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Treetools Blog

Petzl ZigZag Exchange: Expired

Richard Tregoweth, Tuesday, January 31, 2023

In late August 2021, Petzl/Spelean (Australia/New Zealand) released a notice reporting several customer returns citing rope slippage on a tiny number of Petzl ZigZag/Zillons produced between 2018 and 2021. By 'tiny', I mean 0.025% of all ..

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Recall Notice for Rock Exotica 1.1

Richard Tregoweth, Friday, December 23, 2022

Yes, it's a recall, and the timing could not have been worse, just before the 2022 Christmas holiday break, but the problem is relatively easy to remedy, and we'll get it sorted in the New Year.

To recap, the button assembly on a limited number of 1.1" Omni Swivel ..

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2022 Christmas/New Year Hours

Richard Tregoweth, Tuesday, December 06, 2022

Another year comes to a close—time to recharge the batteries and take a well-deserved break. Every year the New Zealand tree care industry shuts down over the Christmas New Year period, and it's a great idea. Treetools will officially close mid-day Thursday, December 22 and reopen Monday, January 9, 2023. ..

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Check your Petzl Sequoia screws

Richard Tregoweth, Tuesday, August 30, 2022

As stated previously, chainsaw vibration will undo screws on some climbing devices. And intensive use (production tree climbing) is also likely to exacerbate the problem.

Further to the previous discussion, a flurry of ..

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Vibration check; loose screws

Richard Tregoweth, Saturday, August 27, 2022

Just as a vibrating chainsaw will cause Raynaud disease (carpel tunnel syndrome or white finger), it will also undo screws on some climbing devices (that's why screw lock carabiners are frowned on in tree work).

When ..

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Notch RopeRunner Pro CE clarification

Richard Tregoweth, Tuesday, March 01, 2022

The question asked by tree climbers planning to use the NOTCH RopeRunner Pro at work or in the Tree Climbing Competitions: is there a difference between the ..

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Five important hardware configuration issues

Richard Tregoweth, Monday, February 21, 2022

Tree climbing competitions provide multiple benefits to the aerial arborist community. But, one of the most important is the attention to climbing system configuration issues often overlooked in day-to-day tree work.

Misconfigured hardware systems are the most likely culprits, ranging ..

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Petzl ZigZag/Zillon: this is not a recall.

Richard Tregoweth, Monday, November 15, 2021

If you thought the ZigZag/Zillon 'Request for Inspection' notice (NOTE: THIS IS NOT A RECALL) issued by Petzl in late August 2021 would kill the sale of these mechanical devices, ..

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Notch Pro Access, made for arborists

Richard Tregoweth, Sunday, April 19, 2020

Treetools does not usually republish 'retailer' videos via this channel. Still, Nick Bonner does such an excellent job in explaining the features and benefits of the new Notch Pro Access bag we could ..

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Hand ascenders as a primary anchor - NO!

Richard Tregoweth, Saturday, April 28, 2018


The body of evidence against the use of a toothed-cam hand ascender, single or double, configured as the primary anchor point in a climbing system is well recorded.

The aggressive teeth on the cam of these devices begin to strip the ..

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