Rope wrench vs. traditional DdRT for deadwooding tall oaks, which actually saves your shoulders?

Tbh I deadwooded a 90 foot red oak in Portland last week using a rope wrench for the first time and my shoulders felt fine, but on the next job back on DdRT I was cramped up by hour two, so is the learning curve worth switching full time or am I just getting old?

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matthewg639d ago

The shoulder savings are real on the wrench because you're not fighting the friction every single move. On DdRT you're basically doing a mini workout each time you advance, and that adds up fast on a long deadwooding day. I made the switch for good after one season of back and forth, and my elbows stopped complaining too. The learning curve is mostly about muscle memory for tending your slack, so practice on shorter trees first. Once you get the hang of it, you won't want to go back, especially on anything over 50 feet. Getting old is part of it, but the gear change buys you a few more good years.