Lirios Armor hitch cord - first impressions

Picked up a couple of metres of Lirios Armor hitch cord at the APF on the recommendation of Honey Brothers, at 3 times the price of the Sirius I normally use I was initially doubtful and it was going to have to seriously impress me

Only used it on 2 climbs so far, one large (SRT) and one smallish (Double rope) and I have to say I was very impressed, used it with my usual knot - distel. Its very smooth, holds well and tends nicer than any cord I've used before. So if it lasts I may well be a convert! I won't speak to soon though, its early days yet, more later...

Stihl MS150T - First Impressions

Latest addition to my collection of saws

Little baby top handle, to be used exclusively for reductions/repollards and general pruning

Here it is next to a 200t to give you an idea of how tiny this thing is

Unfortunately I haven't had chance to use it yet so can't comment on performance, seems to weigh almost nothing and feels very comfortable in the hand, well balanced and proportioned. 

Couple more pics

Got it on a 10'' bar to stop me using it on anything too big! got a few reductions coming up next week so I'll update once I've put it through its paces...

Felco Secateurs Model 4 Standard - Review

As far as I'm concerned a good pair of secateurs is an essential item in any arborists tool box. I use mine at least a couple of times every week; on small reductions or thins, pruning young trees from the ground, formative pruning on newly planted trees even chopping stuff up smaller to bag up on 'through the house' jobs.

I've had these for about 10 months now and I'm pretty pleased with them, there a massive improvement on the pair of cheepo ones I had before.

The model 4 Felcos are a fairly no frills version but do everything you'd expect of them, they will cut up to 1" diameter branches (species depending) They cut clean with very little tearing of bark and splitting of the wood, this obviously increases with the larger branches/twigs. With smaller finger sized stuff cutting is pretty effortless and the curved blade and anvil prevent the piece from slipping, handy when your at full reach on the tips of a wet slippery Lime!

There is very little to go wrong with these secateurs, they've suffered a reasonable amount of abuse in the time I've been using them, been dropped plenty of times and have spent a lot of their life kicking around in the bottom of my climbing bag. They are showing very few signs of ware and the edge is just as keen as the day I brought them. At around the £30 mark they are a bit of an investment compared to a £5 blackspur pair, but assuming you don't loose them they should last 10 times as long. 

To be honest I don't use them quite as much as I should, often making do with my Silky for small diameter cuts that it really isn't suitable for. Having a pair of secateurs on you just gives you that increased level of accuracy and ability to leave some very tidy finishing cuts. 

I find the only down side to these is that they don't have any means of attaching a lanyard of any description which can be a bit of pain when in the tree. I've managed to solve this when I was given an old leather Felco holster that holds them nice and snug and has a fairly solid clip for attaching them to my harness with 

All in all pretty pleased with them and would recommend them to anyone looking to invest in a quality pair of secateurs. I would also recommend anyone starting out in Arb, looking to improve on their reductions to try taking a pair up and seeing if you find it any easier/notice a difference in quality.