What do you think of the unicender? (Poll)

[NorthWoodsDiver]

I am either going to buy a Unicender or Petzl Ascentree. I would like to get some opinions on both but especially the unicender. My biggest concern is how long the wear surfaces last before needing replacement.

 

[Old Monkey]

I think there are only one or two Unicender users here. SimplyPete has one and I think NickfromWI has one, I'm not sure who else. Burnham has been loaning one out to let folks try it out.

 

[SkwerI]

DMc uses one as well, he's been using it for years.

 

[DMc]

Yes, I do use the Unicender and can't imagine working without it now. Whether it is a good choice for you or not, will depend on what you plan on doing with it. If it is just to replace a hand ascender for footlocking, I would say it is not worth it. If you are going to use it for doubled rope work positioning, I would also say it is not worth it.

If you plan on delving into SRT and work positioning, then absolutely. Most versatile tool for this type of tree work available at the moment. But be forewarned, I had an awful lot of hours on doubled rope climbing and work positioning. It took me forever to get comfortable with and utilize single rope technique in work positioning. Not the Unicender, but the single rope technique itself. The Unicender itself is pretty uncomplicated and easy to use.

SRT entry and work positioning is totally different than doubled rope and requires a different thought process for moving through the trees. I use SRT now on virtually all tree work, even the small stuff.

Dave

 

[simplypete]

I do use the unicender. I use it double rope and I keep trying to use it single but I don't see me catching on any time soon. I will just use it till it wears out and not get another. It is a nice piece of equipment if you can harness it's awsome powers.

 

[Burnham]

My mind is far from made up about the darn thing. Like Dave said, it really is only worth the $$ and effort to learn to integrate it if you are going to use it SRT and pursue working the tree off that system. Otherwise, it's just a very expensive Blake's hitch.

I never have been able to invest the needed time into fine tuning my SRT setup with the Uni...I agree again with what Dave tells us, it's a steep learning curve to get efficient with working the tree SRT.

It's the first piece of gear that I recall requiring so much change of mindset to be able to put it into effective use.

 

[Bounce]

I have used one and I agree with DMC. IMO, the Unicender is the most revolutionary new product to be introduced to the tree service industry since synthetic rope. This is because it is the only device that enables SRT to be used not just for canopy access but also for work positioning. And using SRT instead of DdRT has many advantages: (1) it is a 1 to 1 system instead of 2 to 1 makes ascending twice as efficient (climb 20 ft of rope to get to a 20 ft branch instead of 40 ft of rope); (2) you don't have to isolate a crotch when setting your line; (3) you can set your line higher in the canopy, using many small branches instead of 1 or 2 large branches, which allows better line angles and better mobility; (4) by tying off one end of the line to the base of the tree, aerial rescues are unnecessary; (5) friction and cambium savers become unnecessary since the rope does not slide over the branch. All of this is only made possible by the Unicender. No other device can be used as both an ascender and a descender in both SRT and DdRT.

But to answer your question about the wear surfaces, every ascender on the planet including the Ascentree should outlast every descender on the planet including the Unicender. This is because you never rappel down the line on an ascender, which is what generates most of the friction that causes a wear surface to wear out.

 

[Burnham]

Well put, Sean.

 

[Bounce]

Thanks Burnham. I'm sure there are more advantages to SRT that I didn't list. Those were just the ones which spring to mind.

 

[Burnham]

Not to forget that there are disadvantages as well...but that's the case with just about everything.

 

[lumberjack]

...(1) it is a 1 to 1 system instead of 2 to 1 makes ascending twice as efficient (climb 20 ft of rope to get to a 20 ft branch instead of 40 ft of rope...

I agree with everything but this. Climbing 20' of rope at X weight or 40' at .5X weight requires the same work aside from frictional losses from the TIP and the rope sliding through the friction hitch.

 

[Bounce]

The only disadvantage of SRT that springs to mind is the difficulty of advancing your tie-in-point when one end is tied to the base of the tree. It means having to pull up the other end all the way from the ground. Of course, that is assuming you have a Unicender. Without a Uni, SRT has several of disadvantages that are a result of having to switch out ascenders for descender every time you change direction. This would make things like limbwalking nearly impossible.

 

[Burnham]

Oh, I think there are other disadvantages, Bounce. For one, there are the risks associated with having your lifeline anchored down at ground level. Some climbers simply are not comfortable with that. Another follows from your mentioned issue of the difficulties with advancing the tie-in point...due to this, we are tempted to set lines as high as possible, which means good evaluation of the strength of that tie-in is difficult.

Not to mean that I'm anti-SRT, just some observations.

 

[Bounce]

True dat - both of youse.