[Towertalk] Re: shopping list be for a full tower climbing kit

[Dan Levin]

Your milage may vary.
I am not a tower climbing professional.
Steve is really the one to answer this question.
Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.
To me, the clothes are dependent on the weather.  I climb in shorts and a
tee shirt, and I climb in long underwear, jeans, and 4 shirts + a sweater.
Doesn't matter to me, and long as I am comfortable.

List #1:  I won't go near a tower without...
1) A quality full body harness.  Believe it or not, there are lots of good
ones in used but excellent condition on eBay.  Inspect your purchase
carefully before trusting your life to it.
2) A quality positioning lanyard.  I prefer nylon strap to rope, but the
only real requirement is double action safety hooks and decent strength.
Length depends on the task at hand, but I find 4' to be a good compromise.
3) A quality safety lanyard. I use a Miller 6' nylon strap lanyard, but the
only key is double action hooks and some kind of 'soft landing' shock
absorbtion technology.   You want a lanyard designed to be fallen on - don't
use a positioning lanyard or a hunk of rope.  Again, good ones are available
on eBay.
4) Good quality boots, already discussed ad nauseum here.
5) Good quality gloves, ditto.
6) 2-3 good quality aluminum carabiners.  I use the REI oval ones.
7) A good tool belt.  I've tried buckets, pockets, pouches, and I keep
coming back to my trusty nylon tool belt with large pouches on the sides and
a small one in front.  It is a bit cumbersome, no doubt about it, but I like
to have my tools on hand.  My belt is always stocked with:

- 3/8" drive ratchet handle, with 1/2", 7/16" and 9/16" long sockets.
- 9" long adjustable wrench
- box wrenches for the above 3 sizes
- medium flat blade screwdriver and medium phillips head screwdriver
- a good retractable knife
- a roll of scotch 33+ electrical tape, ("accept no substitutes")
- a wad of black, UV resistant 6-9" long cable ties

List #2: Nice to have's, sometimes mandatory (depends on the task)

1) A good rope.  I'm cheap, so I use Home Depot double braided 3/8" line,
which seems to work fine for me.  Length depends on the job, I use 100', but
I know Steve uses a longer one.
2) At least one, and probably two, good pulley's.  A 'good' pulley is
strong, has a swivel hook at the top, and opens on the side to allow the
rope to be inserted mid-line.  I find that for dealing with 'big' antennas,
using two pulley's to get that mechanical advantage going makes a big
difference in control and back pain :-)
3) A hard hat.  Probably should be on List #1, but I only wear one when
there is a real risk of falling stuff.  They are just too annoying to wear
all the time (for me).
4) A snatch block.  You can use a regular pulley (which I do), but then you
need a third one.
5) A tool bucket.  I only use one occassionally, but when you need it, it is
great.  I trail a light line behind me when I climb, so that my ground crew
can throw stuff I need in the bucket (which I usually leave on the ground)
and then I can pull it up.  If you don't use a tool belt, then a bucket
becomes mandatory (List #1), and you probably need two.
6) 2 slings.  I use continuous loop 6' long 200 lb. (or so) slings from
Champion.  They are great.  Use them as chokers on masts, etc. or choke one
and and use a carabiner on the other end to lift antennas.  You need two,
one to attach the top pulley to the mast, and the other to attach the rope
(or the bottom pulley) to the boom of the antenna you are lifting :-)

What did I forget guys??

            ***dan, K6IF