Paul Cox testing his Hitch Hiker which has the friction device below the hitch rather than above as it is with the Rope Wrench. The Hitch Hiker has the potential to change the game yet again.
Sure. There is plenty of controversy, but we are fairly certain: Single Line Work Positioning is not banned in the workplace (but we do accept the the ban on the Rope Wrench in the tree climbing competitions might be confusing the issue).
In Treetools opinion, we ain't seen nothing yet! This is only the beginning in Single Line Work Positioning innovation.
The confusion surrounding Single Line Work Positioning is, no doubt, directly related to the Rope Wrench debate which raged internationally earlier in the year relative to the 2012 ITCC.
Banning SLWP in the workplace is an interesting concept though albeit highly unlikely.
Treetools is not sure who would have the authority, or power to enforce such a ban? Most 'safety' organisations appear to have little understanding of what is entailed in working single line.
At any rate, the metaphorical horse has already bolted - Single Line Work Positioning is being used on a daily basis in the workplace and looks here to stay.
Emerging out of all this SLWP whoa-hah is this; the Rope Wrench (and to some degree the Unicender) have changed the game… forever.
Single Line Work Positioning is now well-and-truly on the tree climbing 'innovation' radar.
ISC Wales have finessed the Rope Wrench but development in SLWP still has a very long way to go.
The market can expect to see any number of new SLWP devices coming out in the following months.
Apart from single line ascender/descender device development there are specialised SLWP ropes, pulleys, systems and configurations yet to be designed and tested.
In most other markets, innovation is driven by the big manufacturers. In the case of Single Line Work Positioning, the innovation to date has largely originated within the tree climbing community itself.
Once the big players get their heads around the concept, product development will accelerate apace.
