Safety Line With Prusik Knot

Finally put one of these on a tricky, and relatively high stand. Love it. Think I’ll be doing it more.

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Great Idea Joel !
I use this on all three of my tree stands.
We’re you slightly amazed how easy this was to do?
Glad your safe

Maybe you can show me how to rig one of these on Saturday. I have been saying I need to do this but never have.

Dave

nice. i started using them last year. wasnt sure how well i would like climbing with one but it is just as simple as without one amd it feels a lot safer stepping into the stand. i been telling all my hunting buddies to give them a try.

There have been more than a few stands I wonder if I’ll make it all the way up, especially in the early morning. Your knot tying skills are quite advanced, I’m sure a couple over hand knots or a Palomar knot would work the same….not! haha. It’s all I’ve got!

flatfish wrote:

Great Idea Joel !
I use this on all three of my tree stands.
We’re you slightly amazed how easy this was to do?
Glad your safe

Yeah, the whole time I’m thinking to myself two things:
-“This can’t be right, it’s too easy.”
-“Why haven’t I don’t this sooner?”

I will say that if you’re in a hurry, you can rope-burn yourself a bit just from sliding the knot up and down, but usually I have gloves on anyway when hunting. Especially later season. That, and if the knot loosens too much and the layout of it changes slightly, you simply have a rapidly sliding slip knot.

I had a prusik loop laying around from a muddy outdoors safety harness, but you can easily tie your own loop. Looks like this –

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I have used the premade safety lines for a couple of years. Very easy to use. I was going to make my own but when getting rope I asked climbers about the quality of the rope needed and was shocked at the price of it. If you use rope designed to hold your weight and the shock it absorbs I was not saving much making my own. So I bought more commercially made ones. Some climbing friends said the biggest mistake would be running to a store and buying rope that is not climbing rope and having either the prussic fail or a main line problem. Real climbing rope is expensive but lasts a very long time.

Mwal

Joel what brand did you buy and how much do they run? Would you recommend using one on a ladder stand?

Fist of all thanks Joel I have talked about doing this for a long time and now I’m taking this as a sign to get it done.

Second I understand the rope quality part of climbing ropes but something is better than nothing within reason.

Third I feel it is my duty to come home safe from my outings for my family.

Thanks for posting this Joel.

I wouldn’t be without this set-up climbing anymore. I started about 3 or 4 years ago after learning it from my Brother in Michigan. I always thought it was ridiculous to strap into my stand once I was in but never getting in and out which is when you would fall.

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mwal wrote:

I have used the premade safety lines for a couple of years. Very easy to use. I was going to make my own but when getting rope I asked climbers about the quality of the rope needed and was shocked at the price of it. If you use rope designed to hold your weight and the shock it absorbs I was not saving much making my own. So I bought more commercially made ones. Some climbing friends said the biggest mistake would be running to a store and buying rope that is not climbing rope and having either the prussic fail or a main line problem. Real climbing rope is expensive but lasts a very long time.

Mwal

Couldn’t agree more, as these are all great points. Climbing rope comes in a variety of types/materials, all specific to the way you’ll be using them. Some have stretch built-in and are designed to slightly absorb the shock of a free fall, others are designed specifically not to stretch.

I’m no climbing or safety expert when it comes to using ropes as life-lines, but some common sense goes a long way. At the very least, never exceed the working load limit or safe working load limit of any rope you intend to you use as either the lifeline or prusik. This can be surprisingly little, as my first look at Fleet Farm for a safety rope yielded some 1/4″ – 1/2″ ropes with huge test strength, but anywhere from 120 – 240lb working load limits. Now, add the fact that these are not designed for absorbing the impact and force created by a fall, and you’ve got some rope that over time, exposure to sunlight, and moisture, may not support your weight if the worst case scenario comes true.

A few things working in our favor when climbing into stand with a safety-line/prusik is that the falls are not like the falls that a rock climber may experience. With a tree nearby, few would be “clean” or free-falling situations, and most will not be over a great distance to generate the same force a climber might by climbing past an anchor and then falling that same length past the last anchor. That said, it’s probably best to prepare for the worst case scenario in terms of strength, which is why I tested my setup a few times towards the very bottom of the tree. I did not purchase climbing rope for the main-line, but fully understand and recognize the working load limits and safety concerns with doing so. The prusik I had on hand was actually a commercial model available through Muddy Outdoors. I know you can purchase them online for around $10 or so, and I might look at that route for future stands.

Hopefully this helps some people!

Joel

Steve Plantz wrote:

Joel what brand did you buy and how much do they run? Would you recommend using one on a ladder stand?

Steve – Most of my ladder stands are very safe to climb in to, so I don’t use this kind of setup there, though it certainly wouldn’t hurt! I do make sure to use a harness when on top of the stand however, and will continue to do so even on a ladder stand. For me, it’s as much about leaning and getting the full use of the stand as it is for safety. When tethered, I’m aware of how far I can reach, turn, twist, and otherwise contort myself for a shot, bow or gun. It’s much more difficult to do so when not tied off and worrying that leaning on the edge of the stand could create a fall.

Joel

I use the safety line with ladder as well. If I am over 3 ft off ground it’s on.