Whoopie Sling Basics | Arborist Rigging

Whoopie slings have been a staple of tree work for a long time. In this video we look at the basic concepts: what a whoopie sling is, how to use it, and how to extend it beyond it's spliced length.
Climb High, Work Smart, Read More.
- TreeMuggs

[@savage22bolt32]

Thanks for the wonderful video, and a huge thanks for not ruining it with crappy background music. I don't know why some people feel compelled to add annoying background music throughout their videos.

[@spelunkerd]

What a clear thinking teacher you are. Gotta be Canadian.

[@bernardchartier3526]

What I appreciate in your videos is that you say what to do but mostly you explain why you say so. I love to understand why I have to do likewise.

[@bigwavesun]

Thanks for the clear instructions man. Made my life easier when installing portawraps.

[@scatoutdebutter]

Thanks for taking the time to make this video and for your detailed explanation!

[@protectyaneck3695]

Thanks for the excellent vid. I'm new to whoopie slings and of the 5 vids I just watched on the topic this was easily the most informative and helpful. Cheers.

[@ricchoe]

I appreciate the videos. Thank you 🙏🏽

[@migueljose2944]

thank you! very good explanation!

[@slmlawncare7077]

Great video thanks

[@brandonkarhu5599]

Great video. I've found that its much easier for me to use a port o wrap at lower chest height rather than what you're showing. I've had no issues pre loading lines. It also keeps me from bending down more than this job already demands. Again, great video and i appreciate the content. Just my two cents.

[@jomer1003]

Good video bro,really useful.Also well explained,thanks

[@TreeMuggs_PatrickM]

Right on, thanks for watching! - Patrick

[@Brian-Outdoors]

Another great educational video so I thank you for taking the time to make it. You are an excellent teacher.

[@TreeMuggs_PatrickM]

Thank you, appreciate it! - Patrick

[@josephtreadlightly5686]

I really like my 3/4" Tenex whoopie sling along with my Port-a-wrap. I don't mind putting the 1/2 hitch in @ the end. Almost went with the Ultra Sling. I use alot of the Tenex sewn in eyes in different sizes when using 1 as the main rigging line used with a re-direct that is the same, just a little smaller. Just ordered a Maasdam rope puller cuz I have Promaster rigging line. Just watched earlier that u had a video explaining that the Promaster 1/2" is the preferred line to use with the Maasdam. Thank you 😊

[@Billster1955]

Thanks Patrick

[@Chevron.Muskoka]

I was going to buy one for my safe block but Ive gotten pretty quick on just a timber hitch and the dead eye. Might be nice for my porta wrap though

[@TreeMuggs_PatrickM]

I actually don't use whoopie slings at all now, I stick with dead eye and ultra slings... - Patrick

[@johnhildebrand1991]

That's pretty creative using a crane sling

[@matthewpolo227]

GOOD MORNING PATRICK..I ENJOYED THAT PODCAST W BLAIR..HAVE YOU MADE A VID ON THESE SAFEBLOCKS IN REGARDS TO VARIOUS APPLICATIONS FOR IT ? IF NOT COULD YOU.THANKS..ENJOY YOUR DAY.

[@1stFlyingeagle]

Learned something.

[@bonsaidevelopment1016]

The safebloc sling on the ground @0:45 seems sooo tiny :P Thanks for the vid, as always!! Just swapped my Safebloc from a whoopie to a deadeye, hoping I use it more that way (I know it's irrational but I just can't 'trust' whoopies, I use my safebloc whoopie when it's hardly needed, and when it is needed I'm too scared to rely on a whoopie so I use other anchors..)

[@cerberusbonsaiarboricultur774]

DUDE!!!!!!!!! Thanks so, SO much, I've been unable to accept that my 3-ring sling (the pre-made treehouse/sherrill/notch x-sling with 2 large rings one side, 1 XL ring on the other, on a 5' section of 3/4" tenex) is *only* for crotches, I mean I wasn't sure if I'd be able to use all 3 rings in some funky configuration like what you're doing @7:33 in this video BUT that would work just-fine for me I can literally just run the extra sling through one side of my 3-ring-sling and boom I'll be able to use the other-leg's ring or rings to use it on a spar, what a brilliant idea thanks a ton man, not just for this but all I've learned whether your videos, podcast or your posts online (I've read enough masterblaster threads to have found plenty of good stuff from you there!), I hope you're doing very very well & that life's treating you good man you deserve it!!

[@TreeMuggs_PatrickM]

hey thanks a lot brother! what's your nickname on the masterblaster forum? - Patrick

[@cerberusbonsaiarboricultur774]

​@@TreeMuggs_PatrickM I go under eyehearttrees :) Think I've got like 1 post there as their registration was down for a bit so most of my posts are to Treebuzz, and a lesser amount to the less-active Arborsite (same username on all 3) I've since gotten a few diameters of Polydyne and no longer seek to make my 3-ringed tenex X-sling into a choke-able sling as I've spliced thimbles and a Safebloc into long (15' and 20', respectively) lengths of polydyne 3/4, a cord that's not only thinner than "3/4" tenex, not only a bit stronger in static-tensile capacity, but shockingly stronger in dynamic-strength (3% elasticity, versus 1.5% for tenex) It's got me questioning the usage of tenex *at all* for routine rigging, IMO it's just too-static a cord. I know 'it works', but consider this: while the tenex may not fail, its inherently static nature means that a log of a given size will produce a GREATER peak-dynamic-force than the same log thrown into a more dynamic line (cough Polydyne cough), this makes me think of that tree that snapped on you in the cemetery and how, if the sling had been Polydyne instead of Tenex, perhaps the peak-load wouldn't have snapped that spar!! Would love to hear your thoughts on this, I mean Yale's short-but-outstanding article(and even better video @bottom of the page!) on the subject pits their 2% Double Esterlon against their 3% Polydyne and the dynamic-capacity difference is staggering: www.yalecordage.com/featured-industries/arborculture/dynamic-energy-arborist-rope After reading that & watching that video - a video wherein a 20k(static) line is snapped by a 1,400lbs dynamic load, then a 6k(static) line takes that same load *6x* - it's beyond clear that static-strength /= dynamic-strength, yet almost everything in our industry is based-around static strength, whether it's prizing Tenex as optimal for rigging-slings or whether it's the routine use of taking *static*-ABS and multiplying by 1:5 or 1:10 thinking this is useful for *dynamic* capacity, it just doesn't add-up....hell rigging lines, which are meant to see dynamic forces as-routine, are more-static than climb lines on average!! Just blows my mind, I mean the 3 most-dynamic lines available (in order) are Atlas(4.5%), Polydyne(3%) and Nystron(2.4%), and 2 of those 3 have been around for ages....wish there was some more innovation here, I would've went w/ Atlas if I knew more about Sterling but I went for Polydyne simply because I'm already a big fan / trust Yale.... Would love to know your thoughts, am thinking of when in this ^ video you mention how the loop should be equivalent strength to the sling when you lengthen the whoopie with that loop, since the whoopie and, likely, that loop were all poly/HMPE fibers, then you can use static-strengths relatively confidently, however if the sling were Polydyne then a polyester loop would need to be substantially stronger static-ABS to match the dynamic capacity of Polydyne! I know that the #'s become difficult/near-impossible when trying to compute dynamic-#'s, but that doesn't mean the concept itself should get ignored - hell, after rigging-rings took off you've got companies making their own (which is or 'can be' good), am seeing that both ShelterTree and Gap Arbor have rig&ring anchors, made with 3/4" double-braids instead of tenex, yet ShelterTree uses frickin' Sirius (1.5%, same as tenex!) while Gap uses (smartly!) 3/4 polydyne.....people would, by&large, get these slings and apply their 1:5 or 1:10 ratios and think they've got the math all set when ignoring dynamic-capacity leaves them largely in the dark! Hell, I'll take the softer, more 'tree-conforming' tenex hollow-braid over sirius double-braids anyday! But I'll sacrifice the soft, tree-conforming, 1.5% static Tenex for the more-dynamic, 3% Polydyne any day of the week (would love to see some break-tests, if Yale's video of Unitrex(20k static with 0.5% elasticity) versus XTC (6k static and ~1.5% elasticity) is a fair comparison then that should hold true when comparing 3% Polydyne to 1.5% tenex, but that'd mean that 1/2" polydyne slings would out-perform the hell out of even 7/8" Tenex slings! Sorry so long, just food for thought but if you read it I'd love to know your thoughts, I think it's a travesty that dynamic-capacity is either ignored or paid minimal lip-service by most retailers, hell I have a catalog that says of Tenex "it's the best for slings and is stronger than double-braids of same diameter", firstly that's not even universally true even in the static-strength category (polydyne, at same diameter, has stronger static tensile strength than tenex), but it obscures the meaning of "strength" which further solidifies the idea in people's minds that there's "a strength" instead of various types of strength (and, if we're to focus on 1 type of strength, for our purposes it should be dynamic-strength not static-strength as most of rigging is dynamic not static!)

[@condor5635]

Awesome video but not being a climber I had no idea what you do with the installed whoopie string after you put it on the tree. Thanks

[@TreeMuggs_PatrickM]

We use these slings to attach rigging hardware to trees. These are also used a lot for slack lining and hammocks. - Patrick

[@jakebredthauer5100]

@@TreeMuggs_PatrickM I had the same question. Of course. I don't know what slacklining is. I have heard of a hammock, but my idea is probably not what you mean. I was thinking that I needed a book and I found your resources and the book sale.

[@treedom5094]

Seeing as it's a girth hitch that's to be tied, If that spliced eye was a slightly bigger one (large enough to fit the portawrap), instead of having to feed the entire rope all the way every time the girth hitch could be dressed by pushing the other end of the portawrap through the eye ...

[@Barnaclebeard]

7:46 -- "bolth"

[@mr.thomas5186]

Silver maple

[@110americalovingpatriot2]

Will a whoopie cushion work just as well?😜 hehe

[@TreeMuggs_PatrickM]

YES! - Patrick

[@zacharyhottell8251]

What the F does it do?

[@mr.thomas5186]

I'm sorry but the over use of equipment for the safe block seems nonsensical?

[@cerberusbonsaiarboricultur774]

LOL WUT? Firstly that is a statement with a question mark at the end....Secondly, "over-use of equipment"? Did you get the point of what he was doing? IF the Safebloc is already spliced-into the eye of a sling, you've gotta use that sling if you want to use your Safebloc - sometimes that sling isn't long enough though, he literally proposed the simplest, most minimalist solution possible - to length the thing with a loop - and you consider that 'over-use of equipment'? Out of curiosity what is a typical rigging setup when you're dismantling a tree? If you say "3-strands and natural-crotching", I'm convinced I could talk you out of your views pretty quickly (hell just compare what $150 gets you in 3-strands versus double-braids and you'll see how much better they are....but they need anchors, this is simple&safe and it makes the rope perform better & last longer, if you consider that overkill then you're probably also climbing DRT with a blake's hitch lol, if so then at least acknowledge it's your personal preference instead of pretending that *objectively* superior systems are 'nonsensical'!)

[@jasonturney2800]

I hate whoppi slings