This Arborist Rope Scared The S#!% Out Of Me

[@HowNOT2]

Our blog has the data www.hownot2.com/post/arborist-gear-1 Check out our new store! hownot2.store/

[@michaeljordan3109]

Awesome! Make more videos Ryan thanks ! 🤙

[@DiabloOutdoors]

I have something for you...PARACORD. This is not a main cord in rock climbing, but it's certainly one of the most versatile and useful cordages ever! The problem is that there is no strict regulation so the quality goes from one extreme to another. It would be awesome if you could do tests and explain the differences between military, commercial, and ultra-cheap ones.

[@scotttuck364]

As an arborist, I want to see a video testing when various friction hitches start to slip. Also would love to see a thermal image of the rope during testing

[@kingdommusic5456]

70kn = over 7 tons

[@GuillaumeGris]

Have you ever tried filming you tests with a thermal camera to see exactly what part of the rope or gear gets hot?

[@buckmanriver]

send one in!

[@em0p0ny]

Who can send in a spare thermal cam??

[@asontehunsthanshhl]

thermal cameras are limited to 9 FPS because of ITAR

[@dustinbird2090]

@@asontehunsthanshhl So, I guess a thermal camera would get mostly a post mortem look after a pull...might get a few lucky frames during the pull as well.

[@tullgutten]

Only American is limited. Buy chinese for the same price and get almost double pixels and 3x the framerate. Reccomend infiniRay pro. I have a flir one pro and it is garbage and app totally suck, can't use one phone older than 2 or 3 years old as they remove the compatibility from the app..... And support ain't willing to help at all..

[@bradnotchad]

As an arborist I really appreciate you for this content

[@corygrossman1]

Omg me too youdabest ryan

[@SynthHofmann]

What he said

[@KyleParks]

Same

[@BS-fs9xb]

Likewise. Hopefully he'll continue to upload more of these videos with arborist equipment. That's a common harness we all know good to see it lives to upto rating.

[@BS-fs9xb]

I was relieved when he didn't break the notch rook on the bridge lol Wanted one for ages, i wouldve cringed

[@norco1380]

Hi Ryan. Big wall climber and professional Arborist here. I'd love to see you test more tree gear. There are so many nuances within both disciplines (rock & tree). With your set up and production style you could make a huge impact within the professional & recreational tree climbing communities. I recommend reaching out to some skilled / knowledgeable Arborist's for idea's on specific gear / situations they'd like to see tested. Keep up the great work! Cheers.

[@bradleyclapper8378]

I agree. Phillip (Phil) Kelley would be a great name to reach out to here in the states. Used to be a huge production climber, prior North American Training Solutions instructor, current lead safety at Wright tree service who is huge in the states for line clearance, also doing wonders in teaching aerial rescue across the United States to arborists & helping assist fire departments become more familiar with arborist hardware to help assist them with aerial rescue.

[@jeffreysandone]

What did you do to become an arborist? I'm looking for a career change at 30. I love climbing and I'd love to hear what it takes to become an arborist.

[@norco1380]

​@@jeffreysandone Reach out to local companies around you. You will likely start off as a groundsman. You'll learn the workflow and eventually be able to shadow a climber.... In some area's there are recreational tree climbing meet ups. That is also a great way to meeting people in the scene.

[@Sethhaun78]

@@jeffreysandone do you love near Tennessee. ?I'm hiring. Big pay

[@wt0m]

arborist here that uses the same saddle. I appreciate you taking the time to cover our gear.

[@alexmattyspac7605]

I use arborist gear all the time its how I make money so it's more important to me then recreational gear. I am glad you guys are testing it.

[@rustytygart405]

I like seeing you branch out into arborist gear I like content involving all things rope equipment and knots but that’s just me

[@Chuckjohn12]

Yes test more arborist gear. As an arborist it’s all super informative. One big thing I’m interested in is side loading a carabiner around a branch or log

[@danisprettygay]

Giorgio Fiori did a video on that. It's pretty wonderful.

[@timeorspace]

To be sure I use a Notch quickie shackle for choking anchors in trees, but there are times when a carabiner could be convenient. I am very curious to know if a carabiner which has an ANSI rated gate is super good enough when used as a choking anchor around a tree/bollard. If aluminum is a no, perhaps a steel ansi biner?

[@7kyro]

Yes! More friction hitches. Blake’s hitch, Prusik, Distel and Schwabisch, grapevine, taut line.

[@Corsonmcnash]

2nd!

[@jayfranklin14]

3rd! Add the Cornell and Michoacán

[@203_climber]

as a climbing arborist I appreciate this video ! i’m sure we all do

[@jamesb6087]

As a climber, I was always apprehensive to trust swivel devices for life support. Feel free to do a swivel demo, I am genuinely interested. Thank you.

[@purdypart]

Same! the ratings say one thing, but there's so much dirt and gunk that gets in them, and prolly wears them, I'm super interested to see a very worn, slightly worn, and new swivel break test.

[@merlenelson4894]

I don't trust swivels and don't use them for life support. Those interested in actual break test info...I wonder how much it would take to request a "pay to test" situation? Then invite climbers to chip in on test cost. X cost divided by 10 or 20 very interested people could make it doable in short order.

[@pakmatherdiverb]

Ditto As a arborist and rock climber I really appreciate this content I will make sure to purchase some of my next rigging gear through y’all

[@dragade101]

Love that you are covering other disciplines. Maybe doing a gofundme to see if a bunch of first responders or other professionals want some specific tests.

[@ShurikB93]

"Feel just the tip, it is hard as a rock." This channel always delivers

[@purdypart]

Ryan and extreme gear dude, thanks for including us, super appreciate all your work, as an arborist for 15yrs and a rock climber for 26 yrs, I've found your tests really fun, informative, and cool.... and def gonna shop your site... I've been trying to find those soft shackles on there but no luck, any help?? (i know that stuff is easy to splice, but i barely have time to sharpen my saws... Would much rather buy from you) Also, i could send in an older swivel i use on my bridge, and donate the same one new if you want to do another Arb specific vid

[@salimufari]

Hell yeah. This was very helpful in showing how used gear breaks down over time & use. As an entertainment climber I would like to see testing on the lifelines & how the 'soft stop' attachments perform.

[@bigmanbs1]

Thank you so much for taking the time to test arborist gear! Im a long time fan of you channel, and an Arborist! This is potentially life saving gold for me, and the industry as a whole!

[@tomwilson8190]

Arborist here! Love it! break more stuff! try and get hold of a zigzag and. any of the other mechanical climbing devices that are getting more popular in the industry. Also at what point does a toothed ascender e.g pantin of jummar strip a rope !

[@scott6361]

That ascender one is great. Nugreen store used to have a video up of the second gen zigzag getting pulled against a rock and the swivel yanked out at 9k pounds.

[@Version135]

As a home owner arborist I'm pleased with this video. Being as reckless as I am a safety margin is greatly appreciated.

[@bigshukas]

Always wanted to see you test some arborist stuff.. good on you for "branching out" lol looking forward to more in the future. Thanks for all your work testing gear and making videos I know we all appreciate it.

[@pauloost59]

As a former climbing arborist that only climbes every once in a while. It's good to know that the gear does not degrade that hard if you keep it well maintained... Thanks you guys!!

[@hobbitilius]

I love seeing you break Arborist gear. Looking forward to more of this. 😊

[@dgoodman1484]

Love the arborist work gear! The other gear tests are great but work is work and playing is playing

[@johnshipley1389]

Great video, thanks for testing arb equipment. Please do drop tests on rigging and anchor points

[@jackjensen8689]

Nice video. Glad to see some arborist gear tested. Unfortunately some of the arborist and cell tower climbers have worked with sketchy companies where the training on their gear is less than good enough.

[@johns3106]

Don’t know about tower climbers, but my personal experience as an arborist (and talking to other guys) would lead me to believe that a BIG percentage of arborists receive little to no training before being told to “get up there and get the job done!”

[@j2kerrigan]

Happy new years friends 💛 heres to a year of great climbs, huge whippers, and gear thats super good enough! 🍻

[@jakubhostinsky4482]

I'm excited to see this, because I recently bought ultra-sling made from the exact TenexTec rope you shown. My is rated for 69 kN, so glad to see 77 kN in your test.

[@MichaelNeal]

Keep testing arborist gear, it might encourage more regular inspection/replacement of gear. Also it would be interesting to see tower load testing of dropping a 6 foot section of decent diameter trunk to test some of the rigging that is designed to catch it before it hits the ground. Arborists generally do this with bigger than 1/2 inch rope but would 1/2 work and how many times? Is static line better than dynamic for this?

[@johns3106]

1/2” rope definitely works! We use that diameter most of the time for lowering all but the biggest wood. It’s a lot nicer (easier) to handle than the bigger ropes, (especially for the climber) but it does have its limitations.

[@brianbarrett8739]

I always say keep the to 500 lbs. Yeah I've roped bigger. But it's a rule of thumb. The big factor is letting it run and slowing it down, not slamming it to a stop. It pays to have a guy on the rope that is good. Physics says that the force required to stop an accelerating mass approaches infinite. That is why locking off a large piece or a hard stop breaks things and can get someone hurt or killed.

[@justinsnyder6256]

As someone who has snapped tenex. That stuff sound like a shotgun when it lets loose. Interesting to see how it broke after you stopped pulling.

[@Knot-orious]

Thank you so very much for doing arborist gear videos! =-D

[@joakimyliruusi]

As a arborist this was crazy nice! Thank you very much. Subscriber right here!

[@ProblemSolver7]

Wow! you broke my heart breaking a great harness that I will never be able to afford. I am a volunteer as a tree climber with a disaster relief chainsaw team. I buy (or make) all my own gear. I enjoy seeing how well things hold up, it gives me a lot more confidence in the gear.

[@camiloho7852]

Love the tree motion harness break test! I’ve seen more tie in / rigging points on trees fail rather than the gear itself. Would be interesting to break test branches / crotches of trees since they seem to be the weakest link in many scenarios.

[@MrXcrt]

I’m new to the tree climbing biz but I sure do appreciate the advice n testing of materials ! Gives me added confidence when working up in the trees

[@zGilly9029]

I'm an arborist and have been watching for a while now, as soon as I saw testing arborist great I was super excited to see you branching out for sure

[@christopherbaker9261]

Love it, thanks for getting some arborist gear it there. I use everything you broke on a daily basis. Also thanks for adding arborist gear to the store.

[@dancutting8940]

Love the arborist material. That’s my focus, but I’m always looking for other fields to see what can cross over to tree climbing, and that’s how i came across your material. I’d like to see cross loading of snaps. They get used all the time instead of knots during rigging. That’s where the big loads are in tree work, so when I hear you say 4kn is good enough, I have to always come back to just the climber is good. It would also be interesting if you could work with TCIA or another group to gather used tree ropes from rigging and climbing. I’ve seen ropes break that look almost new and it would be interesting to see how much is on the failure side of the curve because of repetitive shock loading. You generally test max strength, but the manufacturers also have failure plots that I’ve wondered about. For example, would a rope really break at 50% load after 20 pulls?

[@bradleyclapper8378]

Love these tests on arborist gear. Thank you very much.

[@nicknicholson3452]

I'm an arborist and I enjoy this channel because it helps me figure out new ways to connect ropes when rigging or tying and more... plus who doesn't like seeing gear destroyed. As for the rope bridges, I believe your results would be higher than real world since the attachment points on a saddle are 2ish feet apart rather than side by side like your quick links. That being said, in my experience most bridges end up retired from abrasion or saw nicks and probably never see much more than 2kn. I can definitely dig up some old gear to send it to see how the years of abuse have affected it.

[@chrispappas8447]

I climb trees for a living, and I greatly appreciate the videos where you test tree gear! Keep it up!

[@paulgaras2606]

It’d be cool to see you test construction fall safety equipment.

[@aaronmeeks1155]

As a saddle hunter, and use some of this gear. It's really comforting knowing just how strong this stuff really is. Thanks Ryan

[@jayfranklin14]

Yes, more arborist style testing please! I’m hunt from a saddle and there is tons of gear that is sold to hang from a tree but isn’t tested and has no standards! We’d love your help learning what is “super good enough” and what isn’t.

[@DreIsGoneFission]

I was an arborist for a couple summers while I finished my engineering degree. Needless to say, I dig this content.

[@megadosevitaminc8774]

Nice. Thanks for testing tree gear. Makes me feel alot better about my eye to eye hitch cords and stuff.. cool stuff.

[@MikeDCWeld]

The sideways bridge plate test was pretty cool, especially considering how it flipped itself around after breaking. The confusion in your voice followed by relief when you figured it out was hilarious!

[@MeltingFingers]

Another arborist thanking you over here

[@darrenmoore2305]

Thank you,,, I'm an arborist,,and these videos are very cool to watch and gather info.

[@deadfishporter]

This is great! I just spliced myself a rigging sling with 5/8 tenex last week. Thanks for showing me that my gear is super good in a direct pull. But I'd love some tests with rigging on the drop tower.

[@codblkops85]

I am looking forward to more arborist rigging gear testing.

[@thespradman]

Thanks for doing this. I have a Petal swivel on the bridge of my harness... I'd be curious to see how hardware like that and that Notch rook pulley/ rigging plate hold up. I know these are all expensive pieces of gear so, again, I really appreciate you taking the time and spending the money to do this. I've used bee-line eye and eye cords in the past (currently using HRC by Teufelberger) and always wondered if they're super good enough... this is really helpful and gives some good peace of mind!

[@Des..Perado]

BeeLine is awesome stuff. The vectran core is self-abrading tough so it is wise to replace it at regular intervals, not just when the protective jacket starts to signs of wear. Obviously even used it is super good enough, but for $20 a hitch cord it really is easy to just chuck the old one and use a new one. Besides, there's nothing really as nice as a new fiction cord.

[@timkirkpatrick9155]

Thank you! Very much appreciated! Yes more Arborist gear tests. Check out how we rig loads as well as us!

[@Hisslave1]

You guys are awesome! Thanks for testing the gear I trust my life and customer's houses to.

[@em0p0ny]

Wooohoooo! Arborist gear!!!!! Love it. Love the arborist vids

[@AssafLevyIL]

"No I'm not gonna break this useful pulley but thanks for asking" 😆

[@bigshukas]

Curious to see how meny views you get on this compared to regular break tests... I have a feeling you will gain a whole new sub set of subscribers 😉

[@Evergreen1400]

2:09 I didn’t know they made rope out of dynema. I just kind of learned about the stuff a couple months ago because of a company using it for ballistic armor. It seems like some cool stuff. I’ve recently become interested in learning more about some of the products and chemicals that get used to make stuff that we use (ex: rope)

[@matthewfranzen1339]

Awesome...! I use all that stuff every day, I've an arborist for 40 years. I definitely will be purchasing gear

[@waynedejong5525]

Awesome seeing all the different tests being done, keep it up Ryan!!

[@delsupplee6494]

Yesssss! More arborist gear testing, please!

[@paulshuker3072]

I love that you branched out. I would totally buy three of the top selling arborist mechanical devices from your dude so he can send them to you unscathed to break. Mainly because a lot of them are not mbs rated. And if he doesn’t stock them I can have them mailed wherever you like. Climbing minds want to know 🧐

[@lvnmylife]

So Dope! Thank you for this one! Wanted to see those Cobra buckles get tested for a while.STOKED!

[@ushi120]

Guten Rutsch ins Jahr 2023. Thx to all of you, for all the good content. Stay safe and hope to see a lot more of your vids. Greetings ah

[@Ch00chCharlie]

Really glad you broke the buckle. I have them on my hunting saddle. Never trusted them until now.

[@benwright5918]

Thank you for branching out into tree gear. I'm an arborist and I've been enjoying your channel for a while, keep it up.

[@rolandkeys8297]

I gave up arborist work many years ago here in the UK. we used Prusik loops tied with a double fishamans knot. we tested these at 20KN and had no slippage. we found that rock climbing techniques didn't relay work for tree climbing and work positioning. We found the Prusik not you used could become loose and the climber fall from the tree. Our safety margin on ropes was 5x stated for climbing ( 1 tone stated would fail at or above 5 tone) and 10 times stated for lowing roped ( 5 tone would fail 50 tone or above)

[@weaponsable]

such a cool video! just today i spliced that same tenex material into a rigging sling. seeing what it actually takes to break it fills me with confidence! have an upcoming Fir removal and will be negative rigging out chunks that will weigh up to 1500 ish pounds

[@larrypostma2866]

The arborist gear is much more informative for me but I’ll watch you break anything and hit the like.

[@bradleyclapper8378]

Definitely like the idea I read a few times of setting up a go fund me to get some popular arborist gear tests done. I know A TON of the community will throw in what they can for it. I also know manufacturers have in the past been more than happy to throw in donation gear to informational things like this. I’d definitely reach out (if your already a supplier then you’ve already got a contact). If a go fund me is set up then start up a pull to find what the arborists out there would like to see tested with the funds we have donated. I know a HUGE cation right now is swivels with the DMM recall recently. My favorite thing to see in this video specifically is used gear. I don’t think people get the importance of replacing gear in a timely manner till they see the difference between a new piece of gear & a well used/moderately used piece of gear.

[@purdypart]

I also liked that the used gear was still breaking at pretty high kN, i prob replace my gear TOO often considering how bad some of that looked but was still pretty strong... Rigging gear that's worked and worn on the other hand, or ppe that's been subjected to shock loads, YES even if it doesn't look bad... Destroy and replace.

[@Shenwinchester]

The video where you tested those rings was one of the first ever videos I watched of yours. Now I'm hooked and want to climb one day.

[@masonstansberry2625]

The rings are meant to used 2 per attachment for life support, hence why the bridge goes through two lower d rings. The rings you broke individually are meant to be used together.

[@gertdrijfhout5216]

quickdraws! the differnt types and alll that good stuff, was surprised i could not find anything about them

[@jonathanryals9934]

Biggest thing I see most pros ignore is the log weight chart. Every crew must have one on the truck by law. Every log you estimate the weight based on species length and diameter. After a while you get a feeling for it and you can stop checking the chart for common tree types. This simple knowledge can prevent so many stupid accidents you will never see coming otherwise

[@JMichaelButler1981]

As part of your branching out in the arborist gear you should really try some of these hunting saddles

[@brendankober4379]

That break when settling reminds me of a time I was pulling a dock out on a braided rope. It was pulled out and when the truck went into park and rolled back a few inches the rope disintegrated. Three feet of rope that had pulled the dock out turned to dust.

[@RobertSzasz]

I have a cobra style belt buckle on one of my belts, and hunted around till I found one without fake ratings. (Still has the various carabineer symbols etched in, but no bs numbers) I wonder if you could find some for the next knockoff/fake equipment test you do

[@danielwendell542]

Love knowing the stuff I have used would have held if I had taken an air step. Love watching yall break gear in the name of science!

[@turbo0216]

Please do more prusik eye to eye, but please double it over. As an Arborist, we never use an eye to eye without a bend. Also, to test the friction pull, use a heavy 5/8 static rope, and spiral the prusik 4+ times at the top. More coil=more friction.

[@kennethbonn6344]

This was sick. I use that same harness for work. Solid work

[@bangerseamen]

Really like the Arb tests 👍 Thanks from UK

[@CaseySnyder]

Props to Arbsession for the stitching on the hitchcord!

[@willardthegrey]

Like the arborist gear. Eagerly awaiting rescue gear.

[@timothygeorges293]

You should try to film this stuff with a thermal imaging camera to see the heat from start to finish! That would be super interesting

[@benjaminbordson7502]

Love it! Thanks guys, I'll check out the arborist gear you've added ✌️

[@trimbaker1893]

Man, your work makes my work less stressful. Thankyou. I have enough to think about in front of me, I don't need to worry about my kilonewtons exceeding my kilo threads.

[@pbarnes171]

This is great. Thanks! I'd love to see some videos of ropes and/or other soft stuff being strained multiple times and then tested. One of the things they teach in certification classes is "cycles to failure". i.e. if you load a line past its WLL multiple times it will weaken significantly. I've seen rigging ropes put under a *lot* of force...as in crunching through the bark of a tree the rope was wrapped around and denting the wood underneath. Or hooking up a bobcat to a 3:1 advantage to barely pull over a very large tree. What is the breaking strength after a 46kN rope is loaded to 35kN 10 times or 20 times? Those ropes continued to be used heavily. I don't work there anymore. Many tree companies abuse the crap out of their rigging equipment and this would be useful information.

[@BRENDANTHERED]

You guys should get a lazer thermometer and then you could record how hot the ropes and prusiks get, as they are slipping and after they break. Great content, thanks friends!

[@NoName-OG1]

As rec tree guy because I have more access to that than rock - I love the idea that you’ve crossed over here.

[@MartyCoony]

"it's hot" "feel the tip" I feel like I heard that somewhere else :P

[@mickflury]

You guys should go back and do some more tests with those GM Climbing rappel rings. There actually to setup a rope retrieval cambium saver/friction saver and id love to know what they and other friction savers and flip lines break at.

[@lightprint348]

i like a what you do for sailing, as someone who has climbed and rafted and used knots and ropes i enjoy you challenging the rope communities assumption

[@986kph]

was the prusik cord bee line?

[@arborvor]

Looks like Bee Line

[@thespradman]

Yep. At 6:49 there's a close up of the label, it's upside down but you can read it if you pause it real quick.

[@dustincurtis9418]

Yale bee line👍

[@TheGrizzlyBeer]

Interesting to see how much the back ring held... These are intended for your saw lanyard and not really to be used as a tie in of some sort

[@kennethmikaelsson7990]

God to now about the harness have one and really happy with it..

[@JZ909]

It's kind of crazy, a 5/8" sling isn't really considered big gear for tree work. 3/4" rope is normally the big stuff for rigging, and your sling needs to be a lot stronger, unless you're using a double whip configuration or something like that. I would love to see some testing of arborist rigging configurations under dynamic loads. It's amazing how scarce hard data is for this sort of thing.

[@timeorspace]

I appreciate this content. I just spliced my own pocket rigging sling from this same rope. My sling relies on triple? Locking Brummel splicing and chokes through itself.

[@mountainmandoug]

I am not an arborist, but I do use some spliced tenex for other things, so this was very interesting.

[@MTmixer84]

I climb with the same treemotion saddle. Love seeing this.

[@unknown-ql1fk]

Should try a riggers belt. They are stiff waste belts meant for always having a strong point to attach to a helo or a turret gunner

[@uploadsnstuff8902]

So, I know this is costly, and probably has already been suggested a few times, but having a thermal camera recording the gear stretch and heat up would be really cool. Not sure what data it could bring, maybe parts heating that do not break but would be next in line?