Recreational Tree Climbing - RAD SYSTEM TUTORIAL (Comprehensive Beginners Guide)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ต.ค. 2022
- This video is designed for the beginner or aspiring tree climber. It covers what gear you will need to get started with the RAD system: how to install it on the rope; climbing technique; tips, and general thoughts.
I highly recommend that everyone interested in climbing trees learns this very reliable climbing system. Very easy to learn. Very affordable. Very safe.
Apologies for making this in a narrow vertical format. Working alone, with my phone, this configuration was the easiest way to manage.
To see a real world demonstration of the RAD system in use, check out these videos:
• Recreational Tree Clim...
• Recreational Tree Clim...
Here is how I set my rope in the tree:
• Recreational Tree Clim...
Here are some direct links to the gear used in this system:
[ I would highly recommend staying with professional rock climbing brands or professional arborist supply brands. There are Amazon/Generic offerings out there, but I don't believe they are regulated as strictly, and not worth the risk,just to save a few bucks....]
[ You should be able to buy everything you need for a beginner RAD setup at a rock climbing/outdoors store, such as: EMS, REI, etc....]
Here are some good arborist supply websites:
www.wesspur.com
www.treestuff.com
Petzl GriGri:
www.amazon.com/PETZL-PET_1007...
Black Diamond Hand Ascender:
www.amazon.com/dp/B00LU1EFNQ/...
Petzl Micro Pulley:
www.amazon.com/PETZL-Mobile-V...
Petzl Footloop:
www.amazon.com/PETZL-FOOTCORD...
Click here to see a full 'demonstration' of using this system in the wild: th-cam.com/video/pigx9xF5z9s/w-d-xo.html
This video has ended up being a turning point for my recreational / homeowner climbing game. I have been struggling with foot ascenders, hand ascenders, foot loops, etc, for a couple of months, until I saw this video.... I tried using the hand ascender as you demonstrated, but I have troubles with releasing mine as it has a lot of bite and locks onto the rope like a Canine on a car thief. I ended up using a prusik knot with a micro-pulley and it seems to work smoother for me. My practice has been limited to my shop today (18' rafters) due to storms all day today, but tomorrow It's On! Thanks again for sharing you knowledge. It is a great supplement to the Climbing 101 course I'm currently enrolled in here at TH-cam University.
Hi Rick. Thanks for the message! So glad to hear it was helpful for you. Great idea trying another form of rope grab (prussik)- there are many options. I've occasionally experienced foot/knee ascenders not wanting to release easily as well. Usually if you remove all weight from them, and slightly lift up on them while trying to open/release the cam to remove it that will do the trick. Good luck with it all and have fun!
Judson, I enjoyed and learned through your straight forward and reasonably paced video. Great job, also I always like and learn from the comments as well. Thank you!
Thank you, Robert! Glad you enjoyed it, and I appreciate the message.
As someone new looking to venture into the arborist arena, thank you for this video. Looking forward to more content, subscribed.
Thank you! I'm glad you got something out of it. More content on the way! Cheers.
Thanks for the demonstration. I'm getting gear together to solo climb the mast on my sailboat rather than a tree but looks like this system should work well. I did quite a bit of recreational rock climbing as a young man but haven't been climbing for many years so the GriGri is all new to me. Remarkable device!
Nice! Very cool application. Hope it goes well for you. The grigri (and the rig) are awesome tools. Thanks for the message.
Thankas sharing tutorial Recreational Tree Climbing for Comprehensive Beginners ..god luck
Great vid, thanks man.
Glad you liked it! Thanks for the feedback.
When you ascend, use a daisy from the lower hole on the jumar to your belay loop for another point of contact should the grigri slip or lever gets pulled too hard. Also, your pulley system is 2:1, not 3:1. If you extend the foot assist, you can stand. Good video.
and that's a 2:1 theoretical but I think it would be like 1.7:1 in reality because of the size of the cam on the gri -gri. even systems with integrated pulleys struggle to achieve true 2:1
@@jackberdineThere was a study by Geoclimbing, they tested the grigri with a pulley for redirection, the whole system had a 45% efficency. So the 3:1 would actually be a 1,35:1
I use a longer foot loop in order to extend my leg fully, for the same reasons one wants to adjust the saddle height of a bike in order to get maximum use of you thigh muscles. Let the leg do all the work and just manage your balance and tailing rope with your arm strength. This way you don't get cramp ten yards up in the tree and/or get tired shaky arms when you need to fiddle with stuff in the top. :)
Hi Jonas. Thanks for commenting. That is cool to hear. I will explore that more.... My foot loops adjust in length, so I can have the full leg extension as well, though, at least for me, I find my leg is more active with it higher up (as shown in video). Maybe it's just personal preference/body mechanics. I'm not sure the bicycle reference works- cause you're not trying to stand up when you pedal (seated), where as with RAD ascending, you are just trying to stand up, and both arms assist that leg motion very well. I also have bad knees (and weaker legs), so it's more efficient for me to use my arms to assist my leg- though, I agree with you fully about utilizing thigh muscles as much as possible. Only other thought I have is that technically I do have a shorter/more compact body/system length in the canopy with a shorter leg loop, which can be handy when climbing in dense/tight areas, which I have to do from time to time..... At any rate, I love having an adjustable footloop because sometimes a certain length one day feels better than other days.
Thanks
최고 입니다.
Great vid. If you added a foot ascender to your right leg wouldn’t you essentially be rope walking with a handle?
Thanks! I've never tried that. I'm not sure how efficiently it would work in the rad system, or if it would make sense. I actually dont' climb much anymore on a rad system, but I'll try to remember to check it out and see what happens sometime.....
Sounds great... Can't really see what's actually happening with the ropes, carabiners and hand ascender.
Good video. Thank you. Q: What style/model/ brand of harness are you using in the video?
It's a Petzl Sequoia SRT harness. I really like it for rec. climbing. It has all of the features of a high end professional arborist harness, but it's smaller/lighter weight, and packs really well.
So I've been climbing with this system for a while, works great! What do you think about using a foot ascender instead of a foot loop? The main difference is a loop attaches to the hand ascender, while a foot ascender would attach to the rope below, which is of course the "brake" end. I tried it and it pulls rope through fine. But not sure if it's mechanically a sound idea, the cam could be semi "locked" while rope is being forced through it.
I've never tried that before. I believe I know what you are suggesting. I'm not sure if that is 'hard' on the grigri.... Sorry I can't give you a proper answer.
I like that the RAD system doens't require a foot ascender. I like the minimal gear, and I like that I can use my arms as the same time that I'm stepping into the simple foot loop.
If I were going to use a foot ascender, I would just switch to a different climbing system. These days I primarily am using arborist rope walking setups (unless I'm deep in the backcountry and trying to keep my pack weight way down). So, I use a foot ascender and knee ascender. I can't lie, it is more efficient that the rad system, but I still like them both.
@@judsonkimble Thanks for the feedback, yeah I was testing the foot ascender in combination with the hand ascender, but it does complicate things. Rope walking sounds good, I hope you do a tutorial on your setup sometime. I pretty much used this video only to set up my RAD system, only thing I've added is a Roll N Lock to back up the grigri for hands free.
Enjoyed the video, yet a few close up views of the connections would have been helpful
Thanks! Yeah- I agree. I hope to do a better video version of this one day. Thanks for checking it out.
Nice video and thank you! I'm looking at this system for saddle hunting. I hear of people using the grigri in the hunting world, but, being a novice climber, I'm a bit concerned with having to back up the grigri because of the non hands-free issue. On the other hand the Rig looks quite bulky/heavy. Would the Petzl I'd be an alternative that's. say, in between the Rig and the grigri? Thanks again.
Thank you! The I.D. is even bigger/bulkier than the RIG. The rig is not bad at all honestly. It might only look big because the grigri is SO small. I think the RIG would be a very good/wise choice. More safety features; can handle a heavier load; more peace of mind. It's honestly not that heavy....
Good luck with it all, and thanks for watching!
@@judsonkimble Thanks for getting back to me and sharing your insights.
@@awac4577 You're welcome! Hope it works out for you.
WOW!!! THANK YOU, VERY MUCH, FOR DEMONSTRATING, AND EXPLAINING YOUR METHODS FOR ASCENDING, AND RAPPELING, USING THESE WORTHY BITS OF CLIMBING GEAR! ("SHARED"!!)🥨
Thank you! I appreciate your feedback, and I'm happy you enjoyed it. Have fun!
Great video thankyou, one question what gloves are you using?
Thanks! Glad you liked it. The gloves are just basic thin nitrile dipped work gloves found at Lowes/Home Depot. These happen to be a 'high vis' offering I found at lowes. This style of glove is my preference. Very good dexterity, and grip is good. Here is a direct link: www.lowes.com/pd/West-Chester-Large-5-Pack-Mens-Polyester-Nitrile-Dipped-Multipurpose-Gloves/1001831864
I use the Treemotion S Light saddle with a 10mm Yale Safari kernmantle rope to rope walk with a foot ascender and a haas knee ascender.I have a couple rope wrench setups.I first started with a Gri and hand ascender with pulley like you are showing. I wish I started climbing 30 years ago. The ULTIMATE stress destroyer .My kit is pretty heavy. I have a Notch Pro bag that has 2 150 foot ropes in it with a ton of gear and I keep my weaver throw bags and saddle in a tree bag.$4,500 in gear and rope and it's worth every cent. Take care and stay safe.
Sounds awesome. I couldn't agree more. I'm mostly rope walking these days too. Glad to know multiple systems though. I've got my 150' rope walking kit at about 37lbs packed up. Not too bad. Wish I had found climbing earlier too, but just grateful I found it. Cheers!
@@judsonkimble Yes is great.Stay safe.
Still an affordable pastime despite your outlay. Look what a lot of guys spend on golf clubs, motorcycles, airplanes, fishing gear and boats, etc. And as you say, great exercise and emotionally healthy.
I'm looking at setting a system almost exactly like this up, and using it for saddle hunting. I understand that you aren't supposed to use the grigri hands free, and I understand you are supposed to tie a knot in the line if you want to go hands free. I have two questions if you don't mind.
1) Is it possible to tie a knot in the line above the grigri with one hand? I suppose it would be. You just have to remove the ascender/ pulley setup with your left hand, and then tie the knot left handed.
2) If you remove the load down on the line from the grigri, does this reset the cam? Saddle hunters stand on a platform, so I'm just thinking if you stand up on the platform and then go to sit down, if it disengages the cam when you stand up that is a really easy way to fall (obviously if you didn't tie the hands free stopper knot)
Hi. I'm not positive I fully follow your question. It is possible to keep the tail of your rope in your hand while you tie a knot with both hands. If the grigri cam ever were to start to slip, or just not engage, it doesn't take too much force/friction on the tail to trigger the cam to engage. I'd definitely recommend having a short length adjustable lanyard to use while up in the tree, then you can be double tied in, and not have to worry about anything. Good luck with it all!
Thank you so much! I went with a madrock safeguard and plan to tie a knot to block it and go hands free, and then also have a tether as a backup.@judsonkimble
Great video - appreciate your insight on all this. I'm getting into basic tree work & thought that a zigzag/rope wrench & all the ascenders (foot/hand/knee) are needed all together to make ascending/descending as safe as possible - but it seems like the basic gear you're using here is good enough - what do you think? Should I just start off & get a rope runner pro, foot/hand ascenders & learn that way? Thanks - new sub!
Thanks! I think both approaches are worth learning. If it's super basic work you are after, you can definitely do it with the RAD system- though, I would recommend using the Petzl RIG and not the GriGri. it's stronger, and has more safety features. Much safer option. They both function the same, but the rig is more professional and the grigri is more for recreation. It's a lot cheaper to go this route than get a rope walking setup, but down the road you can do more with the ropewalking. More gear and money though. At the end of the day it a personal decision. RAD system would be less investment up front, and is a bit more simple to learn well initially. I'd probably recommend starting with a RAD setup, and then upgrade to the other options you mention down the road. Good luck!
@@judsonkimble Thanks Judson - your reply & expertise really helps us all understand the process of getting good, solid experience, equipment, & education of this field. Thanks to your video & response, I think the RAD system is the better way for me to learn first - really appreciate it!
@@davparksoh Thank you. I'm glad I can help. I'm not an expert by any means, but I am passionate about what I do and have put a lot of time/research/money into learning to climb, so it's nice to be able to give back a bit. I mostly learned from youtube myself a few years ago. Best of luck with everything.
@@judsonkimble Really appreciate your help! I also wondered what was the particular small pulley brand used in this vid? - and can 1/2'' three strand bull rope be used for the hand, chest, & foot ascenders instead of the various climbing ropes?
@@davparksoh You're welcome! This purple micro-pulley is by CMI. Available on any arborist supply website. It's my favorite micro pulley.
I'm not sure about your rope question. I've never used that style of rope before. It would definitely be too big for the petzl grigri, and possibly also the petzl RIG, but maybe would fit in the petzl ID device, but I'm also not sure if 3 strand style ropes work in these devices. Sorry I can't help there....
Can you link the equipment you used harness/ RAD system etc? I’m very new to climbing but want to know what equipment is good for starting out and which equipment I can wait on purchasing
Will work on this. Thanks for the request. I'll list the RAD gear expect the harness. In this video I'm wearing a pretty expensive arborist harness here (about 500 bucks) (Petzl Sequoia), which I wouldnt' recommend to someone starting out. As a beginner, I just bought the most basic rock climbing harness at my local outdoors (hiking/climbing/skiing) store, which happened to be a CAMP. A bunch of basic harness options around 50 bucks.
@@judsonkimble awesome thank you!
🤗
Need to zoom into see what's going on.
I wish I had a camera person. I hope to get another video up at some point that zooms in more....
Wow mny tannkkk you
Can you do this with a dynamic rope? Thanks
I've never used a dynamic rope. I think you could, it would just be VERY stretchy/bouncy and not as efficient. I think most dynamic ropes are around 30 percent elongation, and the static ropes that I use are between 1 and 3 percent.
So why does this video have huge black borders on the left and right? How would you describe what’s going on here? What did this TH-camr do wrong? I’m asking from a complete technical standpoint, I’m interested in possibly putting up some skateboarding/guitar vids of my own.
This video was filmed on a cell phone in the vertical format. It was what met my needs best with having a verticalLy oriented video and wanting to keep the camera tripod as close to me as possible so that the microphone quality would still be good. It's not ideal but if I went to horizontal/full screen mode, my camera would have been much further away and everything would've been smaller and the audio would've suffered.
what setting do you have you gri gri on? there's that dial on the back
The device specs are on the back (rope sizes approved), and it might look like a dial, but there are no adjustments that can be made to the grigri. It works great as is.
on my gri gri plus three's a dial that is a dial. I probably just have a different one.@@judsonkimble
Gotcha. I do remember hearing about that 'plus' model having extra safety features. I forgot about that. I've never used it personally....@@markkent8436
Thanks anyway, this video got me going! Just climbed tha backyard tree using the RAD system.@@judsonkimble
For a "beginners guide", how about starting from the beginning? Like, how did you climb the tree to get the climbing rope suspended?
Line setting is a whole other subject. There should be plenty of how-to videos on youtube for it. I have a demo video somewhere on my channel if you dig around. You don't need to climb to install your climbing rope. You can easily do it from the ground using a 'throw-line' kit. Basically it's a weighted beanbag with a ring on it that you attach a special string to, and you throw that up and over what ever branch/union you want to use, and when it comes back down, you tie your climbing rope to the string, and pull your rope up and over the branch and then either install a base or canopy anchor and you're good to go. There are different styles of throwing you can use, or you can use an arborist sling shot to install it as well. I can hand throw (one handed) around 60' and my sling shot ('big shot') is good for 100'.
I subscribed a website age a special that if you selected 3 items and leafy a ghost order they would send you a free rope bag well my free rope bag never came 😂
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Super over complicated for the benefits gained, you could just climb DRT/MRS and spend half as much on gear and use a cheap foot ascender, and youd get the 2:1 mech advantage.
Hi James. I appreciate your preference for MRS. I use, and enjoy it as well. I like all the systems, and have preferences based on each climb. No need to compare apples to oranges. Any rock climber switching over to climbing trees will already have this gear, so that is one main advantage. It's also nice to not have to isolate a tie in point using this RAD SRT system, compared to MRS. And, the biggest advantage for rec climbing is that you can safely do RAD on 9mm rope, which is huge if you're deep in the back country. I've never heard of anyone climbing MRS on 9mm. I think the trusted grigri is going to be more approachable for a beginner than a friction hitch too... Anyway. All good systems. I use MRS for my pruning work, and love it.
@@judsonkimble those are all good points dude
To far away to see
IMHO: YOU SHOULD'VE, ALSO, RECOMMENDED WEARING GRIPPY GLOVES, (AS YOU DID, HERE)! TO MINIMIZE HAND INJURIES(BLISTERS)...🥨
Definitely. I always wear gloves. Some gloves can be too grippy in my opinion, but the ones I'm wearing are my favorite. Just the right amount of grip. thin enough to be able to do what you need to do, but strong enough to protect your hands from wear/burns. these are just your average 'nitrile dipped' work gloves from lowes/home depot.