My $400 mistake with a cheap climbing rope nearly left me stuck 50 feet up

Last spring I figured I'd save some cash and bought a 150-foot dynamic rope off eBay for $400 instead of dropping $700 on a proper arborist line. Big mistake. First big climb with it, the sheath started slipping after about three hours of work on a massive red oak in Austin. I was hanging there feeling the core shift under my hands, and it scared the crap out of me. Had to rig a backup line just to get down safely, then tossed the whole thing in the trash. Now I stick with a decent brand like Teufelberger and pay the extra money because my neck ain't worth saving $300. Anyone else gotten burned by cheap gear on a job?

2 comments

2 Comments

felixw689d ago

Man that's a rough lesson to learn but you're right, your life is worth way more than three hundred bucks. Glad you made it down okay.

alicea269d ago

Oh come on, it's not like he was dangling off a cliff. Three hundred bucks is three hundred bucks, that's a lot of money to just walk away from. I've taken way bigger risks for way less, and I'm still here typing this. People on here act like every sketchy situation is some life or death movie scene.