Understanding the Service Life of Your Protos Arborist Helmet

, Wednesday, October 29, 2025

Like all thermoplastic safety helmets, the Protos Integral has a defined service life. That service life starts the day you put it to work—not ..

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ART BlackBird – SAFETY NOTICE

Richard Tregoweth, Saturday, October 25, 2025

ART has issued two updates for the ART BlackBird mechanical device — one for the upper bearing pin on the friction enhancer and another for the fractured “nose” on the right side plate. Following further ..

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Harness expiry dates for DMM Kinisi

Richard Tregoweth, Friday, September 26, 2025

Manufacturers—not universal regulations—determine the expiration dates for tree climbing harnesses. You should retire your harness according to the manufacturer's specified lifespan or the results of your inspection, whichever comes first. The DMM Kinisi harnesses are the most recent on the market, ..

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Rope Runner Vertec: A Quiet Refinement Worth Noting

Richard Tregoweth, Thursday, August 28, 2025

Updated NOTCH Rope Runner Vertecs are now in stock at Treetools. While the changes may appear minor, they reflect NOTCH's commitment to feedback from the arborist community. When the original Rope Runner Vertec was introduced, it quickly established itself as one of the ..

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Know your gear to avoid a DQ

Richard Tregoweth, Tuesday, August 05, 2025

Tree climbing is complicated. What is perfectly acceptable in one system can be dangerous in another.

Approximately 18 years ago, the Treemagineers Hitch Climber DbRT (MRS) system established the benchmark in tree climbing configurations. Many climbers started their careers using this system and ..

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How to update PROTOS BT-Comm Firmware

Richard Tregoweth, Monday, July 07, 2025

In terms of Bluetooth communication devices, Protos BT-Comm units are generally reliable and easy to manage.

However, Treetools occasionally encounters customers who experience pairing issues. Often, the problem relates to sequencing during the pairing process, but sometimes it's because not all BT-Comm units in the communication loop have the same ..

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Economics and Working Load Factors

Richard Tregoweth, Friday, June 13, 2025

Understanding the relationships between rigging rope Break Strengths (BS), Safety Factors (SF) and Working Load Limits (WLL) is standard practice in arboriculture (you can find more information here and Read More

Buck Throttle certification dilemma

, Monday, April 28, 2025

It might sound harsh, but tree climbers don't expect much innovation from a company like Buckingham. Still, the new Buck Throttle has ignited interest among tree climbers seeking alternatives to the NOTCH Rope Runner Pro/Vertec, Rock Exotica Akimbo, Unicender, and the Petzl ZigZag Chicane ..

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Petzl ZigZag as lanyard adjuster NOT RECOMMENDED

Richard Tregoweth, Tuesday, April 08, 2025

A few days after first blogging about this subject, Treetools was alerted to overlooked information in the Petzl ZigZag Technical Notice regarding using the ZigZag as a lanyard. See more information in the addendum below. 

Just when you think you've heard (and seen) it all, another curly one comes along. A ..

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Kiwi 'Fern Climber' comes to Protos

, Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Tree climbers worldwide recognise the 'fern climber' image designed by Zane Wedding as the de facto New Zealand tree climbing icon. But don't take the illustration too literally. Anyone familiar with the Ponga (silver fern) will know the mature tree only grows to about 10m, and it's impossible to climb ..

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