Advice on becoming a climber and kit in the UK

[Janner]

Hi, im at present being medically discharged from the Royal Marines and im due to start a ten week tree surgery for craftsmen course at Merrist Wood college Guildford in November. I unfortunatly have no prior experience or background knowledge of arborism, but im dead keen to give it a go.
I was wondering if anybody on this forum could give me a list of books or magazines that will help give me some background knowledge on arborism before i start the course.

I also have a kit list for my course and was wondering if you could give me any advice on how much i should be roughly paying for items and if you could suggest any good makes etc.
1.Leather steel toe cap safety boots with chainsaw protection , with CE chainsaw mark.
2.Chainsaw protective trousers with all round leg protection -'Type C' with CE chainsaw mark.
3.Chainsaw protective gloves
4.Serviceable helmet with eye protection, ear protection and chin strap.

I live in Plymouth Devon, and if anybody reads this and needs an extra pair of hands over the next few weeks down this way. Feel free to give me a shout, any experience is good experience

Thanks in advance

Ian

 

[S_T_S]

Hi,

This is roughly what I paid for mine

Elten Fellsman boots ~£80
Type C trousers (Stihl flex) ~£120
gloves (e-bay - Husqvarna) ~£20
helmet~£50

buy the best you can afford, you will be wearing them all day everyday

 

[SteveBullman]

if you dont mind me asking, tree work is very demanding on the body......whats your medical condition and do you feel it wont interfere with using dangerous tools at height?

 

[Acer]

It's a good course, or was You'll enjoy it.. I did it in 97, but a lot of health & safety stuff has changed since then. Don't know if he's still there, but the head technician in the arb section was ex Marines. Think his name was Glenn.

You might want to check, but during my first week they arranged a bus to take us round all the gear shops. We did Honey Bros, A&F warehouse and Michael Richmond all in one day. They're all pretty much amongst the cheapest for good stuff.

 

[unimog]

You won't go far wrong buying your gear/talking to Duggie Benett at Taverstock chainsaws. 01822 618070. A good range of gear and always plenty of discount.

As for good books, the DOE range, Body language of trees, Principles of tree hazard assessment are as good as any for tree info,but you can't beat getting stuck in to some work with a real tree gang. They teach you more than any college.

 

[Bermie]

Hi, I'm on the course right now, they had four trade suppliers here on the campus on the first Wednesday, we could get everything we needed right here with trade and student discounts. They go over all the H&S regs first so you know what to get and what to avoid!
Helmets £50 - £80
Stihl hiflex trousers £100 - 110
Boots £80 - 120
Gloves £10 +
etc. etc. all the bits and bobs are available.

Start to read some tree ident books and a basic botany book, I left my list behind, so I don't have the titles to hand just now.
Mon and Tue are theory days, plant ID, pest & disease, botany, cuts and pruning, and wed, thur, fri are all practical, climbing, pruning,machinery, chainsaws, so far so good, lots of fun, stacks of information, even those of us who have experience, there is so much more to learn!

 

[TimberMcPherson]

Your going to be a tweeka! Good luck. Get your saws from stateside, much cheaper.

 

[Buzzlightyear]

Ian / Janner, i run a tree surgery forestry company that backs on to merrist wood, if you want to come out for a couple of days 'real experience' experience contact me through my website link below.

Bermie, you'll be on the course with one of my lads then Matthew Wilkinson ??

Cheers all Matt.

 

[Janner]

Thanks for all the replies so far, its really appreciated.

Hi StephenBullman i broke my ankle in 3 places and had it pinned for a while. Unfortunately its not upto fitness standards for the Royal Marines but i can jog/rope climb on it so its not all that bad. I also have age on my side as im only 20.

Bermie, there should be a couple of guys on your course who i know aswell thats if your on the one thats just started, Chris Jellis and a South African called Stuart Goodall.

Ian

 

[teressa green]

you know any marines called LISTER andy ?

 

[Bermie]

Thanks for all the replies so far, its really appreciated.

Bermie, there should be a couple of guys on your course who i know aswell thats if your on the one thats just started, Chris Jellis and a South African called Stuart Goodall.

Ian

Yes they're here. They and some of the other chaps have a no shaving competition going, the forfeit is they have to shave off their eyebrows, sounds very Marines.
Take up that offer of some work experience if you can, a bit of prior experience helps on this course as it's so intense.

 

[rebelman]

universal language

A New Tree Biology by Dr. Alex Shigo this book was instrumental in adoption of ANSI tree pruning standards, another must read