Buckingham Mobility - Great Saddle, Great Value,  Wednesday, 05 December 2007 This saddle was my 3rd climbing saddle, purchased about 2 years after my starter saddle, a $105 Weaver (painful on the legs!) and only about 6 months after another one (French Creek) which I thought was going to be better than it was. I do have a newer high tech saddle (EKN Kolibri) that I now use most of the time, but for 2 years this Buck was recreational and work, everyday.

The Buck Mobility is a great piece, and a really smart value. At about $275, it's almost 3X the price of the Weaver, but one climb in it and I knew it felt 10X as good! It has one floating 'D' ring ('O' shape) that moves flawlessly on the wide front strap. The back pad is supple, soft and very wide.

One of the best things - it comes on and off quickly. I can slap this bugger on in about a minute, and I'm ready to go. I could do it in 30 secs if I didn't take extra steps to secure the leg straps. (More later.) And I can put it on with all my gear attached - my hand saw, 16' flipline, and line mug.

Not so with the EKN Kolibri Mutlislide. I'm lucky if I'm in that thing after 4 minutes, and I stopped trying to get put it on with a full compliment of gear attached - too hard.

This rig has a lot of stock attachment points and hardware built in, and it's also really easy to slide the main belt out, so you can thread on (or take off) to customize. I find it takes me months to sort out exactly where I want to put what on a new saddle.

The main waist belt on the Buckingham has no metal grommets where the buckle pin goes thru. I worried the belt holes were going to elongate and wear badly - this never happened. The main strapping looks like a hybrid of leather, fiber and resin. Very strong. It's also very light despite it's rugged construction.

Once in awhile this saddle will pinch my sides but it's never too bad. Usually it's cause I have to pull my shirt down or unbunch my clothes.
One of the things I discovered during the years I was using this saddle everyday is, jeans with rivets and/or very thick, pronounced belt loops accentuate side pinching. I now use old 'khaki' pants, or jeans made out of stretchy material (my favorite) instead of conventional blue jeans, and it's comfortable by far.

This is one of the most comfortable saddles made where the leg supports are really only padded straps that buckle around to the front. Newer designs tend to have leg "loops" that share load and stress in a greater number places, with more attachment points to the main, and have even wider movement range. But in this rig your legs are well cared for in those painful situations where you are stuck holding some half-assed position while trying get something done.

Once, when I was doing a job and the climbing got tricker than usual, I noticed one of the leg straps actually came unbuckled and completely loose. (Not from a mistake while putting it on.) And I still had to pull myself up and over a large limb that was jutting right into the line, like the edge of a roof. With one leg unsupported this was a major hassle.

After that I modified the way I secured the leg straps. I now use a small utility "Not for Climbing" mini-carabiner on each leg strap. I catch one of the buckle holes in the excess of the leg strap after the buckle and guide, and I secure it to something convenient. I do this on each side. So now there's no way the straps can ever slip out. I don't find this a big deal - certainly with complex gear like this, I sometimes develop certain "workarounds" to fit my personal style. So 4 for Ease of Use.

I give it a 4 for comfort because I know there are more comfortable saddles out there, like my EKN Kolibri. But this is still a great saddle, and I still alternate and use it. Before I bought this Buckingham I tried several out in the store, hanging from a line and all. But this one was the best at the time. And not nearly the most expensive. The Bashlin XS was something like $400 but not as nice in my opinion.

If you buy this one it will last years and years and you won't be sorry.

 EKN Kolibri Multislide - Comfort at altitude,  Tuesday, 04 December 2007 PROS
** - By FAR the MOST comfortable harness I have tried (see below for list)
** - Excellent weight distribution and balance aloft
** - Floating ring system is beautiful, never hangs up or snags
** - Superior mobility for working or recreational climbing
** - Fully adjustable (I am 5'7", 160lb, 29" inseam
I believe my Kolibri Multi-Slide is a "medium")
** - A lot of built in attachment points
** - Very light
** - Hi-tech paratrooper style buckle mechanism on waist strap
** - Provides great back support. I tighten the waist strap more than with my other rigs, because of an ultra-wide back pad.

CONS
** - Not fast / not easy to get in and out of. I have to let out both leg straps and the waist belt to take it off, and loosening/tightening the leg rings is not the quickest process, but not too bad.
Plus, just getting your shoe or boot thru correctly is a production. (See accompanying user tips)
** - The stitching around the leg rings is unraveling. Lots of black, fine web-like thread is shedding away, mostly from only one side. But I keep inspecting it
and it looks like it's glued as well. Nothing is actually coming apart, and American Arborist Supplies in West Chester, PA say if it becomes a problem they will either fix or replace. I would have rated it a 5 for durability if it were not for this problem - everything else is holding up extremely well.
** - Had to "invent" my own way of wearing it so the leg rings stay where they should.
** - Doesn't come with any clips. All the attachment point are simple loops. The two main left/right hip loops require you to use a carabiner (or something) on each side, so to hang multiple biners you will be down 2 of your own.
** - I check that the main leg support straps are running neatly thru their circular steel guide rings, and are not folded. If they are stressed while creased, they quickly show wear. But I don't know if the "wear" really means anything. They're not unraveling or anything like that.
** - The leg ring design, with positioning straps, tends to "catch" hanging gear sometimes
when I put it on. I have to check nothing is pinched inside the straps.
** - Expensive, to the tune of around $400 clams with tax.
** - It's not designed for "Work thru", no rear attachment point. But I use a chainsaw attachment ring connected in the back. And now it is!


USING IT -
When I first used this harness, maybe the first 10-20 climbs, I naturally
put my leg thru the leg rings in the most logical manner. Both of the positioning straps seem to be designed to route in back of my legs. But I would find that, when climbing, the leg rings would rotate out, and the padding would end up on the outside of my thighs, not under and in-between my legs. I would rotate them back in and it would feel great. For about 5 minutes. And then I had to do it again. The stress points go to my waist, back, and the bottom of my thighs. Those leg rings need to STAY under and inside to maximize comfort.

I have a cheap Weaver, a French Creek (so-so) and a Buckingham Mobility (excellent).
Saddles I have also tried (but not purchased) include a Komet Butterfly and a Bashlin XS. The Kolibri Multislide blows them all away.
I am about a 75% recreational climber, 25% work. But especially in working situations, when hanging from only side rings while re-tying, or whatever, the EKN Kolibri's super-ultra-thermonuclear (??) padding is amazing. Both my waist and thighs compain far less during the more extreme positions and situations tree work demands. No pinching. This thing is awesome.


In my experience, modifying how I put my legs thru the ring positioning straps
makes a huge difference in how it performs. I was starting to think about fashioning my own straps to keep the legs rings in place. But in one single A-HA moment I realized:
they're already there, they just need to be used differently. It's very hard to describe without photos, but if anyone has one of these and is experiencing the same problem I had, let me know and I can take you thru it.

I purchased this harness about 8 months ago and it is by far my favorite and most-used. I cannot stress how well engineered for comfort this bugger is.

 New England Safety Pro 1/2" - A 12 strand to be r,  Tuesday, 04 December 2007 New England Safety Pro 1/2" - A 12 strand to be reckoned with!

By R.Boreal
Every so often a product just comes along that solves several problems at once. Safety Pro 12 strand 1/2" line by New England rope did that for me. If you have never used a 12-strand climbing line before, get ready to be pleasantly surprised.

Explanation of ratings:
TYPE OF USE - 5, totally professional, because this is a versatile product. It functions extremely well as:
** a climbing line
** a lowering line
** as a tail for a dynamic system DdRT on other 16 strand lines
** makes an awesome flipline
** yard work; all types of miscellaneous needs

It is easy to grip and hold, and its properties when tied into a friction hitch are unsurpassed.


FREQUENCY OF USE - 5, no doubt. I find that I favor Safety Pro now, and choose it over my other lines.

DURABILITY - 4. Maybe it is a 5, but I only discovered it about a year ago. I have not used it for enough years. It seems to "fur up" relatively quickly, say after 20 climbs, but that's to be expected because it has more texture than a 16 strand and so therefore more friction. But more importantly, Safety Pro has HIGH UV RESISTANCE, according to NE Rope's website technical stats. My lines are outside in the tree year-round, except for when I go offsite to do tree work. So UV wear is extremely important to me.

EASE OF USE - 5.
** You'll set a non-slip Blake's once, then go all the way up without re-dressing, even with artificial crotches and pulleys at your tie-in points. When there is almost no natural friction from the tree, except for the odd branch here and there, the Blake's can be high maintenance with a 16-strand.

** Safety Pro is easy to knot and it holds knots as good as anything.

** Great texture for holding on.

** It's relatively light, which is important if you're schlepping it around.

** Works very well when using the secured footlock.

SAFETY - 4. I have to give Safety Pro a 4 if I rate New England's Safety Blue a 5. It's tough to equal that super-obvious blue klaxon that screams DAMAGE DAMAGE DAMAGE. But other than that, Safety Pro is a very well made product

VALUE - gets a 5. (There is no value category, but maybe there should be.) Safety Pro is inexpensive as lines go; it's a superior value. That is like so much icing on the cake after everything else. Because I would actually pay more for it.


About the Rater -
As a part recreational, part semi-pro working climber, I am up in trees just about every day. As of 2008 I will have about 5 years experience. I use many different hitches and techniques when I climb, partly to keep things interesting, but also to find what works best in a given situation. Before Safety Pro I experimented constantly trying to get my friction hitches to remain reliable when using artificial crotch (low friction) tie in points. Aside from high-performance knots like the VT or the Schwab, I got mixed results. Sure you can put more turns on it, but then it gets harder to advance. Safety Pro is a wonderful solution. Even on 16-strand lines, you can use 12-strand as your tail or bridge, and it's better than using a 16 on another 16.
When I think about the fact that it's less expensive than other choices, I am more likely to use it for more things, and not baby it. So it's a great all around line.

 NE Rope Safety Blue braid, 1/2",  Monday, 26 November 2007 11/26/2007 - New England Safety Blue, 1/2" 16 strand
1/2", 16 strand NE Safety Blue braid (NE SBB) is among my oldest and newest climbing lines. Because if something works for me, I replace it. Safety Blue braid, in case you don't know, gets its name from the deep blue fibers in its core that immediately become starkly visible against the rope's outer covering if any real damage is done, such as cutting with a chain or hand saw.

Safety Blue is LIGHT.
Safety Blue knots well.
Safety Blue holds up to UV pretty well, considering mine is white. (You'd think the lighter the color the better for exposure, but it's actually the opposite - as a rule, darker is better for prolonged exposure to sunlight.)
Safety Blue is durable.

I used my original 105' NE SBB line for SRT, "Texas Style" with Petzl ascenders. I went up that same piece of rope nearly every day, twice a day, for 2 years. I climb mostly for the exercise and the love of it, so it was getting a lot of use, day and night, spring-summer-winter-fall. You'd think those ascenders would have killed that rope, but that same section is now part of my mobile climbing rig I carry in my truck. Even being outside in a tree for years, all that UV exposure didn't kill it. I purchased that rope back in 2002, so I am getting close to retiring it as a climbing line - but I haven't yet.

Any rope sheds some fuzz when descending using a figure '8'. This one, as it gets older, is now throwing off some dust, i.e. polyester fine particulates. Maybe as this line (or any line for that matter) gets used more and more, it might be a good idea to think about a mask to keep from inhaling the polyester dust.

I give it a 4, not a 5, for ease of use because, after having experience with a 12 strand line like Safety Pro, I feel that friction hitches like the Blakes require a little more care and attention with any 16 strand.

It's furred up a bit, and I can feel the difference betwixt my old and new NE SBB lines insofar as the old line is less "supple". But the old line still performs well and I'm currently using it as a lifeline for a removal right now. Good stuff. Hey NE Rope ... Thanks for making it great!

R.Boreal