Extend a pole

[Treeaddict]

Anyone using a telescoping pole in the canopy to assist in setting your lanyard or reposition your climb line?

Marc, I thought you mentioned something like that before

Something you can keep on your saddle that will afford, say, 10’ of reach.

I’ve learned lots of throwing tricks but would still like to investigate this avenue of mobility.

 

[Bodean]

A pole clip or pole saw…

 

[flushcut]

I have not but I knew a few old timers that would use a 16’ basswood pole saw to a advance their drt taughtline setup. Not poking fun just saying.

 

[Marc-Antoine]

Aluminum is nice, but one little ding or bend on it and it's dead.
It's a very solllicited item, at least with me. I use mine absolutly all the time and I wouldn't climb without it. It saves me an huge amount of efforts, time and irritations (most of the time). Setting my climb line above, sideway, even inbetween the ivy mess, retrieving the rope it if it gets stuck, pulling out hangers, debris on roof or small limbs over the fence in the neighbour yard, even dead wooding, getting back the rigging rope, catching a small limb out of range to prune, setting the maasdam's rope up a trunk...

The downsides are the fragile walls (breakes easily with a side pull) and the coupling mode. It's a one conical shape from one pole's end to the other and the external surface of one element fits inside the interior of the next bigger. The very small tapper can make it collapses if not set properly or gets deadly stuck if the pull is too hard. Learning curve.
The upside is that it's repairable, being fiberglass, even if it can be tricky with the few room allowed to patch it.
I've gone by quite a few with many repairs on them. That's because it's sooo convenient, that I end up to abuse them, even if each time I promize to be watchfull and gentle on it ! Not all my fault tough, like a limb rotates as it's pulled and a secondary catches my pole, or it falls earlier than expected and and other limb/trunk is in the way. But I still love it.

It's a 20' telescopic fishing poles, poket model for lac fishing. It's sold bare, no gear at all, at maybe 25euros. The compacted length is 22.5".
It needs a little work.
I ditch the thinest two parts, way too supple. Actually, I glue the largest of these two inside the new ending part to add some rigidity. I hot-bend a piece or rod in a S shape with a tail and glue it inside the end (hot melt for repair purpose). That gives the pushing and pulling capability. I ditch the screw cap at the big end (too brittle) and replace it by a cut off screw cap from a bottle, kept in place by like gorilla tape. I tie a string at the big diameter, the short end is for hanging the pole on the saddle, the long end is for catching the S hook and keeping the pole compacted.
The final length is around 16.5'. It's a practical limit of the system, due to the rope's weight on it ( collapsing if vertical or bending too much if horizontal). I'm still abble to set my rope that far away in the other tree /lead with one hand and arm at full stretch, if needed, but it's a lot of torque on the wrist. It's often too short, but bigger wouldn't makes it.

 

[Treeaddict]

Thank you Marc! Thought you mentioned something like that in one (or more) of your posts. Wasn’t sure about the details though. Off to find an appropriate telescoping fishing pole!

 

[Altissimus]

Have two different hook ends on wood poles , one is 4' , other is shorter but has a ferrule for extending with the other 6's. The 4 goes up quite a bit , always on bigger ascents to push my handled ascender and pulley up. Even think there was an old thread about the many ways the hook saves the day ...

 

[SkwerI]

I never climbed with any extra gear unless I needed it. The idea of carrying a collapsible pole just in case is unimaginable to me. I was getting paid to climb so I climbed. You don't need much of a foothold to climb up a tree trunk in a canopy. Lots of flares and bumps.

If I needed a pole for something it was easy enough to call for it to be sent up. Standard pole saw head with a 6' pole or two works great.

 

[SeanKroll]

Consider a New Tribe Grapnel.





I often find a branch to use.


Extra weight can aid in repositioning a climb line. I use a steel termination biner for weight. Rarely, I add a throw weight to the biner.

 

[Treeaddict]

I’m mostly thinking about horizontal movements without someone on the ground to pass poles. I can manage vertical maneuvering through use of a steel biner for weight or a throw bag if it proves necessary. I can throw horizontally about 3’ and have it swing back for a catch. The telescoping pole may be my style or it may not. Don’t know until you try.

 

[SeanKroll]

Boomerang Shot

Fundementals of General Treework

 

[Altissimus]

Also use a 3' Smith Rod , added 6" of tight fitting fuel line for a handle then bent that side around a small clip , top end is a hook .... always goes up when doing a bunch of lowering , handy to get the empty rig line back ect , setting the slings too

 

[Treeaddict]

Gonna read that section on the boomerang. I “discovered” it by accident I think. Maybe John told me about it. Meant to look it up, just didn’t know what it was called.

 

[SkwerI]

Here in Florida everything grows wide, so horizontal movement is a given. The trick is getting a good high tie in first, then come down and you can lean out against your lifeline as you work your way out the limbs. In 25 years of climbing I never tossed a rope out in front of me to pull myself out a horizontal limb.

In rare and difficult circumstances I have been known to just lanyard in and do the 'shiney hiney'. But ya do what ya gotta do.

 

[Tree09]

Throwing hook.

 

[Treeaddict]

I do have a hook- grappling type. Haven’t used it yet. Some weird aversion to having another rope or bag hanging off the saddle. I used the pole once so far. 8’ reach. It’s perfect length for my 16’ lanyard. It’s only really for horizontal movements. Vertical is easy with throwing only. Have it attached on suspenders behind shoulder so it’s not cluttered around my waist. I will use the grappling hook for very long special horizontal movements as needed (tree to tree).

 

[biggun]

I’m mostly thinking about horizontal movements without someone on the ground to pass poles. I can manage vertical maneuvering through use of a steel biner for weight or a throw bag if it proves necessary. I can throw horizontally about 3’ and have it swing back for a catch. The telescoping pole may be my style or it may not. Don’t know until you try.

Seriously, don’t mess about with a pole, it isn’t the 1980’s anymore.

Get a DMM Captain Hook and practice your throwing. Light and clips to the harness easily. Great for traversing in big canopies.

I just tie it to the end of the of my climb line but it can come with a length of rope; or make your own.

 

[SkwerI]

Rich has the right idea. I always preferred tools that could do more than one job. Use what you have already instead of dragging more tools up in the tree with you. Using the end of your lifline instead of a separate rope for something you may use once every month or two is a great example.

 

[Treeaddict]

alright, alright the Hook will be put on the “need to purchase” list!😁

That doesn’t mean I don’t like my pole though. Used it again 30 min ago to get to a limb being removed 😉

Brian, thank you for speaking about tail use. Boy, that would have been helpful an hour ago. It could have kept me against the trunk while repositioning my lanyard. The thought never occurred to me. I didn’t want to have a second, smaller lanyard (too much stuff). That situation will present itself again for sure. Guaranteed.

 

[biggun]

Another use for the hook is lazy man’s deadwooding.

Tie the hook to the end of the climbline and chuck it at pieces you have trouble getting to. Also a good method for retrieving hangars.

 

[lxskllr]

That's what I use the grapnel for, but it's more delicate than a captains hook.

 

[Treeaddict]

John, the one sent to you by a member here? If so, I know which one you are talking about.

 

[lxskllr]

Yup. Stig sent it to me. I don't use it a lot, but when it's needed, it's super handy. Last time I used it, I pulled a vine to me to cut. There was no other way of getting it aside from the obvious 'cut it near the ground', but that would have left a bunch of vine dangling there. It was too far out on the branch tips of the spruce to climb and get. The grapnel made it easy.

 

[Tree09]

Yeah that's for setting lines, the throwing hooks are a completely different animal. I use an epple hook, not even sure if they're made anymore but it's the same thing. Huge time saver, and labor savor too. I'll even use it cutting light stuff over targets, simply lob it above you to a light rigging point, and it's easy to hook the limb you want to cut further than you want to climb. Once it's cut you can pull it back to you and toss it. Not to mention the time you'll save bouncing from tip to tip rather than going all the way back to the trunk each time.

 

[cory]

Rich and 09- I can envision using a hook to fairly easily achieve a second tie in, say on a nearby higher limb, but then I'm wondering, after the task at hand has been accomplished, if that second tie in and limb is somewhat inaccessible and the hook is hooked in a crotch, how do you get the hook back? In the scenario I'm envisioning, throwing slack at the hook won't do any good cuz the hook is well hooked and it's somewhere above you'

Clear as mud?

 

[Tree09]

You whip a bit of slack in it, the hook falls, and then you pull it free. Takes a bit of work and if you hit a super tight crotch you might get it stuck, but normally it's not too bad.