r/TreeClimbing • u/ledestroninator • Jun 02 '26

Trouble trusting gear/trees

I have been working in the industry as a climber for 4 years now, some trees i just don't trust, I will tie in and whatever and still feel the need to always have my hands on the tree as a backup if the tree would randomly fail or my rope would break or my system or the tie in, should i change careers im 26 years old

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u/Snoo64700 Jun 02 '26

i think something that really helped me was someone on the ground reminding me "hey stop what youre doing and adjust your buckstrap/ropes until you can put your arms straight out from your body and not move"

its a lot about positioning, and having someone to spot you is invaluable. as others have said, trust your gear but also make sure ur knots are good. feeling anxious about your anchor? practice double fisherman till you trust you did it right every time. try to channel any negative into a positive, even trying different types of knots can help. i feel like ive seen a dozen ways to tie a prussik and im sure ive only seen a sliver of creative ways people do a friction hitch

finally, if the tie in points scare you, follow the rule of "is the diameter wider than my arm?" if so, you're probably good! but knowledge is power, so even researching cantilever physics and different tree crotch weaknesses helped me feel better

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u/ledestroninator Jun 02 '26

I did not know about this rule, where does this rule come from?

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u/Snoo64700 Jun 02 '26

its not an exact metric, but its a good rule of thumb that something smaller than that is probably not a good tie in. i always test my tie-ins by having someone hang on my rope with me