Gifts For Arborists: The Rope Trade Nobody Talks About

Climbers make a lot of noise about retiring a rope. Five to ten years, they say, and then a sad little ceremony and into the bin.

Arborists do not have that luxury. A climbing line that lives in a tree, against bark, through a friction saver, in the rain, covered in sawdust and resin, is finished in a fraction of that time. Rigging line takes an even worse beating.

Which makes tree work one of the biggest rope waste streams in the country, and almost nobody is talking about it.

Why arborist rope is a different beast

A climbing rope is retired on age and on invisible core wear. An arborist line is retired on damage you can usually see and feel: glazing, fuzz, a flat spot, a nick from a spur or a saw.

So the timeline is completely different. A busy crew can burn through a line in a season. Multiply that across every outfit in the UK and it is a serious amount of material going into a skip.

Gifts for arborists and tree surgeons

Buying for someone in tree work is hard, because the kit they need is specific, expensive and personal. Get them the wrong harness and you have wasted three hundred quid. So go sideways.

Rope belt, £28 or £33. The obvious one. They wear work trousers every day of their life and a belt that will not give up is worth having. Cut to exact waist, 22 to 50 inches. Recycled climbing rope belts.

Dog lead, £30. Half the arborists I meet have a dog in the van. Climbing rope dog leads.

Cup cosy and can cooler, £30. For the flask on a wet November morning in somebody's back garden.

Carabiner keychain, £15. A real clip. They will use it.

Keychains, £3 to £4. Van keys, gate keys, the key to the yard. Have a look.

Rope bowl, £55. The showpiece. Hours of coiling. There are three left.

The ask

If you run a crew, you are sitting on rope I would love to have. Retired climbing line, old rigging rope, offcuts, the lot. Sawdust and sap are not a problem. I have a bath and no dignity.

Here is how to send me your rope. No cash for it, sorry, but you get a photo of what it became and 15% off anything in the shop.

Or if you are just here for a present, the whole lot is in gifts for climbers, and a gift card starts at £10 if you would rather they picked.

Less waste. More miles.

Stay classy and remember,
Make Waste Useful.

George