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SpiderJack
SpiderJack 2.1
SpiderJack 3
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I acquired my Advanced Ropeclimbing Technology SpiderJack from WesSpur Tree Equipment in 2009.
The Advanced Ropeclimbing Technology SpiderJack is 135 mm. tall, 79 mm. wide, and 44 mm. thick, and weighs 238 g. It consists of an aircraft aluminum body with a friction clutch, a spring-loaded carabiner attachment arm, a release lever, and a wooden brake block on a pivoting arm.The body is a roughly-circular cylinder with a large central slot that nearly bisects the block, and two thin lateral slots. The circular diameter is 48.1 mm., and a slight extension on one end increases the length to 52.3 mm. The block is 31.7 mm. thick. The friction clutch and carabiner attachment arm pivot in the central slot. The friction clutch is a chordal segment of a circular disk, cut away on the flat side and the top corner with a concave surface to match the rope diameter. It pivots on a pin that passes through from one side. The carabiner arm is 60 mm. long and 10 mm. thick along most of its length, widening at the base to fit the slot. There is a small oil hole in the base of the arm that passes down to the pivot. The carabiner eye is 15 mm. in diameter. A thin double-coil spring, attached to the body with a machine screw and washer, opposes the carabiner arm at one extreme of it’s travel.
The release lever is 50 mm. long, tapered, and has a U-shaped cross section. It is pinned to the main block, and a set screw secures one of the pins. During use, the release lever sits horizontally; pulling it down allows the device to slide.
The wooden brake block is mounted on a U-shaped strip of 1.8 mm. aluminum that pivots in the lateral slots in the body. The block is a dark hardwood, with a rounded tip. During use, the block drops out of the way, but the user can raise it as an aid to descending and ascending.
A plastic cover on on one side of the body holds the various pivot pins in place. There is a double-faced Velcro™ strip screwed to the other side.
The final piece is a section of reinforced rubber tubing that looks like a piece of hose from my truck’s engine. It functions as a spacer.
The body of the SpiderJack is marked with "EN358," a book-with-an-"i" icon, the ART tree logo, "CE0123, and "0802003" on the side, and with two stacked inverted "V"s on the circumference, pointing toward the wooden brake block. The brake arm is marked "SpiderJack" on both sides. The release lever is marked "ART." The carabiner attachment arm is marked "ART" on one side and "P 09" on the other. The clutch block is marked with two stacked inverted "V"s pointing toward the wooden brake block, "Ø11-13" and "KB.SP." All of these markings are in dot-matrix form. The machine screws holding the cover on have "8.8" and "UM" marked on their heads. The machine screw holding the Velcro™ has "8.8" and "S" marked on its head. The hose spacer has "rieb" printed on it.
The SpiderJack is another variation on the idea introduced in the Buckingham Lockjack. The SpiderJack is specially designed for arborists "Double Rope Technique." The climbing line goes through the SpiderJack, up over a tree limb, and back down to the carabiner connecting the SpiderJack to the Tarzan. The spacer separates the eye splice in the main line from the eye of the device, and the Velcro™ secures the main line to the side of the device.
The SpiderJack is very well made. I'm not claiming to be qualified to evaluate it for arboreal suitability; cavers and climbers avoid double rope technique and will want to pass on this device.
My SpiderJack came with a 67-page manual, with instructions in five languages and additional notes in eleven more. The manual includes 32 photographs showing how to rig and use the device. Overall, I think it is a very good manual, despite the author’s inability to resist following the European practice of using incomprehensible icons as a substitute for effective communication.At least they provided a legend!
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I acquired my Advanced Ropeclimbing Technology SpiderJack 2.1 from WesSpur Tree Equipment in 2017
My Advanced Ropeclimbing Technology SpiderJack 2.1 is 89 mm. long, 127 mm. wide, 46 mm. high, and weighs 241 g. It consists of an aircraft aluminum body with a friction clutch, a spring-loaded carabiner attachment arm, a release lever, and a wooden brake block on a pivoting arm.
The body is a roughly-circular cylinder with a large central slot that nearly bisects the block, and two thin lateral slots. The circular diameter is 47.1 mm., and a slight extension on one end increases the length to 52.5 mm. The block is 31.9 mm. thick. The friction clutch and carabiner attachment arm pivot in the central slot. The friction clutch is a chordal segment of a circular disk, cut away on the flat side and the top corner with a concave surface to match the rope diameter. It pivots on a pin that passes through from one side. The carabiner arm is 60 mm. long and 10 mm. thick along the central part of its length, widening at the base to fit the slot. There is a small oil hole in the base of the arm that passes down to the pivot. The carabiner eye is 15 mm. in diameter. A thin double-coil spring, attached to the body with a machine screw and washer, opposes the carabiner arm at one extreme of it’s travel.
The release lever is 59 mm. long, tapered, and has a U-shaped cross section. It is pinned to the main block, and a set screw secures one of the pins. During use, the release lever sits horizontally; pulling it down allows the device to slide. A semicircular piece with a U-shaped rope guide is pressed into the lower distal end of the lever.
The wooden brake block is mounted in a rather complex aluminum tab fastened to two aluminum arms that pivot in the lateral slots in the body. The block is a dark hardwood, with a rounded tip. During use, the block drops out of the way, but the user can raise it as an aid to descending and ascending. The bottom surface of the tab is checkered with a number of small raised pyramids - sort of a "flat knurl" if you’ll forgive the term. During use, the block drops out of the way, but the user can raise it as an aid to descending and ascending.
A plastic cover on on one side of the body holds the various pivot pins in place. There is a double-faced Velcro™ strip screwed to the other side.
The final piece is a section of reinforced rubber tubing that looks like a piece of hose from my truck’s engine. It functions as a spacer. The SpiderJack 2.1 came with three of these - two are spares - as well as a spare Velcro™ strip
The body of the SpiderJack is marked with a scanner code, "05.15 01 500," a book-with-an-"i" icon, an ART logo, "CE0123, and "EN358" on the side, and with two stacked inverted "V"s on the circumference, pointing toward the wooden brake block. The brake arm is marked "SpiderJack" on both sides. The release lever is marked "ART." The carabiner attachment arm is marked "ART" on one side and "P 15" on the other. The clutch block is marked with two stacked inverted "V"s pointing toward the wooden brake block, "Ø11-13" and "KB.SP." The machine screws holding the cover on have "A2" and a symbol that resembles three "+" signs run together marked on their heads. The machine screw holding the Velcro™ has "o8.8" and "HFL" marked on its head.
The SpiderJack 2.1 is an upgrade to the original SpiderJack, and functions much the same way. I'm not claiming to be qualified to evaluate it for arboreal suitability; cavers and climbers avoid double rope technique and will want to pass on this device.
My SpiderJack came with an 80-page manual, with instructions in five languages and additional notes in eleven more. The manual includes 37 photographs and numerous illustrations showing how to rig and use the device. Overall, I think it is a very good manual, despite using incomprehensible icons that require referring to the index for comprehension.
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I acquired my Advanced Ropeclimbing Technology SpiderJack 3 from A-OK Power Equipment in 2017.
My Advanced Ropeclimbing Technology SpiderJack 3 is 93 mm. long, 195 mm. wide, 45 mm. high, and weighs 549 g.
The SpiderJack 3 consists of two irregular shaped stamped 2 mm. stainless steel plates separated by 32.5 mm. for most of their length, with an aircraft aluminum body assembly (with a friction clutch, a release lever, and a wooden brake block on a pivoting arm) and a pivoting carabiner attachment arm sandwiched between the plates. The upper ends of the plates are dog-legged inward and welded together. Two reinforcing plates are welded here as well. Punched 13.9 mm. holes in each plate form an attachment eye, and a small gap between the plates holds an 11.5 mm. i.d. o-ring.
The body is cylinder - not a circular cylinder but approximating a circular sector - with a large central slot that nearly bisects the block, and two thin lateral slots. The friction clutch pivots in the central slot. The friction clutch is a chordal segment of a circular disk, cut
away on the flat side and the top corner with a concave surface
to match the rope diameter. It pivots on a pin that passes through from one side. The SpiderJack comes with two friction clutches. The manual is not clear on this, but it implies that one clutch is for 11-11.7 mm. rope and the other for 11.5-13.5 mm. rope - but these limits depend on the brand rope used. There is a stainless steel wear pin in the body, and the SpiderJack comes with a spare.
The release lever is 60 mm. long, tapered, and has a U-shaped cross section. It is pinned to the main block, and a set screw secures one of the pins. During use, the release lever sits horizontally; pulling it down allows the device to slide.
The wooden brake block is mounted in a rather complex aluminum tab fastened to two stainless steel arms that pivot in the lateral slots in the body. The block is a dark hardwood, with a rounded tip. During use, the block drops out of the way, but the user can raise it as an aid to descending and ascending. There is an o-ring fastened in a slot at the end of the tab; I have no idea what this is for and I didn't find a good clue in the manual. The bottom surface of the tab is checkered with a number of small raised pyramids - sort of a "flat knurl" if you’ll forgive the term.
The carabiner arm pivots between the plates and has a swivel assembly built in as well.
An 18 mm. wide, 28 mm. diameter pulley wheel with a 5 mm. deep U-shaped groove turns on a shoulder bolt connecting the lower ends of the side plates. These plates are dog-legged closer together at this end as well.
One side of my SpiderJack 3 is etched with "CE 0123," "EN 358:2000," a book-with-an-"i" icon, a scanner code, and "25.16 01 161." The other side is etched with "SpiderJack 3." A plate riveted between the side plates is printed with the ART logo. The body is printed with "02.16." The friction clutch installed at the factory is printed with a white rectangle, "B," and "SJ3." The second clutch (for smaller ropes) is printed with "A" and "SJ3."
The SpiderJack comes in such a nice box and looks so much like a futuristic ray gun that it takes some courage to ruin Christmas by opening the present early.
The SpiderJack is specially designed for arborists "Double Rope Technique." The climbing line goes through the SpiderJack, up over a tree limb, and back down to the carabiner connecting the SpiderJack to Tarzan’s seat harness. I'm not claiming to be qualified to evaluate it for arboreal suitability; cavers and climbers avoid double rope technique and will want to pass on this device.
The one thing that concerns be about the SpiderJack is the swivel eye. Check this carefully before use - if it comes unscrewed, that would be bad.
My SpiderJack 3 came with a 96-page manual, with instructions in five languages and additional notes in eleven more. The manual includes 27 photographs and many illustrations showing how to rig and use the device. Overall, I think it is an excellent manual, despite some European icons that require a legend to explain their meaning.
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