Hunter safety system rope questions - wont tighten around the tree

[Saltwater60]

So I truly feel like a dumbfuck here. I bought a tree stand and went today to check my trail cams, install my umbrella and install my safety gear. I read the directions for the Hunter safety system line and and I was going to install the belt that came with my tree stand. I was going to double the safety belt because why not?
First fail was the belt that came with my tree stand is too small and won’t go around the tree. Ah oh well I have this other climbing rope. So I wrap it around the tree as shown and it won’t tighten up around the tree. The rope keeps loosen up and falling down. I looked at videos, had my buddy? My mom, and my dad review the directions. We all came to the same conclusion that I was doing it right. It looks so easy on the videos but it looks like what I’m doing. Am I missing something?
Looks to me you just out the rope through the loop and it get tight? Nope not one mine.
This is what I have and it shows that you simply slip the rope through the hole and it tightens up. Mines losens and just falls right down immediately.

Reflective Lifeline

Lifeline is the tree stand climbing rope system that keeps you attached to the tree from the ground to the stand

huntersafetysystem.com

Im thinking of getting this to secure me to the tree and put the loop through the caribeener

Rope Style Treestrap

Continental US orders typically delivers in 3-5 business days *Northern and Western State orders may take 4-6 business days. The 9' long Rope Style Treestrap replaces your current tree strap and serves as an effective LifeLine for climbing style tree stands. The Rope Style Treestrap makes...

huntersafetysystem.com

Open to suggestions. The tree my stand is in is fairly large. 30” wide probably.

 

[GOYABEAN]

 

[GOYABEAN]

 

[GOYABEAN]

 

[Acer-m14]

Climbing ropes are like bungy cords .. they stretch some to absorb the fall ..
Static Ropes do not .. its a sudden stop at the end ..

there is a formula to figure out the shock factor from a fall in the rock climbing world ..

when i was into rock climbing i put a eye hook in the ceiling so could clip my rope and gear into and hang in the harness and attempt self rescue ..

got stuck 2 feet below the ceiling for a good hour once trying to get the purposely malfunction cleared and lower my ass to the floor .. LOL

with hunting stands and harnesses .. you really need to lean how to self rescue and what you need ..

when you fall your phone is going to fly away if in your hand .. there is no calling for help ..

 

[Acer-m14]

now i leave you with sky lift safety from the 60's where only the strong survived lol ..

 

[Saltwater60]

Climbing ropes are like bungy cords .. they stretch some to absorb the fall ..
Static Ropes do not .. its a sudden stop at the end ..

there is a formula to figure out the shock factor from a fall in the rock climbing world ..

when i was into rock climbing i put a eye hook in the ceiling so could clip my rope and gear into and hang in the harness and attempt self rescue ..

got stuck 2 feet below the ceiling for a good hour once trying to get the purposely malfunction cleared and lower my ass to the floor .. LOL

with hunting stands and harnesses .. you really need to lean how to self rescue and what you need ..

when you fall your phone is going to fly away if in your hand .. there is no calling for help ..

My phone has zero service anyway. That’s why I bought this rope so if I get stuck I can lower myself down. I also want to be strapped to the tree so technically I can’t fall off the stand

 

[Saltwater60]

I may do a large boat cleat to anchor it to the tree with some half inch 8” long lag bolts.

 

[meketrefe]

Too short? Easy fix.

500 lb. Capacity 1 in. x 15 ft. Ratcheting Tie Downs, 4 Pk.

500 lb. Capacity 1 in. x 15 ft. Ratcheting Tie Downs 4 Pc

harborfreight.com

THe other question is everything fails or you fall and you find yourself hanging from a rope how do you rappel yourself down? This is something you need to try unless you want to be an ornament.

 

[Shoots100]

Holy cow Batman, line, belt , quick deploy parachute and reserve , but no helmet or neck brace in case you do accidentally fall over while your putting all this gear on ?
I'd have to leave an hour earlier to make it into the stand with all of the safety gear that's "required" and hope I didn't leave my hunting implement at home !
I'm all for safety, but it's getting out of hand.

 

[Shoots100]

This is what I've been using to not become a tree stand piñata, which was my biggest fear, as I hunt alone most of the time.
Made in PA and is reusable.

Wingman

 

[cgrutt]

Not a hunter so will never use this but if I were I wouldn't be using a simple overhand knot on either the lifeline or prusik. Would recommend a figure 8 (aka double figure 8) on end of life line and a double fisherman on the prusik loop. Additionally even if I were to use a simple overhand I certainly wouldn't be running a harness carabiner directly over it the tag ends should be offset before tying prusik so the knot in loop falls above attachment point for your harness.... my two cents lol...

 

[Mk44]

How wide of a tree are you using/ climbing?
I haven't had any issue with my tree strap falling down. I use a Summit harness (provided with the stand). I cinch the strap around the tree and it stay put. never had a problem with the tree strap being to short to go around the tree, if anything it's extra long & I have to secure the extra line from dangling.

Maybe try to fasten the "tree strap" above a tree knot or fork on the tree (above your head) so it doesn't slide down.

 

[Saltwater60]

How wide of a tree are you using/ climbing?
I haven't had any issue with my tree strap falling down. I use a Summit harness (provided with the stand). I cinch the strap around the tree and it stay put. never had a problem with the tree strap being to short to go around the tree, if anything it's extra long & I have to secure the extra line from dangling.

Maybe try to fasten the "tree strap" above a tree knot or fork on the tree (above your head) so it doesn't slide down.

My tree is probably 30” across. It’s as wide as my chest if not slightly wider. I don’t have many trees to choose from since most are small or scrub on my parents property.
I thought of a branch or the crook of the tree but there is nothing that I can reach.

 

[Acer-m14]

Too short? Easy fix.

500 lb. Capacity 1 in. x 15 ft. Ratcheting Tie Downs, 4 Pk.

500 lb. Capacity 1 in. x 15 ft. Ratcheting Tie Downs 4 Pc

harborfreight.com

THe other question is everything fails or you fall and you find yourself hanging from a rope how do you rappel yourself down? This is something you need to try unless you want to be an ornament.

View attachment 131183

I have repelled that way before and omg is it slow .. lot and lots of friction there .. you can bout let the rope hang free and you just hang there ..

i actually had to lift the rope up with the brake hand to get it to feed out ..


years ago this was 90 bucks .. called a gri gri belay brake .. 99.00 now but some i just seen are 299.00

a sudden fall with this device and it locks up the rope .. then you use the handle to release the breaking and down you come ..

Amazon.com

 

[Acer-m14]

@Saltwater60 if you want to put a lag bolt into the tree .. all you then is this and a carabiner for a anchor ..

i would use 2 spaced apart .. then there is one for a back up just in case one fails on a fall.

Petzl COEUR STEEL Tie-Off Anchor with Bolt & Nut (10mm Bolt Hole)

PETZL COEUR STEEL HANGER BOLT 10MM

www.riggingwarehouse.com

 

[mca90guitar]

Run the tail end through the loop twice, that will usually keep the rope in place. I don't have this issue with my HSS rope but I do with my homemade one that uses a stiffer material.

 

[Saltwater60]

Run the tail end through the loop twice, that will usually keep the rope in place. I don't have this issue with my HSS rope but I do with my homemade one that uses a stiffer material.

That makes sense. I’m not sure if the went to a thicker stiffer rope, but this stuff is thick!!

 

[Saltwater60]

@Saltwater60 if you want to put a lag bolt into the tree .. all you then is this and a carabiner for a anchor ..

i would use 2 spaced apart .. then there is one for a back up just in case one fails on a fall.

Petzl COEUR STEEL Tie-Off Anchor with Bolt & Nut (10mm Bolt Hole)

PETZL COEUR STEEL HANGER BOLT 10MM

www.riggingwarehouse.com

Cool thanks. I’ll look for a good sturdy cleat with two bolt holes then.

 

[Saltwater60]

I have repelled that way before and omg is it slow .. lot and lots of friction there .. you can bout let the rope hang free and you just hang there ..

i actually had to lift the rope up with the brake hand to get it to feed out ..


years ago this was 90 bucks .. called a gri gri belay brake .. 99.00 now but some i just seen are 299.00

a sudden fall with this device and it locks up the rope .. then you use the handle to release the breaking and down you come ..

Amazon.com

I figured it wouldn’t be fast. It’s only 18’ high so if it’s slow then so be it. Most cases I should be able to get back to the ladder anyway. I also have the leg straps so I can use those to take the pressure off to move a foot or so at a time.

 

[cgrutt]

I figured it wouldn’t be fast. It’s only 18’ high so if it’s slow then so be it. Most cases I should be able to get back to the ladder anyway. I also have the leg straps so I can use those to take the pressure off to move a foot or so at a time.

Believe @Acer-m14 is referring to the carabiner setup that @meketrefe posted... a prusik knot on safety line will stop you from falling it won't lower you to the ground. (You could use two prusik loops to do that though).

 

[ManrisFrack]

I use a rope very similar to the OP. I also have hanging hooks for gear that screw into the tree. If I have issues with the rope slipping down (usually in beech), I just put above over one of these hooks - usually the bow hook.

I also fold a climbing loop up and put it in the front chest pocket of my harness. It's similar to this but I got it at EMS, I think. If you fall, put the loop on the safety rope using a prusik. Position it so that you can get a foot in it and get the tension off your harness. With tension relieved you can slide the main prusik down. Put weight back on the main harness prusik and move the foot loop down. It's slow, but hopefully you'll never need to do it except for practice. The loop also doubles as a good drag strap when you kill something.

 

[Saltwater60]

I use a rope very similar to the OP. I also have hanging hooks for gear that screw into the tree. If I have issues with the rope slipping down (usually in beech), I just put above over one of these hooks - usually the bow hook.

I also fold a climbing loop up and put it in the front chest pocket of my harness. It's similar to this but I got it at EMS, I think. If you fall, put the loop on the safety rope using a prusik. Position it so that you can get a foot in it and get the tension off your harness. With tension relieved you can slide the main prusik down. Put weight back on the main harness prusik and move the foot loop down. It's slow, but hopefully you'll never need to do it except for practice. The loop also doubles as a good drag strap when you kill something.

That’s my plan. Thanks. Sometimes you just need to talk it through and make sure it makes sense to others.
What I will likely do is get a large boat cleat and wrap the rope around the tree then go through the center with the loop and then drop the rope through the loop. I’ll lag the boat cleat through.

The tree stand is in a large cotton wood tree. It could be lose because it’s so large I’m having trouble cinching it and getting the rope tight at the back of the tree. These are the only large trees on my property so I’m kind of stuck.

Seems like cottonwood trees should be a good tree stand sight. There a large grove of them that is on the side of my parents creek that I’m hunting.

 

[Acer-m14]

Cool thanks. I’ll look for a good sturdy cleat with two bolt holes then.

them would work just fine .. 2 rock climbing anchors from petzl .. one bolt each .. go with a 6 inch lag screw .. not what comes with it .. thats for rocks .. its not coming out .

clip a carabiner in each anchor and then place the rope through both carabiners and tie it off ... anchor set .. ..

i wouldn't go with a boat anchor cleat .. there not made for this application .. rock climbing stuff is ..

when rock climbing you still find piton's in the rocks to use that have been there for lots of years ..

 

[Acer-m14]

@saltwater .. basically this