Matagorn
Treehouser
Hey climbers. I’m thinking of getting the DMM Captain Hook. Anyone have any experience with one? I’ve watched videos demonstrating its use. Who uses one, and in what configuration?
Thanks Merle. Any chance you could post a picture of it set up with the slack tending device? Do you take it up most trees with you? Just clip the bag on your harness or leave it dangling on a tail?Sure. Fifty foot kit from TreeStuff. I have a discontinued light slack tending device on it. Do all the authorized stuff with it and maybe a couple that aren't. For big canopy work or traverses from one tree to another it saves a ton of time.
Thanks for the info! Lots of cool ideas there.I have the epple hook and i love it, just a biner and clip it to your harness. I use a really long double ended lanyard, so I've always got a system set up to use it in a few seconds. Practice hooking and unhooking from a distance (twist the line till the hook flips over), that's where you get the most from it. Best uses I've found so far... for easy traverses I'll toss it, yard it tight, then let out on climb line to swing over, which saves time and effort when working a different lead. Great for an extra really quick work positioning aid, especially at bad line angles (doesn't count for a second tie in, but can make you more stable in a hurry when your climb line is at a bad angle or you gotta reach out more).
I'll even use it occasionally to help catch small limbs that can then be tossed. Toss it over another higher limb and then hook the limb you are cutting toward the balance point so it helps balance and hold it for you and you can control it better without as much strain or it falling before you can get both hands on it. You can also pull limbs closer to you and hold them there to prune them. Very handy when you shoot up and need something to get you close to a limb and you are just out in space. I have even set it up to use as an easily movable foothold for work positioning, just hook it above a nub that won't let it slide and clip in your foot ascender so you have a step below the limb for a work positioning step. Also handy for getting on top of a limb, since you can use it like etriers.
Thank you for the input!The DMM hook is nice. I too got the kit from Treestuff when they first came out. I find it to be tree specific enough that it does not live on my harness, to bulky for that, but instead gets pulled out of the truck as needed.
It really shines in trees with fairly open and spreading canopies. Look at the throat opening on the hook as a gauge when judging a trees application potential. Not much use in single trunk, excurrent trees, where I find a standard long lanyard more useful.
I have the epple hook and i love it, just a biner and clip it to your harness. I use a really long double ended lanyard, so I've always got a system set up to use it in a few seconds. Practice hooking and unhooking from a distance (twist the line till the hook flips over), that's where you get the most from it. Best uses I've found so far... for easy traverses I'll toss it, yard it tight, then let out on climb line to swing over, which saves time and effort when working a different lead. Great for an extra really quick work positioning aid, especially at bad line angles (doesn't count for a second tie in, but can make you more stable in a hurry when your climb line is at a bad angle or you gotta reach out more).
I'll even use it occasionally to help catch small limbs that can then be tossed. Toss it over another higher limb and then hook the limb you are cutting toward the balance point so it helps balance and hold it for you and you can control it better without as much strain or it falling before you can get both hands on it. You can also pull limbs closer to you and hold them there to prune them. Very handy when you shoot up and need something to get you close to a limb and you are just out in space. I have even set it up to use as an easily movable foothold for work positioning, just hook it above a nub that won't let it slide and clip in your foot ascender so you have a step below the limb for a work positioning step. Also handy for getting on top of a limb, since you can use it like etriers.
I wonder if you could make something similar from bent rebar? Does that sound like an idea with possibility?