| [College of ACES] | [University of Illinois] | [Illinois CES] |
You are right that many climbers don't understand baracing with Cobra. In fact, probaly 80% of the metal cables that I havee seeen installed in trees are not correct. So, what does that mean? Should we stop cabling and bracing? Hardly...
There are a lot of practices the we, Arborists, have incorporated into our bag of tricks without testing. We all jumped on the Blake's Hitch before it was dyno tested. After testing, it was found to be agood functional knot just as the users found out.
My goal is to d work that is "perfect." That goal of course is unreachable in actual practice, but still a goal. By incorporating Cobra into my repertoire, I am a little closer to the straight track on my journey.
Time will tell if Cobra is the best system.
If I was gong to move a Cobra, I would definetly would NOT reuse the rope. Tthe other parts should be able to be reused. The materials are too chepa to reuse. Besides, what kind of liability issues would be assumed because of unknown amounts of photodegradation.
There are some short comings with Cobra. It also solves some of the problems that wetal cabling has. When I see my Silver Maple out back sway in the wind instead of doing a robot dance, I know that the tree is healthier.
Tree rats are the biggest variable for Cobra. So far, no answers. Maybe some kind of deterent can be mixed into the pplastic soup before the rope is braided. Some kind of hot pepper maybe. Erk told me that the manufacturer is aware of this concern and is investigating a solution. The arborist in Germany are a pretty tight group and none of them has found squirrel damage in the six or so years taht Cobra has been used. Now, our squirrels may be different. Time will tell.
'By for now!
Tom