Used a new climbing line on a big oak removal and it twisted up bad

I was taking down a 90-foot white oak in Springfield last month and decided to try that 11mm static line everyone's been talking about. Halfway through the job, it started coiling like a spring every time I sent a piece down. My ground guy had to stop twice to untangle it, which really slowed us down. I learned that some lines just don't behave well under heavy, dynamic loads, even if they're rated for it. Has anyone found a static line that doesn't twist when you're dropping big wood?

3 comments

3 Comments

james_martin931mo ago

That 11mm static is famous for that. Had the same thing happen on a pine removal last fall. The core construction just doesn't like shock loads from heavy pieces. Switched to a 12.5mm line with a different weave pattern. Night and day difference. The extra half millimeter and a tighter sheath layup makes it lay flat. Still a static line, just handles the energy transfer better.

stone.thomas1mo ago

@james_martin93 I've run that 11mm for years, never had it twist up.

shah.olivia1mo ago

My buddy Nate had his 11mm static line twist into a corkscrew on a maple limb last spring. It was a clean pull too, nothing crazy. He spent like twenty minutes just trying to get the twists out on the ground. I mean, it was totally bound up. He said it felt like the core just gave up and let the sheath do all the work. He switched to a 12mm line with a different core and hasn't looked back since.