The Dan House Rope Sleeve

Doing electrical engineering work by trade and mechanical fabrications by hobby, it usually takes a lot to impress me when it comes to gadgets & gimmicks.

Complex contraptions interest me but seldom impress.
On the other hand, things that are so simple they are profound, delight me.
The Dan House Rope Sleeve falls into the “delight” category.
I have several. As far as I am concerned, every man, woman, and child in America should have one.

I am very pleased that this puppy made it to the New Tribe web site.
Thank you Dan & thank you New Tribe

The simpler... The better.
Electrojake

Thanks for the kudo's and I have to tell you that I too marvel at inventions.

I tried the false crotch straps and hated the installation and removal and never liked the small radius over the rings.

I saw the leather tubes and knew that was the right path.

I work at a plumbng. heating and cooling dealer so I was able to get many types of plastic tube to try but the first time I tried a modest descent the heat melted the plastic and left me a dirty job of twezzing out congealed plastic off my sportline.

"If I only had metal tube", I said. Walking thru the Air Conditioner graveyard I saw just what I needed; Liquid-tight flexible conduit. With a ferrule to protect the edges I was in business.

I sent one out to Tom Ness with NewTribe and he sent it back concerned about the sharp edges; if you bend them over a small diameter limb the metal spiral will separate.

Next I went to Atlanta to take Peter's Facillator's Course and gave him a few to test out. One of his next students was John Gathright from Japan.

John took a Rope Sleeve back to Japan. He need permission to climb Japan's trees from the Minister of Forest and they required cambuim protection. The Minister had an employee install a Rope Sleeve on a limb and tried to make it fail somehow. Of course the sawing back and forth can last just about forever so he was able to get permission.

I was shipping about a dozen sleeves a year around the country until Barb at NewTribe called for a quote on a box full. Now they have been available thru NewTribe for a few years and we all can feel good about our efforts to protect the trees, reduce the climbing effort and keep our ropes clean.

I have two sleeves on my 200 foot FLY; once aloft I can toss the free end higher with the sleeve on and change over to make another pitch.

Thanks again for the kinds words and endorsement.

No Spikes and No rope burns on the bark!

See you at the top,
Dan

I have had the opportunity to assemble various types of Dan House Rope Sleeves. I have experimented with different types of end ferrules and different brands of flex. Some steel lined and some aluminum, in lengths from 20 to 36 inches.

The issue that seems to make the difference is the end ferrule. As you can see in the photo above, there are substantial differences in ferrule design. Zinc, anodized, cast metal, stamped, molded, etc…

Some work better than others but the short answer is…
The stock Dan House unit as supplied by New Tribe is a superb device.
It is difficult to improve on perfection, as I have found out.

Notice to new users interested in the D.H.R.S.:
The possibility of a hidden sharp edge in a home-made version of this device can be deadly. Trust New Tribe not the corner hardware store.

Electrojake, This is a great posting. I am also amazed by the simple things that can a do great job. I have tried to assemble a F-Saver once and I discovered that there is more to it than meets the eye. The friendly harware store man gave me several pieces of the electrical conduit but they were basic "hoses" without the inside metal jacket so they did not work because there is too much friction between the rope and the "hose" and it slips away from the tree branch when loaded. So, I desided that it is dificult to replace the "original". I have used mine for about one year now and it is showing some damage to the outside plastic cover so I will assume that the inside metal jacket is possibly damaged and it is time to buy a new Dan House Rope F-saver Sleeve.

"The issue that seems to make the difference is the end ferrule."
I see that without the proper equipment to properly crimp the ferrule into the electrical conduit it would be difficult to make one that works right.

"As you can see in the photo above, there are substantial differences in ferrule design. Zinc, anodized, cast metal, stamped, molded, etc… "
Excellent picture including the pencil for dimension. Great Job, Thanks

The stock Dan House unit as supplied by New Tribe is a superb device.
It is difficult to improve on perfection, as I have found out.

Thanks for the Advise and Warning, It made me reconsider continuing to use mine and replace it ASAP before the next climb. Any Experience with the leather made F-saver ones. Any comments from anyone??

"Notice to new users interested in the D.H.R.S.:
The possibility of a hidden sharp edge in a home-made version of this device can be deadly. Trust New Tribe not the corner hardware store."

Oldtimer,

Let me first start off saying that I never had trouble with my DH conduit sleeves, but also that I have been using my leather sleeves exclusively for about a year and a half. I will explain why I switched.
I saw a Conduit sleeve that had been used on a branch that was what I am guessing too small in diameter and had a seperation of the sleeves spiral. The casing was cut away and what was under it was a little alarming to say the least. Where the spiral was seperated was some rather sharp edges of metal and my thinking was, with weight added to a rope sliding through this it may not take much to put a substantial compromise in the integrity of the rope. I did not like the idea of that. I think that careful inspection of the conduit rope sleeve will show nonuniform bulging at the site of any compromise in the structure, but I opted to not take the chance. I want to reiterate, that I never had a problem with mine, but I chose to put them aside and use the leather ones. I also remember them having a minimum diameter branch to use it with ( I don't remember what it is but think it was 6 inches) so it would be the height of wisdom not to stretch that limit.

As for using the leather sleeves, I have only had a few instances where they were hard to set because of a tight crotch, or them pesky twigs that grow near the crotches. When this happens it is sometimes hard to pull the leather sleeve into place because of its pliability. With that said, I never was NOT able to set it, it just may have taken a little longer. In those cases, I am pretty sure the conduit sleeve would have set easier, but my choice was to spend a little more time setting the leather one.

So that is my 2 cents worth. I hope that this helps.

Good luck and have a great day!

I use a leather sleeve. It is roughly 1/8 inch thick (as I recall--don't have it here) and is quite sturdy. I have heard of some that are much thinner and do not hold up well. If you have used those, you no doubt have been disappointed.

I have had no problems with mine and always use it. It should last a long time.

I probably am being overly concerned, but I really would be nervous about using the flexible conduit. I know that I would feel compelled to check it carefully before each climb, and would be nervous about using it over a small-diameter limb.

On the other hand, my hat is off to Dan for designing it. I still remember when I first read of it--the creativity indeed did bring a big smile to my face.

D.H.R.S. Failures…

I had a failure in one of my “homemade” units, but never in a New Tribe unit.

You can buy cheep flex or pay more for the good stuff.
In the cheep stuff the secondary spiral is a nylon cord rather than a copper runner. When the flex is bent too tight around a skinny branch, the nylon cord will pull through and expose itself on the inside of the tube. I have not had this problem on the better grade flex which uses a copper secondary.

My original Dan House unit has been in constant use for two years and I have had no problem. My weight is about 200 pounds with my climbing gear on.

However, If a New Tribe unit ever goes bad on me…
You can be sure I’ll be yapping about it here on the forum.