A larger ball for easier operation.,  Monday, 24 September 2007 This particular carabiner (HMS)was specially designed by Petzl for SherrillTree. It features a larger push button ball making it much easier to open and close, especially while wearing gripper gloves. Petzl makes a similar version of this model used by climbers world wide but with a ball about half the size of this featured model.

I use this larger size carabiner to differentiate it from the Am'D and also for emergency descents on a single rope using a Munter Hitch.

The gold color makes it easy to see and adds an air of wealth (gold color) the climbing rack.

BTW- always mark your carabiners with colored tape. That way if your climbing partner is short an essential life support carabiner, you'll more than likely get it back when your partner sorts out their gear pile after the climb.

 My favorite rope.,  Monday, 24 September 2007 This rope is slightly larger (12mm) that the other 11mm ropes. This makes it a bit easier to grip, even though I use the blue gripper gloves with it most of the time to conserve my hand muscles during the ascent.

I have both colors. The green-black rope I use when I want low visibility while aloft. It has the color of a vine, which means it is very hard to see. I have a shorter 120 rope for lightness. This rope travels with my ultra-light gear heap, meaning my minimal set of gear using just a few carabiners.

I use the high visibility color for higher climbs. I use a 200 foot rope for this color because I want to clearly see where my rope threads on the higher pitch climbs and tall trees. I train with this rope in my yard on an 80 foot rope setting. I climb a leaning pine to get a "dead air" (no branches) ascent. The loblolly pine I climb is named "Thrasher".

Mechanical gear works well with this rope. It slides easily along. The slightly larger diameter (1mm more) makes this rope more versatile when climbing with the traditional Blake's hitch method.

 Vertex,  Monday, 24 September 2007 This helmet is rated for impact on all sides, including the top of course. Many helmets are only rated for top impact, which can be fine for casual climbers but I've found the extra protection useful while lead climbing and pruning. You can get it vented which is the model I use living in the hot south, but you can get it non vented, which is useful for cold climbs.

I gave it a lower rating on comfort for a couple of reasons. The helmet is slightly heavier than some of the other helmets (more plastic), which makes it more noticeable at times. It sits a bit lower on the head than some of the lighter top-impact helmets too, which makes it a little more hot on summer days.