Has anyone ever built a tarpish like mosquito net thingy?

[Bushwhacker]

I just placed my order! 1.35oz silnylon in "Lime" color and a brown mosquito netting to contrast against the almost annoying green . I am so psyched!

Completely off topic - I just checked out your website and sooner or later I'm going to have to quiz you on what your fav. ultralight ascenders/descenders are. What you do is what got me into hammocks in the first place.

[Refreshing]

Completely off topic - I just checked out your website and sooner or later I'm going to have to quiz you on what your fav. ultralight ascenders/descenders are. What you do is what got me into hammocks in the first place.

Awesome! I love helping new treeclimbers get up high into the canopy! I am completely redesigning my kit for superultralight tree climbing with the hopes of being able to carry ALL of my backpacking and climbing gear on my roadbike WITHOUT the need for a rack or panniers. It will be a completely new form of treecamping that I will hopefully have completed in a few weeks (depending on when my tarp shipment arrives).

As for lightweight ascenders and descenders it really depends on what type of climbing you want to do. Just ascending up a short distance of rope can be done with a prusik. The lightest ascender I know of is the petzl tibloc which would work for most tree climbs and I am considering buying one for my new kit update. Right now I use a traditional ascender with a handle because I do a lot of up&down climbing for learning purposes but I will not be bringing it on my S.U.L. trips.

Descenders are another story. There are a lot of options for tree climbing that allow a quick exchange from ascending and descending such as the grigri or ropewrench. I LOVE the grigri, nothing comes close to its performance. However, if quick exchanges from ascending to descending aren't required you could simply bring a locking carabiner and rappel down using a munter hitch (just a type of friction knot that allows for controlled rappels if you drop a belay device).

Let me know if you need a more specific answer.

[PatT]

Traditional tarps don't work well for me. During the winter I use a tarpsock but in the summer this is of course way too hot .
.

After a lot of day dreaming I came up with the idea of making a tarpsock so the top 3/4 of the sock is silnylon and the lower 1/4 is made of mosquito netting. I could simply spin it around when there is no rain so that heat could escape upwards through the mesh but if it started raining I could spin the sock so that the silnylon was on top. Has this been done? I tried searching for this but didn't find anything. If this has been done can you post a link? Thanks so much guys!

Sounds like a great idea to me!

If I may, I would suggest you sew the bug netting away from all sides of the tarp "top" to prevent water from dripping in. Also, you should look into some kind of pole mods of "branch clips" to keep the bugnet and tarp away from you if you plan on using this contraption when camping up above the trees.

Do you have issues with mosquitos and other bugs when you're so high above the ground?

[f k]

The Tibloc is nice and it works great! It does have spikes that it uses to grip the rope. May be perfectly fine, but it was a little hard to get over putting those sharp things into contact with my rope at first. It can slip on you a little if you dont seat it right. If you are just pushing it up and then weighting it with out making sure that the biner is pressing the rope into the back of the device.


As for your tarp idea, it sounds like it has some merit, and the first thing i was thinking was a drip skirt, i think i saw some in the diagram that was linked above, at least that is what i thought they were. But essentially something that goes around the perimeter and keeps water from running off the top and around and onto the net hanging down.

Looks like PatT beat me to it. =)

[bodhran4me]

I often leave the tarp peeled back to stargaze but at some point have to jump out to stake things down when I awake to the splash of rain on my face. Your idea sounds like a good one to me. I look forward to seeing the results.

[Bushwhacker]

Awesome! I love helping new treeclimbers get up high into the canopy! I am completely redesigning my kit for superultralight tree climbing with the hopes of being able to carry ALL of my backpacking and climbing gear on my roadbike WITHOUT the need for a rack or panniers. It will be a completely new form of treecamping that I will hopefully have completed in a few weeks (depending on when my tarp shipment arrives).

As for lightweight ascenders and descenders it really depends on what type of climbing you want to do. Just ascending up a short distance of rope can be done with a prusik. The lightest ascender I know of is the petzl tibloc which would work for most tree climbs and I am considering buying one for my new kit update. Right now I use a traditional ascender with a handle because I do a lot of up&down climbing for learning purposes but I will not be bringing it on my S.U.L. trips.

Descenders are another story. There are a lot of options for tree climbing that allow a quick exchange from ascending and descending such as the grigri or ropewrench. I LOVE the grigri, nothing comes close to its performance. However, if quick exchanges from ascending to descending aren't required you could simply bring a locking carabiner and rappel down using a munter hitch (just a type of friction knot that allows for controlled rappels if you drop a belay device).

Let me know if you need a more specific answer.

I was using prusik knots and other types for the past few years, but about a month ago I got stuck halfway up a tree because apparently those knots lose their effectiveness when it's cold. The only way to loosen them would be to take off my gloves, but the wind chill made that impossible for more than a few minutes at a time. So I'm finally going to invest in hardware.

Would two single rope ascenders make an adequate make-shift double rope ascender?

Also I read quite a bit about durability issues - some hardware seems to be quite hard on the rope (Although probably still much better than friction hitches). Is durability even a concern for recreational tree climbers?

Do you make a point of eating on the ground or bringing food that doesn't need to be cooked?

Did you by any chance read the Wild Trees by Richard Preston?

[Bushwhacker]

Also: This is probably a stupid question, but if Amsteel can support our weight in hammocks, why can't we use it to get into the tree? If it's just a risk of accidentally cutting the line, 2 of those ropes would still be lighter than 1 rock climbing rope.

While I'm at it, do you use a cambrium saver? I currently use one made with bowlines in scrap rock climbing rope, but I had to ditch my last one when it froze to the tree branch. Are they worth it?

[Refreshing]

Sounds like a great idea to me!

If I may, I would suggest you sew the bug netting away from all sides of the tarp "top" to prevent water from dripping in. Also, you should look into some kind of pole mods of "branch clips" to keep the bugnet and tarp away from you if you plan on using this contraption when camping up above the trees.

Do you have issues with mosquitos and other bugs when you're so high above the ground?

Thanks for the idea!

Mosquitoes will follow me into the tree canopy but by morning they are gone and I can climb around no problem. However, once I rappel down to the forest floor it excites them and they will follow me back up into the tree.

The Tibloc is nice and it works great! It does have spikes that it uses to grip the rope. May be perfectly fine, but it was a little hard to get over putting those sharp things into contact with my rope at first. It can slip on you a little if you dont seat it right. If you are just pushing it up and then weighting it with out making sure that the biner is pressing the rope into the back of the device.


As for your tarp idea, it sounds like it has some merit, and the first thing i was thinking was a drip skirt, i think i saw some in the diagram that was linked above, at least that is what i thought they were. But essentially something that goes around the perimeter and keeps water from running off the top and around and onto the net hanging down.

Looks like PatT beat me to it. =)

Hmm, I may have to consider a "drip perimeter". I just hate dealing with silicone over stiches.

[Refreshing]

I often leave the tarp peeled back to stargaze but at some point have to jump out to stake things down when I awake to the splash of rain on my face. Your idea sounds like a good one to me. I look forward to seeing the results.

Indeed! Easy deployment if the weather turns bad!

I was using prusik knots and other types for the past few years, but about a month ago I got stuck halfway up a tree because apparently those knots lose their effectiveness when it's cold. The only way to loosen them would be to take off my gloves, but the wind chill made that impossible for more than a few minutes at a time. So I'm finally going to invest in hardware.

Would two single rope ascenders make an adequate make-shift double rope ascender?

Also I read quite a bit about durability issues - some hardware seems to be quite hard on the rope (Although probably still much better than friction hitches). Is durability even a concern for recreational tree climbers?

Do you make a point of eating on the ground or bringing food that doesn't need to be cooked?

Did you by any chance read the Wild Trees by Richard Preston?

Do you climb double rope or single rope? I have actually never climbed double rope technique. I prefer single rope because it requires less rope (ie less weight) to climb the same amount of height. But again, I have never climbed DRT so I am not allowed to bash it.

I always eat in the tree, its just more fun to chill and look over the horizon 80 feet in the air. I have only cooked in the tree once but then again, I never even cook when I am tenting on the ground. Heck I don't even like cooking when I am at home! Dishes suck!

I have not read Wild Trees but I have definitely heard of it.

As for rope wear. I have some rock climbing friends who use dynamic ropes that you can see the sheath! They are still alive, haha but I don't recommend that. I think arborists replace ropes every 2 years? Don't quote me! I am going on year 5 with this current rope, just make sure to inspect it often.

[Refreshing]

Also: This is probably a stupid question, but if Amsteel can support our weight in hammocks, why can't we use it to get into the tree? If it's just a risk of accidentally cutting the line, 2 of those ropes would still be lighter than 1 rock climbing rope.

While I'm at it, do you use a cambrium saver? I currently use one made with bowlines in scrap rock climbing rope, but I had to ditch my last one when it froze to the tree branch. Are they worth it?

Cambrium savers are for DRT only I believe. I have never seen anyone use a tree saver with SRT because an SRT rope is not ever creating moving friction on the tree branch.

I am actually looking at using 6mm or 7mm ropes but there is NO WAY I would use anything smaller because one shock load would surely exceed the weight limits and SNAP your dead! I have to do a lot more research though.