Safety Blue Hi-Vee Adjustable Buckstrap

This adjustable buckstrap is a rope positioning lanyard made from Safety Blue Hi-Vee, a long-running arborist rope. It wraps the stem and adjusts to length so you can lean back and work with both hands.

How a buckstrap is used

A buckstrap is an old name for a positioning lanyard that goes around the trunk and clips back to both side D-rings of your saddle. Once adjusted, you lean into it and have both hands free to cut. It is common on spur removals and was the standard setup long before modern rope-grab adjusters.

Safety Blue Hi-Vee is a familiar braided arborist rope with a firm hand, so it holds its shape around the stem and is easy to flip up. Adjust the length so you are close enough to work comfortably but not jammed against the trunk.

Limits and safety

A rope buckstrap has no cut-resistant core. If you are working near a running saw, consider a wire-core flipline and always keep a second point of attachment when you cut near your lanyard. Compare other fliplines and lanyards before you choose.

Buckstrap-style lanyards are still common with old-school climbers and utility crews who like the simplicity. There are no cams or mechanical adjusters to clog, and the rope is easy to inspect along its full length. The tradeoff is that adjusting length takes more effort than a modern rope-grab setup.

Wrap it around the stem, clip both ends, and lean back to confirm the adjustment holds before you cut.

Life-support gear must meet the applicable standard (ANSI Z133 and the manufacturer's instructions), be inspected before every climb, and be used only by trained climbers.