Swapped my climbing spikes for a rope wrench system 8 years back

Used to rely on spikes for every removal in Austin, even when a bucket truck made more sense. After I wrecked a red oak with deep spur wounds, switched to a rope wrench for pruning work. The climb is slower but the tree takes way less damage. Anyone else ditch traditional gear for something newer?

2 comments

2 Comments

wesley38513d ago

And honestly I used to be one of those guys who thought spikes were fine for everything. I figured as long as you weren't girdling the tree it was no big deal. But after I saw a buddy's pruning job on a 50 year old oak that looked perfect above ground but had this ring of dead tissue around the climb line from years of spike work, I changed my mind real fast. The rope wrench slowed me down at first but now I wouldn't go back for anything that isn't a straight removal. It's amazing how much cleaner the tree looks after a few years when you stop punching holes in it.

williams.jenny12d ago

My buddy Dan did the same thing. He had this huge elm he'd been spiking for years. Looked fine from the ground. Then one storm, the whole top just snapped off. When we cut it up, the inside was all rotted out around where his climb line had been. Like a donut of decay. He switched to SRT after that. Never looked back.