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Leather Sleeve

Image courtesy SherrillTree

User reviews

Average user rating from: 5 user(s)


Overall rating (weighted)		4.4
Type of Use		2.8
Frequency of Use		3.8
Durability		4.4
Technical Skill Required		4.8
Ease of Use		4.6
Portability		3.6

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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

No sap since!, Friday, 11 July 2008

Written by Brendan Springer-Davis - View all my reviews - Top 50 Reviewer


Overall rating (weighted)		5.0
Type of Use		1.0
Frequency of Use		4.0
Durability		5.0
Technical Skill Required		5.0
Ease of Use		5.0
Portability		5.0

This has saved my ropes from any more sap encounters! I don't climb without it; around my neck of the woods (Lake Tahoe) there are only coniferous trees with terrible sap, so this has been a life saver and I think it is the best bang for the buck. I have never really have had any trouble with it either! A must have for your pack of gear!

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Easy up - easy Down!, Monday, 31 March 2008

Written by Franklin Klock - View all my reviews - Top 10 Reviewer


Overall rating (weighted)		4.3
Type of Use		3.0
Frequency of Use		4.0
Durability		4.0
Technical Skill Required		5.0
Ease of Use		4.0
Portability		4.0

Super easy for a rookie to use the first time out - Easy up - Easy down. Thanks to Peter's great instruction on the TCI basics video.

I lubricated one of my sleeves with talc right away, because I didn't know how slippery it would be "dry". They both worked fine either way. Also, I like the idea of using a natural material next to the bark. I don't know, maybe it's me, but it just seems less damaging to the cambium than plastic.

As for portability, I took peter's idea, and added a loop of accessory cord to the middle and clipped them to the daisy chain on my pack - never knew they were there.

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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful

Leather Sleeve - if you only have one, this is it., Monday, 10 December 2007

Written by Miko Del Giudice - View all my reviews - Top 10 Reviewer


Overall rating (weighted)		4.8
Type of Use		5.0
Frequency of Use		5.0
Durability		5.0
Technical Skill Required		5.0
Ease of Use		5.0
Portability		4.0

After reading the two previous reviews. it's all Yes's.

All I can add is, when both it and the line get wet, it does not glide nearly as well. More than once I have started a climb and then bagged the whole thing for a different tree because of the resistance.

Other than wet weather, this thing rocks. Easy and fun.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

Usually works well, Wednesday, 07 November 2007

Written by Mark Fulton - View all my reviews - Top 10 Reviewer


Overall rating (weighted)		3.8
Type of Use		3.0
Frequency of Use		3.0
Durability		4.0
Technical Skill Required		4.0
Ease of Use		4.0
Portability		3.0

For my first 1 1/2 years of climbing, this was the only cambium/rope protection I used. More recently, when I climb DdRT, my use of rope protection is about evenly divided between these and conduit type sleeves.

The virtues that Peter mentions are certainly borne out in my experience; they don't suddenly slide down the rope, and they are very good at staying in place on the branch. They have an additional virtue that is only of interest to nuts who continue to climb in the deep winter - they don't become brittle in extreme cold, the way the plastic housing of a conduit sleeve becomes brittle.

I don't find portability to be much of an issue; they are somewhat bulkier and are certainly stiffer than conduits, but they ride just fine in my climbing backpacks tucked in next to the rope. I don't climb enough in the wet to comment on their durability under those conditions, but there's no question leather is much softer when wet, so you want to avoid those times and places with leather sleeves. So far, mine have stood up to a few years of, on average, weekly use with no sign whatsoever of wearing out.

I gave slightly lower scores for "Technical skill" and "Ease of use" than Peter for the following reason: When placing them on a high branch, especially a slightly smaller branch, the edge of the leather sometimes hangs up on the side of the branch, making it very hard to pull into place. A high branch is worse because of the weight of the rope preventing the sleeve from levering up to clear the obstacle, and a narrow branch seems to be a little more prone to catching on the edge. Not a really common problem, but it happens often enough to me to be worthy of note.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

Low tech with advantages., Tuesday, 23 October 2007

Written by Peter Jenkins - View all my reviews - Top 10 Reviewer


Overall rating (weighted)		4.0
Type of Use		2.0
Frequency of Use		3.0
Durability		4.0
Technical Skill Required		5.0
Ease of Use		5.0
Portability		2.0

I use these at the TCI school. They are easy and fast to set up. They are preformed which means that they easily lay over a branch. The preformed design (curved) makes it safer if they slip off a branch during use (which is rare) because they won't slide down the rope. Not that a sleeve would hurt you if it came zipping down a rope. I personally don't like surprises while climbing (climbing technique surprises that is). A sleeve whizzing down a rope where my hands are gripping is an unwanted surprise.

I gave it a lower rating for portability because they are stiff and don't pack into a tiny bag. I usually carry it with a carabiner clipped to a thin line I wrap around the middle of leather sleeve.

The thing I like most is that it drops into place over the branch when you pull it over and stays there. The rough outer surface of the leather (the inside is the slick side) doesn't move around much on the branch and will sometimes even stay in place on an inclining branch.

They are not expensive either.

One other down side. When they get soaking wet they sometimes dry in not so perfect shapes. Still usable, mind you, but not as easy as when they were in perfect form. Try to keep them dry.

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