Let's Hear It For 3 Strand!

chris_girard

Treehouser
Joined
Jul 28, 2007
Messages
1,535
Location
Gilmanton, N.H.
I don't know, there's something about good old 3-strand that I just love working with. Maybe because there is just so much history behind this rope and to me it is just so easy to splice.

How many of you guys splice 3 strand and what do you use it for? I splice 3 strand throw away lanyards for when I have to do big pitchy conifer removals.
 
I haven't worked out splicing it, but I have a stiff-lay 3 strand that doesn't seem to soak up as much water as some other ropes. This is a big help in the PNW winters.

Seems to wear really well, and its cheap. I've natural crotched the @#$% out of it, with little wear. Keep it simple when I don't need a block, or want to cut and lower stuff myself.

A good complement to my other lines.
 
I like a good three strand as well it's hard to beat for the dirty work of this profession. I have a few slings, lanyard, and 1/2" lowering lines also to be used with the massdam.
 
I splice my own three strand lanyards. I love it with the microcender as it almost releases like a hitch with some friction. I make steel ring and ring friction savers with it to. Good stuff.
 
I splice my own three strand lanyards. I love it with the microcender as it almost releases like a hitch with some friction. I make steel ring and ring friction savers with it to. Good stuff.

I used to do this but I don't bother anymore
 
i too like to make ring-ring friction savers from 3-strand. i have in the past made lanyards out of it when i found a particularly sexy piece in black at west marine.
 
I think it makes the best friction savers out there. I have one ring and ring, one "pulley saver", several endless loops, a chainsaw lanyard, pole pruner cords, ascended footloops, and many tiedowns made from 3 strand. I would love to get 600ft of 1/2" to have on hand but my partner hates it, so I guess I am lucky to have what I do. I always like it for light rigging. I agree with you Chris, there is just something cool and classes can about it. It always reminds me of the "old timers" climbing on tautlines, smokin' cigs, sporting mustaches and metal hard hats. And I say that with all due respect since those are the guys that have more tree knowledge than I could ever hope to have.
 
I have learned to splice it. Flip line, rope pulling and friction saver. I bought a roll and have half of it left for future needs.
 
I believe three strand is the preferred rope for calf roping, with lots of different diameters available to the hombres into that.
 
I splice my own lanyards out of 5/8" Treemaster. I also have a piece of 3/4" Promaster with a big eye spliced on one end. It's roughly 50' long. I use it sometimes to suspend a block from a crotch in order to lower another whole tree (usually dead and always reasonably smaller than the supporting tree). I have also used it to anchor the porty on really big trees. Then I have a couple of lengths of 1/2" Treemaster to use with the Maasdam rope puller. I have thought about buying some 3/8" 3-strand to splice up some saw lanyards out of, as well as some short slings for ziplining.
 
Locally a few use braided for climbing lines etc because of less bounce .Bull ropes and what not it's pretty much all 3 strand nylon .

The biz I've mainly used big line for most of my working life has been pulling ropes for big armored cable and up to say 20 years ago it was all three stand .Then because usually 600 feet was as long as you could get they went to braided which could do the pull with a smaller line .Plus you could get any length you wanted .

Now herein lies the problem .Three stand acts like a shock absorber which saves tearing stuff up .That plus the fact that over a capstan drum it gets a better bite than braided .You can burn braided pretty easily if you don't watch it .

Now I know from what a majority of treemen say on this site they prefer braided which quite frankly I can't comment on because I'm not really in that biz myself .
 
Love it! throw away lanyards, homemade rope guide, rigging slings and 150' hank in our MASadam continuous rope puller.
 
Love it for splicing purpose, shock absorber, elasticity's reserve (in pull rope) and good hand grip.
Hate it for the rugged surface which don't want to slide on the bark when you tie the knot, nearly impossible to untie after a hard pull, too prone to structure disorders, and rotate on itself when you put (or take out) the load on it (a twisted MA trying to pull on a 3 strands is enough unpleasant).

I have rigging slings, feet loop for my handle ascender, 70' for my Maasdam continuous rope puller, crappy 5/8" in 200' for rig/pull rope, 7/8" in 50' for hand pull, miniloader abuse and butt tying to avoid swings (brake on the bark).
 
Lets hear it for 1 strand!

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  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #22
Dude, I would never climb on 3-strand! I can't even imagine what it would be like to have to do that.

I was thinking of things like lanyards, loop runners, and natural crotch rigging.

Can you even imagine though if all we still had to work with was 3-strand manilla? Boy, we have it good compared to our previous generation of tree workers?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #24
Butch, I've heard that the military still trains recruits on 3 strand manilla, ever hear anything about that?
 
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