Has anyone on here made their own lifelines with climbing rope? I want to start installing these on all my stands, but at $30 a pop the HSS rope is a little steep given the number of stands I have. I am thinking of buying some good quality climbing rope and making my own Prussic knots. Has anyone tried this? Also, I realize that you can't put a price on your life, but if someone learned how to properly tie these knots and use good quality rope, I don't see how it would be any less safe that the HSS Lifelines. Thanks in advance.
ya i think you could but the problem is a good quality climbing rope would be more then the cost if u bought it in the store i looked in to doing this last year by the time u bought the rope and tied the nots i think it would not be worth it and i would feel better with buying it because u know it is done right
I found some climbing rope on ebay, $27 for 44 feet. That would be enough for about 2 stands. Wasn't sure how good of a deal that was though since I am not a climber.
Something like this will do what you're asking: New England 7mm Accessory Cord - Package of 30 Feet at REI.com It is rated at 10.2 kiloNewtons, and a KN is 224 lbs. It is rated for roughly 2,285lbs of capacity. You want your line strength to be at least 10 times your body weight in case of a fall. Most good outdoor shops will sell this by the foot, and pick up some quality carabiners at the same outdoor store. DO NOT BUY ROPE AT THE HARDWARE STORE It is not rated the same, and some cheap made in who knows where rope will get you hurt, or killed if you put your life on it. You can learn to tie a prussic knot on the web. For carabiners, I have Chouinard (now Black Diamond), Black Diamond, MSR, Petzl, Omega and Beta Biner (no longer in business) all on my climbing hardware rack. Good ropes New England, Blue Water, Mammut, PMI Something to keep in mind: Good rope won't deal well with UV, so putting it up is crucial. If you leave it out, don't use it for too long. Rotten ropes lead to death when you really need it.
To get the right rope and hardware you may be at a similar price to hss. Don't want to skimp on anything. The prusik is not complicated. You also need to tie a double fishermans knot. If you have a smart phone you can download grog knots. I am certified in high angle rope rescue... This app is great to have to learn new knots and practice them.
Here is an excellent video I just found on Field and Stream's website: Video: Make Your Own Treestand Safety Line | Field & Stream
I looked into it as well. By the time I found good rope and a good carabiner, I figured I'd need to make 15 or so before it was worth it. The HSS 3 pack was the way to go for me.
I too looked into it, but by the time I arrived to a store that sold decent rope I had already spent $30 in gas. FML!
I made one using that technique for my practice stand at home. I had a short section of climbing rope a tree cutter gave me, otherwise I wouldn't have done it. Climbing rope and good carabiners are expensive.
FWIW "climbing rope" is designed for falls of 50'+ in distance. That is why you need 4000# working load. Velocity and kinetic energy increase as distance of fall increases, so falling from a 15' treestand is nowhere near the same kinetic energy that falling from a 50' cliff is. When you're in a stand hooked in with a harness strap, the most distance you're actually falling is a few feet.
I do my own. I just get the thick black rope from lowes. Works fine to catch me I've practiced falling off from like 6 or 7 ft.
