Climbers Kit List

sNew to tree climbing and looking at a bewildering range of equipment? The following notes are based on my efforts to help new and / or student climbers select kit with which they can learn their craft, pass assessments and work effectively in the industry. No doubt as knowledge and skill develops so will equipment preferences.

Most new climbers don't have an unlimited budget, this webpage is intended as helping in the choice of cost effective solutions.

All equipment should be manufactured to European standards that are intended for work at height. The history of the equipments use is very important so either secondhand or ebay sourced is generally not recommended.

Your life depends on equipment design, manufacturing and history of use. Don't use rubbish

Because we're based in the UK it is a requirement for climbers to have two climbing systems. This reflects that.

Reference material

For new climbers in the UK the Arboricultural Association Technical guide should be considered essential reading.

Helmet

• Helmet - CE EN 12492, I recommend bright colours, be seen be safe.

• Ear Defenders 31 snr EN 352-3 ( this assumes you will be working near chippers.)

• Visor EN 352-3

There are often helmet packages available.

Forestry helmets are made to a different specification and not suitable for climbing.

First Aid Kit / Rescue Knife

• Simple first aid kit should be carried on a climbers harness. It should include a large dressing.

• A climber should carry a good knife, in my experience it needs to be designed for the job. Materials resistant to deterioration when stored wet and dirty

Climbing Ropes - Ropes should be made to EN 1891 Type A ( Type B is an option but in simple terms A is stronger and more forgiving) It is best to have ropes with a factory splice or termination. Generally arborist climbing ropes are between 11mm and 13 mm diameter. Some ropes are designed for prussik style climbing and others for more modern mechanical systems. To start with I would recommend a rope designed either for the traditional systems or as a compromise. The ropes designed solely for mechanical systems can be hard to grip in the hand. I would suggest starting with a short 15 or 20 meter rope and a longer 35 meter rope. Make sure they are different colours. Good brands include Marlow, Stein, New England, Cousin and Yale amongst others.

Harness - Harnesses (CE EN 358, CE EN 813) are very much a case of personal preference. As a working climber you will be using your harness all the time. It needs to fit and be comfortable. I recommend adding a second bridge and a ring on each bridge. Any rings added should be made for this type of use. rated at 23Kn or better.

There are manGood options include the Petzl Sequia, Sklotech Ignite Arb and Stein Vega (there are many others)

Climbing System

There are many many options, cheapest is probably a prusik loop costing £15 to advanced mechanical options costing £250 or more. For new climbers I think that the hitch climber used with an eye to eye sling and distel hitch is as effective as anything.

• 2 x DMM Hitch Climber or equivalent pulleys

• 2 x 70cm or 75cm Eye to Eye slings

Lanyard/s

There are many options. In many situations it is helpful / required to have two lanyards. A good option is to have one rope lanyard and one wire cord lanyard. Equipment to manage the lanyard could be a simple fixed cheek pulley and a Eye to Eye sling. Ideally each lanyard would be set up with its own pulley or equivalent but to start with its fine to move equipment between ropes and lanyards dependant on need.

Good options

• Stein 5.0m SCE Lanyard Yellow - No hardware EN354:2010

• Marlow Wirecore Flipline 4m - No snaphook

• DMM Pinto pully 50kn

• 1 x 70 cm Eye to Eye sling

Karabiners

You will need a number of karabiners and over time should gain an understanding of how different designs work in different applications. For tree climbing work karabiners should have a three action locking motion. To start with good choices would be

• DMM Ultra O 3 Way Aluminium x 6

• ISC HMS Supersafe 27kn Aluminium x2

My thinking is that every karabiner in use at work should be strong enough for emergency / rescue purposes. Karabiners not made to a climbing standard have no place here.

Spikes

Spikes are only used when trees are being removed. My preference is for velcro adjust around the top of your legs and conventional straps and buckles around your boots. Comfort is important as you will spend a lot of time on these and some designs are much better than others. I think a robust construction is equally important if you want them to last. My personal preference is the Buckinghams.

Good Bag/s

To keep your kit together and protect it.

Nice to Have

• 2 x Cambium savers ( I prefer an adjustable style )

• Foot ascender

• A few climbing slings 120cm are good

• Extra Karabiners

• Throw Line

• Rope wrench and tether ( New climbers tend to be taught to work on a DDRT or moving rope system. Many advanced climbers will use a SRT single/static rope system. This allows climber to work with and SRT system rather than a DDRT system)

In the UK there are a number of good online suppliers if your not lucky enough to have a good shop near you.

Amongst other look at

FR Jones, Gustharts, Honey Brothers and TreeKit all have an excellent range of climbing equipment.

Climbing is inherently dangerous, please make sure you have adequate training, knowledge and experience for anything you undertake.