I was just thinking how much trust I place in the linemans belt when I'm hanging stands.

"Look Ma no hands!"

Be a bummer if it let loose for some reason

I've never fallen attachd with a linemans belt, I'm guessing you'd slide. How much would depend on how much slack you have it it. Ever see those lumberjack contests when they come down the trees? Basically a controlled freefall. Smooth trees with no branches though...

 

Exactly. I also put a lot of trust in it. Sounds like it could be a real nut cracker.

 

Probably take a few hairs and some hide off of your chest. Kind of like the tree hugging ride down you used to take when the foot part of an old Baker stand cut loose.

 

LOL! I'm still missing a patch of chest hair from sliding down a tree with my old TSS (very similar to a Baker) and it happened over 20 years ago! Today when I look back I can’t believe we used to use those contraptions!

 

So far so good,just some probable's.

 

slam into the tree and break a rib or two. That's what happened to me. I did not slide down the tree.

 

Ouch. This is kinda what I thought may happen. Sorry to hear that. So, is there anything you do different now, or do you just continue to use it the same way? You got any advice, being that you have first hand experience.

 

If you climb with spikes and a lineman's belt, you can severely pull your groin, hurt your back, or a number of other hip/knee injuries should you fall with a spike dug in to the tree and the other comes out suddenly.

If you use an ascender, you're basically just out of luck and you're going to slap the tree and then fall.

If you've screwed in steps, count on getting some deep tissue bruises or bone bruises from hitting those.


I worked for a number of years as a tree climber when I restored log cabins and ran a tree service.

Climbing with a harness is dangerous for a number of reasons, not the least of which was highlighted above: dead or dying trees. If you don't know anything about trees, you can climb one that is dead in the middle or halfway up without realizing it.
Should a tree's canopy fall while you're strapped to the tree and split taking part of the trunk with it, you'll be crushed against the trunk by the weight of the falling canopy. A number of arborists and loggers have been killed this way from sawing trees the wrong way. It's a remote possibility, but you should know that it can happen.
Another way people get hurt is by not using climbing rope for their belay line. When regular rope gets a dynamic load (something falling that stresses the rope quickly) it pulls taut very quickly. This energy is transferred to you, your guts, connective tissues, bones, and your joints by the place where the harness is connected (hips). It hurts.
That's why climbing rope is made with a stretchy core. The core absorbs some of the shock by elongating.

It's not just the steps and bark that will hurt you. It's everything.
Tree climbing is the new black in hunting, but that doesn't make it less dangerous for neophytes.

 

It appears kraven knows his stuff. Nice post here.

Curious as to WHY you use a linemans belt instead of a prusik knot and climbing line. Both have appropriate uses. Both prevent falls, though the prusik system will absolutely stop you.

As most of you know I make both of these and I always tend to ask people interested how they are using them. I think that it's as important to have the right safety equipment is it is to have the right bow setup for hunting.

As far as what to expect....if you are asking you really don't want to know. Falling isn't too bad, it's that sudden stop at the end that's deadly.

 

As a lineman, I have gaffed out of a number of poles over the years, both with and without the scare strap around the pole. I dont ned to explain what happened with out it around the pole. With it around the pole, It typically catches and you end up hugging the pole but I have never slid all the way down. The same thing happend when I have topped a few trees in the past. I would rather have it then not.

 

Had stick kick out on me, dropped a few feet.

Better than hitting the ground.

marty