Logan_M0822
ArboristSite Lurker
I am new to climbing and want to buy my first kit. I can only find $1,000 and more kits. Does anyone know where I can get a harness, buckstrap, and spurs for under $400? Facebook Marketplace has proved useless.
Tree Climbing Gear
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billyboy
ArboristSite Operative
Have you looked at eBay, Amazon, etc. watch out for cheap china junk. I have a home made Swiss seat made of webbing and a lineman’s belt and two sets of spikes bought dirt cheap at auction. Got a box of rope from CMC Pro for around 125 with 1/2” lengths of 150, 100, 60, and many in the 30’ range. Good store bought seats/harness are spendy as are the pulleys, carabeners, ascend/decend devices, a couple flip lines, just in case you cut one with your saw or have to go around a limb or obstruction. “TITS” Tie in twice stupid. What you need depends on what you want to do. Getting out of a tree quickly and safely if stuff goes badly. Climbing assists if you’re not young and strong. Blah, blah. Do a search here for other posts on this subject.
Buy the tree climbers companion by Jeff jepperson first, then make your gear selection
Jeff Jepson
Oops, dang spellcheck
a decent set of spikes alone will cost you almost $400
harness is gonna be $300-800 ish
flipline $100-200
rope, $150-300
all the other BS you need, pulleys, rings, carabiners, prusik cord, etc $50-15000
so, on the cheap end, a $1000 climbing kit is a good start but really bottom of the barrel gear, good enough to learn on, but horrible if you really want to use it, don't get me wrong, you can make just as much money from a weaver 4D saddle and grandpa's old buckingham pole spikes, but you won't be happy while you're doing it
harness is gonna be $300-800 ish
flipline $100-200
rope, $150-300
all the other BS you need, pulleys, rings, carabiners, prusik cord, etc $50-15000
so, on the cheap end, a $1000 climbing kit is a good start but really bottom of the barrel gear, good enough to learn on, but horrible if you really want to use it, don't get me wrong, you can make just as much money from a weaver 4D saddle and grandpa's old buckingham pole spikes, but you won't be happy while you're doing it
That's how I started, on pappaws belt and spikes from his days as a lineman. I did eventually get a cheap Buckingham. Totally agree that those kits are very basic stuff. My current setup, which I'm happy with is, mb 2.0=$800, aluminum geckos=$550, wirecore lanyard=$150-200 (don't remember)
Samson Vortex 150'=$225 or so, zigzag=$370 (split tails are much cheaper). And the all the little things= $750-$1000. Boots and helmet=$1000+ not necessary but nice, $200 loggers will do and you can get a basic helmet cheap or get hit in the head one good time. I've also got the sena 33i on my helmet, but you can go deaf and yell at your groundie. Basically comfortable ain't cheap and cheap ain't comfortable.
I've found his book Knots At Work to be far more informative with much of the same info repeated and improved upon from Companion.
This is pretty reasonable.
I got all my gear for ~$2200, building upon the WesSpur kits. Still missing a few things, but could easily get started whenever I get the time.
Nice, I didn't know he had another book out, good to know
I got both, but soon realized that knots at work had all the info that the companion had and then some.
I started out with new ropes for life line, drt setup of pulley and friction hitch, happened across a new second hand petzl harness, and home made friction saver, and second hand spurs, ascenders etc.
patience rewards.
And I learned how to splice.
both single and double braid.
patience rewards.
And I learned how to splice.
both single and double braid.
Agreed - I have both books. The knot book is great, easy to follow illustrations and clear instructions. Also yes it is full of info on safe climbing and rigging practices.
The companion I like as it is sort of a training manual, and includes checklists so you can quiz yourself on your knowledge
I think I got away pretty cheap.
CE approved harness from China 100 euro
30m static rope with lanyard and rope adjuster 35 euro (second hand, new in package)
Petzl zigzag for 110 euro second hand
3M X5000 helmet 30 euro second hand
DIY throwbag, line, throwbag launcher (free if my 6 hours of work was worthless..)
A few Climbing Technology carabiners and figure 8 from Amazon, maybe 30 euro
Spare carabiners from fall arrest kit (free)
Cheap Chinese hand and foot ascender, maybe 40 euro (petzl zigzag for PPE so I don't care if they are poor quality)
Going to make my own cambium saver from rated tubular webbing and a figure 8 cut in half, maybe 15 euro.
Just started out, but have a lot of experience sewing webbing from before, just had to check up specs needed to get the proper durability of the stitches..
Just patience and check 2nd hand market online!
CE approved harness from China 100 euro
30m static rope with lanyard and rope adjuster 35 euro (second hand, new in package)
Petzl zigzag for 110 euro second hand
3M X5000 helmet 30 euro second hand
DIY throwbag, line, throwbag launcher (free if my 6 hours of work was worthless..)
A few Climbing Technology carabiners and figure 8 from Amazon, maybe 30 euro
Spare carabiners from fall arrest kit (free)
Cheap Chinese hand and foot ascender, maybe 40 euro (petzl zigzag for PPE so I don't care if they are poor quality)
Going to make my own cambium saver from rated tubular webbing and a figure 8 cut in half, maybe 15 euro.
Just started out, but have a lot of experience sewing webbing from before, just had to check up specs needed to get the proper durability of the stitches..
Just patience and check 2nd hand market online!
If are into DIY you can do a lot of stuff yourself (even if I would wait making anything that is considered PPE).
I made a throw bag launcher from a resistance exercise band and some scrap metal I found.
And I sewed a pair of throw bags, filled with small bolts and scrap metal I had in the unsorted bin, material was an worn safety vest and some scrap webbing from a broken duffle bag. Only cost was the needle and a thread.
Other projects I'm working on is a rope bag/tarp and a throwline basket, which I am putting together using parts of a broken camping tent.
You also might not need a dedicated arborist harness. They might allow a bit better positioning in the canopy, but you can get the same safety from using a work positioning/seat harness (often you can find them very cheap, houseowners, carpenters, window cleaners etc who only used them once or twice, just check out the expiration date and that they haven't been damaged). They often come with integrated shoulder straps, but often you can find ones that are detachable (nb they don't function as fall arrest harnesses if they aren't full body, but you really don't want to take a fall on a static rope anyways). You can often find what's actually work positioning harnesses that could work for tree climbing when browsing for fall protection/arrest harnesses as sellers often don't know the difference.
Also, fall protection/arrest harnesses are often found in the classifieds together with a lanyard with a rope adjuster, as well as a rope. The rope is usually static, although most often those for fall protection/arrest are 24 or 32 strand ropes, which I have understood to be more durable with intense use but that also makes them quite a bit stiffer and harder to tie. I have been able to tie a 32 rope into a Blake's hitch as part of a closed moving rope system, which actually worked quite satisfactory with a comfortably controllable descent. It very much depends on the rope.
I recently came across a brand new set of work positioning harness with assorted ropes and hardware, including a very fancy automatic braking descender/ascender that was marketed for aerial rescue operations, for a mere fraction of the retail price. I kind of regret that I didn't pick it up, having eyed the ad for a few weeks before it eventually got sold..
I also just realized that if you just want the weight and stiffness of a wire core flipline, you could probably just insert a metal wire to an ordinary lanyard (which you can learn to splice yourself from a climbing rope) using a splicing fid.
If you're only going to climb recreationally, I would not look into getting a set of spurs/spikes. You can only use those on dead trees (or trees that are destined for felling in the near future) as the spurs cause quite some damage to the cambium.
Once again, with second hand PPE you have to carefully examine for wear, damage, expiration date, ratings and specifications. But that said, you can make a bargain.
I made a throw bag launcher from a resistance exercise band and some scrap metal I found.
And I sewed a pair of throw bags, filled with small bolts and scrap metal I had in the unsorted bin, material was an worn safety vest and some scrap webbing from a broken duffle bag. Only cost was the needle and a thread.
Other projects I'm working on is a rope bag/tarp and a throwline basket, which I am putting together using parts of a broken camping tent.
You also might not need a dedicated arborist harness. They might allow a bit better positioning in the canopy, but you can get the same safety from using a work positioning/seat harness (often you can find them very cheap, houseowners, carpenters, window cleaners etc who only used them once or twice, just check out the expiration date and that they haven't been damaged). They often come with integrated shoulder straps, but often you can find ones that are detachable (nb they don't function as fall arrest harnesses if they aren't full body, but you really don't want to take a fall on a static rope anyways). You can often find what's actually work positioning harnesses that could work for tree climbing when browsing for fall protection/arrest harnesses as sellers often don't know the difference.
Also, fall protection/arrest harnesses are often found in the classifieds together with a lanyard with a rope adjuster, as well as a rope. The rope is usually static, although most often those for fall protection/arrest are 24 or 32 strand ropes, which I have understood to be more durable with intense use but that also makes them quite a bit stiffer and harder to tie. I have been able to tie a 32 rope into a Blake's hitch as part of a closed moving rope system, which actually worked quite satisfactory with a comfortably controllable descent. It very much depends on the rope.
I recently came across a brand new set of work positioning harness with assorted ropes and hardware, including a very fancy automatic braking descender/ascender that was marketed for aerial rescue operations, for a mere fraction of the retail price. I kind of regret that I didn't pick it up, having eyed the ad for a few weeks before it eventually got sold..
I also just realized that if you just want the weight and stiffness of a wire core flipline, you could probably just insert a metal wire to an ordinary lanyard (which you can learn to splice yourself from a climbing rope) using a splicing fid.
If you're only going to climb recreationally, I would not look into getting a set of spurs/spikes. You can only use those on dead trees (or trees that are destined for felling in the near future) as the spurs cause quite some damage to the cambium.
Once again, with second hand PPE you have to carefully examine for wear, damage, expiration date, ratings and specifications. But that said, you can make a bargain.
Howdy, I figured this would be a good thread to put this in. I just want to make sure I have this right.
DdRT is a double rope, dynamic lines. But it uses static rope (or at least rope with 1-2% elongation?) Thanks in advance!
DdRT is a double rope, dynamic lines. But it uses static rope (or at least rope with 1-2% elongation?) Thanks in advance!
yes, all tree climbing is done on static lines
Ddrt is a doubled rope... Drt is double ropes...
telecasterfool
ArboristSite Member
I think your target budget is too low to get into climbing safely. In my opinion, you do not want to skimp on the life support items, like a saddle/harness. The advice to get the book is good. I bought a Wesspur kit that came with the book. Nothing in the kit has been wasted. You could buy a Notch saddle (I got one on a closeout deal for $85) some GOOD self locking carabiners, 150' of arborplex 12mm rope, and the flipline of your choice. Add some used spikes and you could climb with DRT Blake's hitch safely. I would add that acquiring the knowledge, training, and/or experience is just as important.
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