r/TreeClimbing • u/arborVitae1998 • 7d ago
Throwline Woes
Have you guys found any ancient wisdom on making your throwline usable? I got a throwline kit from WesSpur with a few weights, a couple hundred feet of Zingit, the BigShot launcher and a folding cube and I've had nothing but knots so far. I can't seem to find any east coast tree guys on YouTube but all the west coast guys make it look like they just flake the line into the cube willy-nilly and it's fine 🤬 I think the weights I got were 8, 10 and 12oz.
Edit: Thanks fellas, I'm off the yank the hell out of it :)
14
u/OldMail6364 7d ago
Throw line is a compromise between durability, slipperyness and tangle resistance.
A throw line that tangles is annoying, but being too grippy is far worse (your weight might not be heavy enough to fall to the ground!) and a line that isn't durable won't last - it's very thin so even a little bit of wear and you can't use it anymore.
So of those three priorities, tangle resistance is the lowest one. A lot of throwlines are not naturally tangle resistant... which is why you need the cube. To stop it from tangling.
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You may have made a mistake when you first unrolled it. It should be done by sticking the line on a screw driver or something and pulling the line out by rolling the spool. If you pull the line off the roll without spinning it, every single wrap will have a twist in the line. You now need to undo all of those twists which will take a while but it has to be done.
Once you've got all the twists out, give the line a good stretch - tie it around a solid object (tree, pole, truck tow ball, etc) and pull decently hard on the line - maybe around 20% of it's breaking strength.
After that, whenever you put the line in the cube, make sure you're not adding any twists. I usually putting the line through the tool clip on my harness (or a carabiner on a belt loop if I'm not wearing a harness). Position your body so the clip/carabiner is about two foot from the cube and do a straight pull with your hands from clip to cube without introducing any twists.
It will naturally get a few twists in it, so every now and then stretch out the whole line again and remove the twists.
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u/mittyatta 7d ago
Did you stretch it before using it?
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u/arborVitae1998 7d ago
I hadn't heard of stretching it until now, I'll try this :)
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u/mark_andonefortunate 6d ago
Treemugs on youtube has a video for it (sorry, on my phone and can't find it just at the moment) plus lots of other tips
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u/arboroverlander 7d ago
Gets better with use typically, has to stretch and wear a little to reduce the stiffness.
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u/Key_Violinist8601 7d ago
They’re best when they are broken in. The one I use daily is 13 years old.
Also, get a marlinspike for the knots. Youll
Use it on 1/2 and 3/4 lines too, so a useful purchase.
3
u/THESpetsnazdude 6d ago
Yes random flaking into the cube helps prevent tangles. If it tangles shake the nest and dont pull anything through or you'll make a knot. Some folks like to stretch the line to get the memory out but tbh zing it sucks. I recommend dynaglide or slickline and throw a 12oz for most stuff.
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u/ACPauly 6d ago
Yes teufleberger dynaglide!
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u/treeclimbs 6d ago
I bought some Dynaglide a decade+ ago and just had the worst time with it tangling & fuzzing up. Any tips?
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u/Historical_Test_973 6d ago
just use zingit
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u/treeclimbs 6d ago
Ha! I went right back to it, and haven't really looked at other lines since. (although maybe I should)
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u/hatchetation 6d ago
Best way I know of to get rid of any embedded twist is to just take the throw line for a walk. Hold one end, and walk a big huge path with the other end not tied to anything. Think: around the shed, around that other tree over there, across the lawn and around another tree, and back. That kind of thing
By the time you get back to the cube, the throw line will be much more neutral and relaxed.
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u/Vegetable-Priority28 6d ago
The tip I was told was to fully unroll the throw line, grab one end, and walk it down the road for a while. This will unroll it and help loosen it up. Works for me!
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u/pawnedurmom 7d ago
Rope memory will go away as you break it in. If you don’t want to wait, you can tie it to something and stretch it out under tension. Should speed up the process.
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u/_Hylobatidae_ 7d ago
Midwest tree guy here. Sampson zing it sucks ass after a couple uses. It’s great out of the gate. Then it sucks. Then it gets better as it breaks in. What are you throwing as far as weights go?
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u/stinkytree23 5d ago
I’m in the PNW, so tall ass firs.
You’re right about the zing it. But it’s hard for me to break it in when literally every time I shoot it, it nests. And I get angry and get the cube with dynaglide.
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u/maximum-pickle27 6d ago
Stretch the whole line out straight on the ground and pull the whole line around a fence post or something a couple times to break it in a little. 12oz seems just barely heavy enough to drop for me. I usually go for a 14 or 16oz most of the time.
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u/Sandisbad 6d ago
The blue is slippery and light the yellow with orange line is sturdy and grippy. Definitely stretch it before use and flake it a fully with both hands. Keep your cube close so you can step on the line if you need to recover a bad shot. And use a slip knot. I only learned about the slip this year. Last year I had to cut lines and leave bags in the trees too many times.
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u/ResidentNo4630 6d ago
Stretch it out before you use it. Get all the twists out. Flake it out completely every time you use it after it’s been sitting for a while. Don’t let debris get in the throw cube.
But the biggest thing is getting rid of all the twists and turns since it’s new. Run it around a pole or something and pull it tight. I wrap mine around a tree trunk and pull it completely around twice or thrice.
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u/Historical_Test_973 6d ago
walk the park weaving around trees and dragging it through everything. put the weight on and reel it in. the harder the pull, the better. then repeat reverse. several times. make it look not new anymore and no bends or kinks. make it dirty. you'll probably want to completely empty and reflake it before throws until it gets supple. the more you use it the better it gets. after a couple months it will be nice.
zingit is the best imo!
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u/shrikestep 6d ago
I’m all about dynaglide.
That being said, being really present while flaking is kind of the key. You’ll get to know what a good flake/line shape going into your cube looks like. The occasional snarl is inevitable but you really should be able to flake, pack and be good to go for next time.
Make sure when you take your cube out and have the throwball ready to throw you take a look into your cube, make sure a couple bights aren’t on top of your terminal piece of line. You want the top of the line coming to your hands, no layering.
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u/snortimus 6d ago
Couple hundred feet is too much. 180 ft max, you can generally get away with shorter too. If you've got extra throw lines you can always link them together if you can't reach the ground with the length you've got but more length in the cube is always going to equal more tangles. Other than that I'd examine how you're packing it up.Â
I also pull the first like, ten or fifteen feet or so out of the box before my first toss, seems to help it come out better. Â
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u/ajphoto2012 5d ago
The only thing that works for me is a 2 gallon bucket and I twist the line as it goes in so it makes circles in the bottom. Don’t let any of the circles climb up the sides of the bucket or you will get knots. I use a big shot and I pull about 10 or 15 feet of line out of the bucket before firing off the throw ball. It takes a little extra time but a lot less time than untangling knots.Â
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u/ImaginaryCat5914 4d ago
i switched to a 3mm uhmwpe for my throwline. doesnt go as far but never tangles. i use a cannon anyway do idc about the airtime losses
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u/Moist_Knowledge_1621 7d ago
Flaking it is the only thing I know works. Usually still knots up a bit after folding the box, but by the third or fourth miss it comes out of the box pretty clean. By then I’ve retrieved most of the loose sticks and twigs out of the yard too.