Arbsession caraLINK Tether| Gear Review 

Something that I did a lot when I first started doing SRT was to only ascend SRT and then switch to double rope once I reached my tie in. I would climb up just like you’re describing and then once I reached my canopy anchor I would undo it and install my cambium saver and just work from DRT. The Caralink and the Rope Wrench are a fantastic next step if you’re typically working off a hitch climber setup!

I am loving Arbsession more and more, they are my favorite arb supplier now a days! They have the vibe that tree stuff had prior to sherril ruining them

I always keep a hitch climber system on my short (25m) rope and I like to be able to use that system for both SRT and MRS depending on the situation. For removals if I’m establishing a tie in and then working from it then I use SRT, but if I’m moving and cutting constantly and swinging from lead to lead I use MRS. When I’m doing young tree prunes and small mature shade tree prunes where I can free climb the tree quicker than I could throw in, then I climb MRS since I’m constantly resetting my tie in as I progress through the tree and I want it to be rapidly retrievable. Cheers!

@@treespicemedia wow - that's the best explanation I've heard - thanks so much for taking the time to do so - one day someone with post a video demonstrating something like you've explained that to help those learning or re-learning - it could be a big hit - take care

It’s a rock climbing helmet made by black diamond called the Vapor. It’s the biggest helmet I’ve found thus far so it fits plenty of warm stuff in the winter. It’s great for Rec climbing but it’s just foam so it offers little protection for penetration like a industrial climbing helmet. I’ve seen some people wear them at work because they are so incredibly comfortable but I personally do not since they don’t meet safety requirements.

Thank you! I usually end up using this tether on 11.7mm ropes and 30” Teufelberger 9.3mm Epicord. That or 30-32” 10mm Armorprus.

Yea but with this tether you want 26 or 28 cord length

I think I understand the issue you’re having, something I’ve done in the past was use a dogbone or a really short webbing sling to extend the connection point to the hitchclimber pulley so that the knot sits higher than the hitch when in use.

Hard to answer because it depends on the hitch you tie and the size of hitch cord you use. I think i use a 30” 10mm armor prus

Haha I would say the reason they don’t show it in a video is because it rarely looks graceful or flattering when you try to get around that branch. I have had that problem so so many times. I’ll try my best to explain it but maybe I can make a short video on setting a line. When you’re using a regular basal anchor you can make either end of the rope your anchor so I’ll usually aim for the union I want to be supporting me and then once I get it I look at how the throwline is running to try to avoid the situation you’re talking about. Like look at which side is going to have less interference. Then if it’s passing over a branch that I don’t want to go over I try to pull the throw bag back up and hope it will slip over and lay on the other side of that branch and then let it back down. Sometimes you have to untie the throw bag and tie it in the other side of the line to do this same thing on the side you threw from. Throw lines can be so frustrating and it’s the part of tree climbing that upsets me the most but it’s a skill that is so worthwhile if you can master it. If you still encounter those branches which will still happen plenty I feel like usually I’ll try to roll against it with my shoulder and get my climbing device above the branch which seems to be the hardest part then I’ll advance it until my knee ascender hits the branch and then I usually muscle up and stand on the branch and then take the slack out of the system from standing up and keep climbing. If it was a situation where there was a harsh angle over the branch and it was safe to tether into the branch I would tether into the branch and take my climbing system off and pass it over the branch and re connect and lower myself back into my climbing system, basically the way you exit a natural crotch redirect. If you have to lower yourself a lot back into the system you could dragontail your line which I think someone has a tutorial of dragon tailing or whatever it’s called. Thank you! I hope this can help!

Here’s a nice quick video on dragon tailing. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-11kNx1MDudQ.html

@@treespicemedia Thank you so much for the detailed explanation. I have been trying to get better about working the throw line positioning carefully to avoid problems later on. Sometimes though, the tree really fights me on that. It would be so cool if you could do a video about how to set the throw line correctly. It would also be super cool if you could make a video showing several different ways to escape a natural crotch re-direct. I can't find any videos on YT showing good ways to get over a branch your rope is routed around. As you mention, it may not be pretty, but for a beginner like me, I found myself helpless and doing some stupid and klugey stuff in a tree to get around that problem. So any tips and tricks are appreciated. It also helps to know that getting around a natural crotch redirect is hard. It helps knowing I am not just struggling with something that is easy if you know the secret. Seems like in this case, there isn't really a secret, just hard work. Thanks for the link to that video. Can't wait to check it out.

I usually just throw my lanyard over the next branch or around the stem and use it like a mini SRT or DRT, depending on how far I have to throw it. For SRT I just do a canopy anchor using a Quickie and use the Prusik/Pinto on the lanyard as my "hitch". Same for DRT, but with a moving rope. Since you are not bombing out of the tree, there is little chance of locking up your hitch without a Rope Wrench or other additional friction device when using the lanyard this way in SRT mode. Your main rope acts as your "lanyard" in this case, protecting you from a fall, so don't get too far above it before repositioning.

I usually use a 30" eye to eye and a Distel hitch.

@@treespicemedia 9.5 tethers are nice man

@@treespicemedia thanks, this answer may also help answer my question about termination knot causing running with short tethers. I got this idea that I need a 26in hitch cord to fit inside the cara LINK tether. BINO H verified that 30in hitch cord lessens the DRT danger of running on a termination knot.

I think he meant rope wrench. The excitement of the caraLINK tether got to him in the best way. 🙂 Plus when it's that cold I tend to scramble my words as well. ~Casey

Yeah, I've did a lot of work in school with the Rope Runner so I tend to reference it from habit when I mean the Rope Wrench.