Short sleeve for adjustable lanyard

I finally put a conduit sleeve on my adjustable lanyard. I used about 8\" of the black very flexible steel lined liquid tight conduit (what New Tribe sells). This is the small diameter conduit (inside diameter 1/2\"). I use the 3/4\" inside diameter conduit for my 11mm main climbing rope.

I tested it out and am very happy with it. I'm most pleased with seeing that I left no trace of rope on branches by using the sleeve on the lanyard. It's more than protecting the cambium, I think it's a worthy goal to leave no trace of your presence in the tree. On a white oak that's a tall order since the flaky crown bark falls off when you look at it. Still worth trying for on every climb.

Lanyard with sleeve configured as \"SRT\" connection, biner is clipped into slip knot


Lanyard with sleeve in typical DdRT connection


-moss

So I guess that means you've bought a length of the raw conduit along with the endcaps?

When I think of a lanyard I think of something you'd put statically around the trunk of the tree, which is not (I don't think) something a conduit would help you with. In your first photo the rope would not be moving, would it? So is an extra layer of protection justified except perhaps as protection from random sap on that branch?

Davej wrote:

So I guess that means you've bought a length of the raw conduit along with the endcaps?

That is correct, I make my own sleeves.

Davej wrote:

When I think of a lanyard I think of something you'd put statically around the trunk of the tree, which is not (I don't think) something a conduit would help you with. In your first photo the rope would not be moving, would it? So is an extra layer of protection justified except perhaps as protection from random sap on that branch?

In that photo I set it up SRT to show the technique. If I used my lanyard only as an SRT attachment then a sleeve wouldn't be needed but most of the time the lanyard is used DdRT. The SRT use comes in very handy once in a while, especially when there is no crotch available.
-moss

I've found that you still get some rope movement on an SRT system due to stretch (Even with static line). Every time you load or unload the climbing line, it moves a few inches. It's not a sawing motion, but it can still cause some bark damage.

I think a sleeve is a good idea any time, for the sake of the tree and the rope. Nice job Moss.

I am all about cambium protection and really like how it keeps my ropes clean. I wish I had my lanyard protected in those pines in Atlanta.

You have to think that any abrasive material imbedded into ropes fibers is not helpful let alone the sap that seems to be attracted to my ropes.

After the climbs in Simpsonwood my best lanyard was covered in pine sap and it took a long time to scrub it off.

What worked the best was to load the rope with a heavy weight (5 gallon bucket of sand) and clean a short section at a time with rubbing alcholol on a wash cloth. Then let air dry. I noticed that I was able to not only remove the sap but the whole length of Hi-Vee rope returned to its sparkling orange color. I am going to try some way to get sleeves on each end but the challenge is that I had Sherrill eye splice each end so it is a real tight fit. Ahh hindsight=20/20.

See you at the top,
Dan

PS anyone wants some custom lengths of sleeves contact me and I will see what the little elves have in the workshop.

moss wrote:

In that photo I set it up SRT to show the technique. If I used my lanyard only as an SRT attachment then a sleeve wouldn't be needed but most of the time the lanyard is used DdRT.

Uh... you mean SRT=one or DdRT=two attach points to your belt? I still think an eight inch contact zone is less than typical preconceived lanyard usage (trunk of tree). This reminds me that \"Tree Climber's Companion\" does suggest using 2 inch webbing over homemade rope lanyards for protection.

Davej wrote:

Uh... you mean SRT=one or DdRT=two attach points to your belt?

Yep, sorry to use such obscure language, couldn't think of a better short-hand way to explain. I think of a lanyard as a miniature version of a regular climbing system, it can used as SRT or DdRT depending on what you need at the moment.

Davej wrote:

I still think an eight inch contact zone is less than typical preconceived lanyard usage (trunk of tree). This reminds me that \"Tree Climber's Companion\" does suggest using 2 inch webbing over homemade rope lanyards for protection.

Typical is not typical depending on individual climbing style. For arborist/work climbers, especially doing removals the lanyard goes around the trunk just below the intended cut and attaches to the harness at their side D's. For my climbing style the lanyard is usually around relatively small limbs to hold me while I reset my main rope up higher, or as a backup (always tied in twice) while using a hand saw, or when I need positioning control to have my hands free for photography or other tasks. I always attach the lanyard to my center delta/pear. For conifer climbing the lanyard is used in \"alt climbing\" technique where the lanyard is alternated with the main climbing system as I work my way up. In all cases a short sleeve is sufficient. Even if the limb has 1/2 of its circumference greater than the length of the sleeve, the branch is still protected at the greatest point of load and friction on the backside of limb opposite the climber. A webbing sleeve is good, I've seen them used successfully. I like the low friction of the conduit sleeve and how easy it is to deploy remotely.
-moss

Baker wrote:

I've found that you still get some rope movement on an SRT system due to stretch (Even with static line). Every time you load or unload the climbing line, it moves a few inches. It's not a sawing motion, but it can still cause some bark damage.

True, I've observed this damage on the younger, thin-barked upper branches of white pine and other species. This is less so with a lanyard configured as a single rope connection but can be significant with a 200 ft. or more static rope on a trunk anchored SRT system.

You can observe bark wear on any branch of any species from a trunk anchored SRT system.
-moss

Note: I just measured my lanyard sleeve, it's 11\" not 8\", I'd never measured it, just eyeballed it to get the size I wanted. A typical conduit sleeve is more like 30\".