What do you need to ascend SRT with no arm use?

[Tom Dunlap]

Not dumpster diving isn't any more likely than not being an arborist!

 

[Burrapeg]

Thanks for the link

I pulled a bunch of Nylon cutting boards out of a dumpster. Great material for tough slippery rollers

Old skateboard wheels also make great rollers if you have a way of turning them down a bit (friend with a wood lathe, etc.). They have roller bearings that fit a 5/16 inch bolt or shaft. Right off the junked board, they are too large in diameter to be very useful but are just plastic and easy to turn down. Might even be able to do it in a drill press somehow. My first DIY chest roller used one. I also had made a double roller that used just the roller bearings themselves out of the discarded skateboard wheels. I still have this second one and can get a photo of it if I dig it out of the shed.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

I've got a bunch of Roller Blade wheel bearings. Having a lot of the small multi-drawer storage boxes makes it easy to keep track of these things for the day they're repurposed

 

[FreeFallin]

... us older guys who have gotten rather beefier above the belt and thus top heavy...

I prefer the term girthy

My solution was a 2" adjustable webbing sling with a micro pulley I made, that clips to the back of my harness. I still use it for long climbs like in forest trees, but I found my arm strength increased enough that it is overkill for short climbs. You can see it here, I just let it hang once I reach the canopy.

 

[Burrapeg]

. . . I also had made a double roller that used just the roller bearings themselves out of the discarded skateboard wheels. I still have this second one and can get a photo of it if I dig it out of the shed.

Found it!

 

[Crimsonking]

After reading about these chest roller ideas, I decided to see what I could do with what I have. Clipping the pinto that stays on my saddle to my weaver chestie seems like it could work. Haven’t used it yet, just toying in the office. I just need to be able to shorten my bridge a bit on ascent to keep my hitch from being collapsible if I pause to cut during my initial ascent.

I like using gear I already take with me and won’t be needed for one task while being used for another, i.e.- ddrt redirect vs srt retrievable redirect vs chest roller. Different functions at different times of the climb, no extra gear.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

If there are two uses for a piece of gear it halves the cost and weight...on and on!

 

[Acerxharlowii]

So, I used diy chest harness with rope crossed into figure 8 shape. A quickie attached to this and micro pulley which was running the climbing rope. Extended bridge via webbing so I could run micro pulley underneath RR or Bulldog(tried both). Definitely made it less work for your arms and kept more vertical , but probably not as efficient as the pmi.

 

[Burrapeg]

. . . but probably not as efficient as the pmi.

Cheaper though! And the PMI is not easy to even find anymore. Only a few outfits still have any in stock.