn to climb for recreation and possibly more in the future but am in no hurry.
I've got a tall oak in my backyard and plenty of trees (NC Triangle area).
I've looked into what I need and it seems to vary a lot.
Besides harness, ppe(helmet, glasses, gloves), rope with bag, purisk cord, throw line and bag, positioning lanyard, carabiners(min 5?).
What else do I need?

The wesspur beginner kit doesn't seem bad for the price but I see in Treestuff they have the 2018 S light for a nice price though it does drive the overall price up considerably.
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avoid the sequoia s r t , I found that. the waist tapes don't do a good job and I've gotten tired of it slipping down and put clips on the ends.
also avoid using a narrow leg strap design ( no pads). this results in compressed nerves--John
 
john rochester said:
avoid the sequoia s r t , I found that. the waist tapes don't do a good job and I've gotten tired of it slipping down and put clips on the ends.
also avoid using a narrow leg strap design ( no pads). this results in compressed nerves--John
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The Sequoia SRT works great, never had the waist belts slip on me. You have to double them back and tuck them into the elastic holding loops though, as that’s what those loops are for.
 
moss said:
Every climber has a pile of gear they'll never use except the first time they used it and said "Nope". I'm also in the "Piece it out" camp. Certainly talking to Gap Arborist or Wesspur and doing a custom kit is a great idea too.

Harness, helmet, rope, throwline (go with 2mm or less), 2 throwbags (try a 10 and a 12 oz), 4 double/locking D shaped carabiners, a 15' piece of 11mm double-braid arb line, a CMI Micropulley and 8' of Epicord 9mm (make two split-tails) and two Dan House rope sleeves.

Climb DdRT or MRS with a Blake's Hitch to get off the ground, keep it simple. Build a lanyard with the 15' 11mm line, use the Epicord for the friction hitch on the lanyard. Use a 5 gallon bucket for your throwline storage. Tree Motion S Light is a good choice. If you go less expensive you'll probably upgrade later and will have a second "guest harness".

See who has the Dan House sleeve, super simple to install and retrieve cambium/rope protection. Use the tail of your rope as a second DdRT system with the second sleeve.

There are a lot details to climbing safely, keep your variables low, be conservative on your rope anchor choices, keep the rope at the limb/trunk union when you set lines.

Ask questions on the 'Buzz. Reach out and find rec and pro climbers in your area. Take it all in small bite-size chunks, grow your capabilities and gear collection as you learn from experience why you need a specific piece of new gear.
-AJ
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For the Dan House sleeve which size do I need for a 11.7 rope?
 
Some more questions.

1)Should I get four different styles/types of D carabiners to tell them apart?

2)Would four caritools be enough initially?

3)I went with the singing rock vs the petzl ones

4) Does Auto-locking mean they're double locking?
 
Speedcrab said:
Some more questions.

1)Should I get four different styles/types of D carabiners to tell them apart?

2)Would four caritools be enough initially?

3)I went with the singing rock vs the petzl ones

4) Does Auto-locking mean they're double locking?
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1) Buy whatever you like, all the same, all different, doesn’t really matter - if you have limited/no climbing experience, buying carabiners with different locking styles may be a good idea to figure out what you like.

2) I climb with none, but four sounds excessive. One or two should be plenty for an average climber. You don’t have to carry every piece of gear you own every time you go up.

3) Good for you?

4) Auto locking means they lock by themselves. Double locking means that two different motions are required to unlock them. Double locking carabiners are (nearly?) always auto locking, but auto locking carabiners are frequently only singe locking.
 
Reach said:
1) Buy whatever you like, all the same, all different, doesn’t really matter - if you have limited/no climbing experience, buying carabiners with different locking styles may be a good idea to figure out what you like.

2) I climb with none, but four sounds excessive. One or two should be plenty for an average climber. You don’t have to carry every piece of gear you own every time you go up.

3) Good for you?

4) Auto locking means they lock by themselves. Double locking means that two different motions are required to unlock them. Double locking carabiners are (nearly?) always auto locking, but auto locking carabiners are frequently only singe locking.
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It is really confusing at first mixing Rock Exotica's unconventional release motions auto-lockers with "regular" auto lockers.

My understanding of auto-lockers acceptable for arb tree climbing is "double lock, three motions to open" which is why they're called "triple action, double lockers".
-AJ
 
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Agree with Reach on the Caritools. My gripe with that type of harness hanger in general is that they grab onto every little bit of brush while I'm climbing. I have a couple of standard non-locking carabiners affixed to my TreeMotion belt, they have a lower profile than the Caritool and are effective for hanging things on.
-AJ
 
3/4" for your climbing line but I don't care for the metal sleeves - I find they don't stay in position as well as leather, and they really hurt when they slide down the line and hit you, lol. A ring and ring style can be used climbing SRS, so consider that too.

I would stick with ovals, and one brand, except if you're using one on a lanyard; there I would use a D because they are slightly easier to pull through a branch union.

One caritiool should be enough, and a small one at that, to avoid snagging too many twigs. Don't care for the Singing Rock version either - works loose. I think they're for saddles that don't have caritiool slots.

Auto-locking means they will lock when they close without having to use your fingers to twist the gate to lock it, like a screw gate carabiner. Auto-locking can be single lock/double action or double lock/triple action, which is what you want.
 
Tuebor said:
3/4" for your climbing line but I don't care for the metal sleeves - I find they don't stay in position as well as leather, and they really hurt when they slide down the line and hit you, lol. A ring and ring style can be used climbing SRS, so consider that too.

I would stick with ovals, and one brand, except if you're using one on a lanyard; there I would use a D because they are slightly easier to pull through a branch union.

One caritiool should be enough, and a small one at that, to avoid snagging too many twigs. Don't care for the Singing Rock version either - works loose. I think they're for saddles that don't have caritiool slots.

Auto-locking means they will lock when they close without having to use your fingers to twist the gate to lock it, like a screw gate carabiner. Auto-locking can be single lock/double action or double lock/triple action, which is what you want.
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You clearly used the 1/2" ID pipes ;-) It's so funny, I can't stand the rope on leather squeak a leather cambium saver makes per climber pull on ascent.

Typically a new user of the Dan House sleeve only gets their finger stung once when they're dropping the pipe down the rope either accidentally or on purpose. When I hear the whizzing sound of a pipe coming down the line when I'm taking the saver out at the end of a climb I simply lift the rope a foot or two to create a slight belly in the line which catches the sleeve nicely.

The trick to keeping a Dan House sleeve in place after you've positioned it where you want it (for smooth barked limbs, if there's any bark texture not an issue) is maintain slight tension on both legs of your line, then footlook on the doubled line and load it up. That will settle the sleeve into place.
-AJ
 
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Tuebor said:
I'd stick with the Blue Moon but go up to 150' length. Add a spliced or sewn eye to one end. Likewise, I would move up to 200' for at least one of the throwlines. Switch out the 10 oz for a 14 oz weight. Have something to keep your throwline in?

Epicord is there, try searching again: Epicord Go with the 9.3 mm with two stitched eyes. You'll have pick the length; 26" - 30" depending on the hitch you want to use.

I see you have the micropulley combo, so you are climbing MRS to start with? I would consider a DMM Hitchclimber pulley instead. More versatile and can be used with a Rope Wrench if you decide to go SRS in the future.

For a lanyard, I would assemble one using this combo as an adjuster on 12'-15' rope of your choice with a sewn eye on each end. Some of the ropes in the lanyard combos are good choices: the HTP Addiction, Lava, Sterling TriTech, Ocean Poly. The hipSTAR Flex system is great but expensive; you could buy just the replacement lanyard they offer - stick with the thinner 11.5mm. I'd stay away from mechanical adjusters to start with.

Friction saver if you are climbing MRS?

Carabiners?

Foot ascender?

Caritool for your harness to carry stuff?
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So I accidently ordered 26' of epicord with two spliced eyes. Tried to contact the warehouse before the splicing Department got to it but it seems it's too late.
 
Speedcrab said:
So I accidently ordered 26' of epicord with two spliced eyes. Tried to contact the warehouse before the splicing Department got to it but it seems it's too late.
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Crap! Kinda led you astray with that link. That was for buying cord by the foot, but they have pre-made eye & eye cords:

Teufelberger 9.3mm EpiCord Sewn Eye & Eye

Eye Slings & Tails

If they really won't let you back out of that order, you could probably sell it here on the TreeBay section and cut your loss. Someone will buy it and splice their own eye & eyes. Or tell them to make 12 eye & eyes out of it, and I will buy them from you.
 
Speedcrab said:
So I accidently ordered 26' of epicord with two spliced eyes. Tried to contact the warehouse before the splicing Department got to it but it seems it's too late.
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Cut em down and use a poachers knot on one end to get the length you want. Not as streamlined as sewn eyes but totally usable
 
I use zero caritools. Caritools are expensive for what they are, and do exactly 1 job.




When i changed my MCRS pads, i didn't replace the cordage gear loops. I don't miss them.

There are two large rings, and numerous small D's for the suspenders. Plenty for hanging most things, including a blood stopper.





A couple slings and biners will carry everything and be used for many things, and you will never overload them on your saddle.

Last week, I carried up my rig-n-ring, double ring (beast??) Sling, 9/16" rope, a couple slings/ biners (always), hand saw, and top- handle chainsaw without issue.

A "paddle" biner (taped- open, most always, as a hook) is a good, "short"-hanging point for a breakaway chainsaw lanyard.



Beware gear- marketing.
You can always spend a ton of money quickly.



Buy a top-quality harness, and adjust it to your body, as needed. Experiment with it.
 
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