New Climber From Arkansas.

Hey guys,

I am 14 year old kid in high school, I was watching some YouTube videos about arboriculture and climbing, then I found out out about recreational tree climbing, and thought it looked great and I really wanted to try it.
I also love hunting, so I got my hunter safety harness that is meant for my hunting tree stand, and some old ropes that I had, and I am now getting to climb like I wanted to.

Yes, I do get teased sometimes at school for climbing, don't know why, cause if more people knew of the trill and fun experiences that come with climbing, I think more people would want to start doing it for themselves. I cary tree bags with me while I'm at school, My school backpack, my drawstring harness bag, and my duffle bag that I use for my other gear.

None of my family thinks that I am actually going to stick with this hobbie, they think that this will just be "another one of my fads." but I really like this and I hope that I stick with it.

I am climbing on a DRT system using a Blake's hitch with the tail end of my rope, for a cambium saver, I use a hammock strap with two heavy duty carabiners, I have recently upgraded from my hunter safety harness to an actual climbing harness that I got off of amazon, for a throw weight, I use an old pair of socks with bb's in them, and zip ties to keep the bb's in it, for a climb line, I use an old marine grade docking rope that used to be used on my family's old house boat, the rope is about 25 feet long, so I really can't get that high in a tree, but I still have a ton of fun doing what I can do. also, for my carabiners, I use the two "eno" biners that came with my hammock.

I am asking my family for some components to make the SRT system, no one in my family know what anything that I am asking for is, but I do, so I am just giving the links to websites like TreeStuff.com and WesSpur.com so that all that they have to do is click on the link and click order.

I would love to be able to find other people my age that share the same love for climbing and just being outdoors in general that I do. So please, feel free to message me, if you are even able to do that on this site.

If you have actually read this far, I thank you very much for reading my document. Have a great day, and be safe in the canopy.

Brody
Welcome to the climbing world! You have the right attitude to progress safely in this hobby, so be sure whatever you use is rated for life support. Stick to brand names from sites that specialize in tree climbing hardware and you'll be fine. Stay away from ebay! Buying used is your choice, but we wary.
Check out sites like Treebuzz.com and Arboristsite.com for some great advice from veterans in the field.
Maybe someone on here is closer to Arkansas than me and can help you in person to get you further up the trees.
Good luck and be safe.

Thank you for the reply, and the advice. It means a lot. If I may ask, where do you get your gear? Online I mean. I have been on WesSpur.com, and TreeStuff.com a lot, but is there any others that you might recommend?

Treestuff.com, Wesspur.com, Sherrilltree.com, Bartlettman.com are all good ones. One of my favorites that is less known is GapArboristSupply.com in PA. They have free shipping on most everything and pricing that is competitive when the aforementioned "bigger" guys don't have sales. Ray at Gap is also a cool guy and can answer any questions you have.