Secondary lanyards have long been a staple for electrical linemen, but if you bring them up to some arborists, you should expect to get some attitude. Using buckstraps in tree work in particular is really seen by some as old-fashioned - reserved for stubborn old men who are unwilling to learn new climbing techniques or invest in new gear. Nonetheless, we're here to reexamine the use of secondary lanyards for tree work. 

We'll start by breaking down what makes positioning lanyards so popular for electrical linemen, examine why young arborists are not as fond of them, and then talk about whether or not they have a future in the world of tree climbing or not.

How Electrical Linemen Use Secondary Lanyards

For electrical pole workers, the use of secondary lanyards is standard practice, even required on the job. Linemen use buck straps with a secondary lanyard every day on the job to keep them safe and secure on the pole as part of a fall restriction system. The secondary lanyard is in part used to more safely work around obstacles and climbing obstructions. A lineman will stay strapped in with a secondary lanyard while they detach their buckstrap before reattaching above the obstacle.  

Why Do Arborists Seem to Hate Buckstraps so Much?

A lot of arborists, especially young arborists, straight up hate buck straps. To say they are considered old school is actually generous. Using buck straps is considered inefficient, overly cautious, and just flat out annoying. In short, some drawbacks to using a secondary lanyard in tree climbing include:

• Extra gear required
• More time to get a job done
• More effort to get around branches

Nowadays arborists prefer using adjustable rigging ring slings like Rope Logic's ultra sling or dead eyes slings for most of the jobs where a secondary lanyard would have been more commonly used in the past. Whoopie and loopie slings are also somewhat popular for some of these types of uses.

The Best Way to Use a Secondary Lanyard for Tree Climbing

Despite having a bad rap, secondary lanyards definitely have a time and place. They are definitely seen as ideal for spare removal work by a ton of people and they are a great alternative to the simpler setup where people climb using spikes and a single buckstrap. Some advantages of using a secondary lanyard include:

• Protects against gaffing
• Great for false crotching
• Used to safely cinch up a tree
• Ideal for spar removals
• An effective fall restraint technique
• An industry best practice for safety when choking off
• A good way to get around branches without removing them
• Causes less tree damage than a setup with spikes and single buckstrap

Type of Trees That Secondary Lanyards Work Best With

One of the biggest complaints about the secondary lanyard setup in tree climbing is that it takes a lot of work to get around branches while you are climbing up in your tree. Secondary lanyards are popular for:

• Pine Trees
• Palm Trees

If you are not removing branches as you climb up the tree, the methods that we talked about electrical linemen using earlier is a solid, safe option for getting around branches but it is slow and a pain in the ass. With all of that in mind, trees without many low branches are seen as most ideal for this setup. You can get pretty damn high on a pine tree or palm tree before you even have to start worrying about branches getting in your way.

How Have Secondary Lanyards For Tree Climbing Changed?

In the past, Buckingham’s buck straps were the industry standard in tree climbing sets. While Buckingham’s straps are still reliable and familiar to old timers, there have been some pretty nice developments in buckstaps since. Excuse our shameless plug here, but we are kind of partial to Pelican Rope's buckstrap positioning lanyard, which includes a built-in prusik for choking off.

Do You, Be You

At the end of the day, what do you think is important? One of the most important thing is that people feel safe and confident when they climb. If you have been around for a minute or two, that may mean using an old-school buckstrap setup. If other people don’t like it, that may just be their problem. Case closed. 

Nuff said, right? There is something to be said for tried and true methods of climbing trees. Your arborist gear needs to work for you more than it needs to work for anyone else. Using a secondary lanyard is safe, it works, and it reminds some people of a more civilized time, as Obi Wan would say, "Go get 'em, jedi".