I do this with a sling with a GriGri, out to a hand grip ascended with a pulley and then back to another pulley. As I pull the slack is held by the GriGri. I drop trees solo with that method.
Great tool for simple mechanical advantage. Try tying off the porty or tree wraps with a couple of half hitches. Two hands to install and remove the jack is a lot easier. The cams won't release under pressure, so it may be necessary to let one inch of slack through each cam until they are both loose.. Thanks for the honesty in your struggle though. You keep putting out some good quality content.
I do like that but one thing to remember is not to over do it any of the cam lock devices can brake a 1/2” climbing line at 2,000 lbs of pull. That being said I do like to see the new stuff come out. Thanks
Most of the time I can get a truck or skid steer close enough to redirect at the stump and put the porta wrap on a pickup truck or skid steer. But pretty cool none the less.
Indeed the rope and skid steer are both effective but often it’s really nice to have the feedback of a manual device to know exactly how much tension is in a system to avoid overloading ropes.
I really like how you finessed the device to remove it from a tensioned rope. I guess for general purposes it would be useful and to have this instead of a GRCS.
Last video i was wondering how this hand ascending device is called. finally Now i got my answer! Thanks for your Videos. I love them. All the best from Germany!
Nice video! One idea/method of releasing the rope jack under tension that I thought I’d mention to you, is that you can avoid the difficulty of disconnecting the upper Cam. By pulling some tension on the rope with just the upper Cam only, after you’ve released the lower Cam, you can then disconnect the soft shackle or the carabiner from the Porter wrap. Once it’s disconnected from the port a wrap and you have the rope locked off on the Portawrap, you can let the rope Jack travel up a couple inches. Now it should have no tension on the upper cam for the ascender. This makes for easy removal of the rope from the front cam. I hope that makes sense?
The thought I occurred to me that I'd wonder if the company could look at revising the release to be a little smoother one handed. It'd be a shame if someone is trying to do so, and in frustration, doesn't grip it quite right, ending up with a jammed /severed finger, or dropping the load, etc.
sam riggs I have had the same thought. Your fingers could most definitely get caught if not careful. It can be a cumbersome tool to use at times. Knowing the overall reputation of CMI, I doubt very seriously they will ever revise this design. The design would most likely have to be bought by another equipment company before any serious design adjustments will ever be made. I could be wrong though...
I wish I could get skilled guys as groundies like this. Most my guys threaten to kill me at any given opportunity and all I can do is roll my eyes inwardly
Great review I want to add one of these to my gear bag just bc it's super handy and quick to attach! I went with the Stein RCW-3001 and it's a beast! I really like it but there is nothing light about it. The GRCS I bet is nice but not a fan of the price!
Yeah I’ve had my eye on that Stein product as well, but my understanding was that it doesn’t offer the same extreme mechanical advantage the GRCS does. Still the price does make it a more appealing option.
I used to use the masdam puller... but not any more I didn’t like how those would slip and they were hard to reset and didn’t work with most ropes. This is worlds better!
Strider Trees I was just lent a Rock Exotica Enforcer. I have this idea on my list as well. The rope jack is rated at a max limit of 800lbs(?). I understand though, that the weight limit is due to the contact method of grabbing the outer sheathing of the rope (versus the rope locking off under pressure around a bollard, or a prusik cinching around a rope applying captured force on both the outer sheath and the core at the same time.). Once the Rope Jack reaches a certain amount of force on the rope, the cam teeth shreds the outer sheath. So, I’m Inter in know how close the stated 800 lb limit is, compared to when various rope types would actually fail... just info for thought
Strider Trees I’ll make it happen in the next week or two. I also need to set up the Elevated Office Podcast ep for you to be my guest. I’ll hit you up soon about that.
Yes I had one of those for a while but the bushing went bad after overloading it one time and so I don’t use it anymore. I stick with the overbuilt blue one and I’d probably buy the compact version too but.... $$$
We had a similar issue with overloading the green block. Something involving amsteel and a truck. Unfortunately I wasn't on site to tell the guys it's a bad idea. It's a fantastic block if used properly.
I don’t think actual 5/8’s runs in it. However, some of the ability to use 5/8” would depend on how stiff the rope is. My true blue (5/8”) fit, but it is so suple that the rope binds as you try to pull it through the aluminum guides that the ascenders are mounted to. Possibly a less supply/playable, tighter woven rope in 5/8” sizing would work better. I don’t know though for sure.
This is dope. Poor man's grcs. Have been wanting something like this for a while now. Be good for smaller trees that the grcs isn't worth lugging out for. Cheers! Also tell your mate he's got a leaf stuck to his ass 😆
Looks like the poors mans grcs would be super nice weight and bulk wids its also extremely akward to carry i have packed that grcs into some really stupid places like miles and up steep slippery hills would have loved to have one im sure its much cheaper too....
I don’t because I haven’t used that in years now, but I should do a comparison for you guys to see the difference. It’s no a contest win for the CMI rope jack IMHO
@@Stridertrees old comment, just wanted to drop some info here incase someone like me searches through these for this comparison :) CMI rope jack: max load is 1500 lbs Mechanical advantage: 5:1 (ish) Midline attachable: 1/2inch rope only, direct attachment Controlled lowering: no Price: $300 Maasdam: 1500 lbs Mechanical advantage: 10:1 Midline attachable: yes, through means of a prusik from the pull rope to any diameter load rope, NOT the load rope directly (will not grab on standard rigging ropes) see tree muggs video Controlled lowering: yes, although not exactly useful for limbs, see treemuggs video Price: $60ish From a budget buyers perspective the maasdam wins on price point alone since they have the same weight limits but they are comparable in pretty much every respect, but to each their own. The rope jack seems much more compact and aesthetic but also less intuitive to put on/take off.
I’ve used both plenty… those numbers may be what is listed online, so they seem more comparable than they really are. They are not even close to the same utility, and using a prussic you can use anything to pull, but that is extra expense as well. The maasdam will also slip unexpectedly, so it’s hard to trust. Lastly, it only works on a specific sized 3strand rope, instead of most ropes around half inch. This comes with the disadvantages of 3 strand like lots of stretch and excessive twisting. Both of which are annoying especially when using additional mechanical advantage. I would NOT recommend a Masdam puller.
