Begin Climbing on the cheap.....

Help me with a project. It's a 2 parter. It's sortof a game/contest....with no prizes.

First, come up with a list that we agree upon that shows the items a person needs in order to begin tree climbing.

Once we agree on this, Take it to the next level by putting prices on this, so we can come up with a number to answer the question, "How much will it cost me to get started."

Let's please ignore part 2 for right now and just focus on the items themselves....

I'll get it started. You tell me if I forgot something or if I included something not needed...

1- Helmet
2- Harness/Saddle
3- 120' climbing rope
4- Lanyard of some sort, maybe 20' long
5- Throwline, with a makeshift stuff sack

Am I forgetting something?

love
nick

karabiners are always useful.

OH! Duh....

I'll add 3 locking 'biners to the list. One for the end of your climbing line, and one for a split tail, and one for the lanyard.

Fair 'nuff. Anything else?

love
nick

Throwlines aren't really needed as long as branch is within the range that you can monkey fist it. Figured you were try to get bare minimum.

What do y'all think? I think not having a throwline is too limiting to not be considered necessary. Some of the first trees I climbed has the first branch at 30' or more. No way I could have hit that as a rookie with a monkey's fist.

So far, I say leave it.

love
nick

This is more than bare minimum but would be useful for a new climber.

To vary on Nick's extra biners...

2 autolocking biners for the lanyard
(the lanyard is not a must for beginning kit, climber can use the other end of main rope as lanyard but a lanyard is convenient fer sure)

Fergit about the split-tail at first Tie-in traditional with one biner and blakes

2 accessory biners

Definitely need throwline. Some beginners may not be able to throw monkeyfist more than 15 ft. Relying on monkeyfist only for tree entry excludes many people without extra upper body strength. This is a beginner rec climber after all.

2 throw bags, 16 oz if using slickline or 12 oz if using the thin stuff like zing-it

Safety whistle

1 or 2 cambium savers, Dan House pipe is probably the least expensive and easiest to install and take out.

Grippy gloves of some sort

Accessory cord for making a footloop

Duffel bag to put the gear in

2 small pieces of tarp, plastic or ripstop to put gear on the ground and to flake throwline onto. If you're throwing off of a perfect lawn no need but just about everywhere else it's nice to have a no twig surface to throw from.

Here is the list that myself and some of the other instructors put together for the beginners Basic DRT Kit.

Saddle
Helmet
150 ft throwline (2) (you will get one stuck)
50 ft throwline (for moving in the canopy)
12 oz Shot Pouch
14 oz Shot Pouch (2)
Linemug (store the 50' throwline in)
Carabiner, Petzl AmD Ball Lock (3) (an extra one if you happen to drop one)
Carabiner, non-locking (2) (to carry Water bottles etc.)
120 ft Arborist Rope
Dan House Rope Sleeve (2)
Ropebag, Medium, olive color
12 ft Accessory Cord 8.5 mm (for a footloop with the triple crown knot, a must for the beginner)

The most basic kit for me would be:

Helmet
Safety glasses
120' climbing rope

That will get you into any tree. The next batch of gear that I would add:

Lanyard setup-this can be made with using a cord for the friction hitch and a snap/biner

Add a snap/biner for tieing the rope to the saddle instead of tieing directly to the saddle.

Next batch:

Zing-it throwline with bags on both ends. Two lines would be better
Add Smurf gloves now

Anything added after these batches would be upgrades to the basic kit.

Prices??? That would be hard.

It would seem that the question that needs to be asked is. . .
Is this the absolute minimum a person would need to get themselves safely into the canopy?
– or –
Is this the absolute minimum an instructor would require a new student to acquire before he could give BTCC to the student?

Nice thread-starter Nick!
Interesting how the replies differ by the contributors perspective.

Okay, time to make some changes...

What do you all think about throwlines? Several here have stated 2 or 3 throwlines. I started with one, and was quite happy with that until I knew better. If you were sending a poor friend out to get started, would you push him to buy 2....or 3?

Definately, a rope sleeve or a cambium saver of some type must be on the list. I DIDN'T start with one of these, but as soon as I knew better, I made one right up.

Tengu, I'm going to propose modifying your "ropebag" item as gear bag. I know a person can use a cheap goodwill back pack as a gear back that will carry rope, harness, and other gear. Do you guys (and gals?) thing a proper rope bag is in order?

love
nick

Originally posted by NickfromWI
What do you all think about throwlines? Several here have stated 2 or 3 throwlines. I started with one, and was quite happy with that until I knew better. If you were sending a poor friend out to get started, would you push him to buy 2....or 3?

Tengu, I'm going to propose modifying your "ropebag" item as gear bag. I know a person can use a cheap goodwill back pack as a gear back that will carry rope, harness, and other gear. Do you guys (and gals?) thing a proper rope bag is in order?

I think it's fair enough to start them with one throwline. They'll realize pretty quickly though that they'll need some backup or at least a shorter in-tree throwline option. When they get their line hung up they will have to improvise a second throwline and weights for rescue, it's a good learning process

I use an inexpensive small stuff sack for my rope bags. The heavy duty ones from New Tribe for example are excellent but if my budget was ten dollars I'd go for the stuff sack. So I'd say a some type of inexpensive waterproof bag is a good idea for storing a flaked rope in addition to a duffle or knapsack for the rest of the gear.

If money were an issue, I'd suggest one throwline in a Zing-it vareity and the second as a cheaper Slickline. A five gallon bucket with dividers works for throwline storage. That is a no cost item.

On the cheap??? Rope bags smoke bags...use free suitcases from the curb...pink ones are the best

Thrift stores have lots of bags and packs that will work well while we save up some money. Make sure that the rope bags stand up and stay open though. No baggy ones.

I'm with Tom...minimum is what you make it and people get carried away with gear.

(Tom has bags of stuff that is mainly used for conversation starters!).

Rope bags...of any kind... would be scratched from my minumum list...who needs em?

Learn to coil a rope properly and it works fine. Sure you can use a bag but they are not necessary. Don't get me going about washing ropes...Scott

I would say two throw lines.

1-150 foot line. No bag for storage. Used for entry throws. 14oz. bag. or less depending on line size.

1-75 foot line. This is for the canopy. 12 oz. bag or less depending on line size. A storage bag is a must to keep it away from snagging duringt the climb.

Since I jumped into tree climbing in the spur of a senior moment after turning 50! I bought the "Basic gear set" from New Tribe for about $400. It has served me well and I have added extra stuff ever since. I am over $1500 bucks in gear now, including extra ropes, mechanical ascenders, extra biners, pantin, REI basic ascender, and the list keeps getting longer and longer...... including two chain saws!
What I really suggest to have is a Book of Instruction First thing for $15.00 ( Tree Climbers Companion) and them you can decide how you can get on the lowest tree available safely and grow from there.
Or if you can afford to take an organized class then "the instructor" will indicate what gear is needed for his class and you will grow gear from there until you can not longer climb of old age!.