crossing barbed wire fences

[Dale Wambaugh]

Slot the ends of a couple lengths of plastic pipe to spread the wires as a companion might do, toss pack and your expensive shell/insulation over and crawl through. Pop the pipes loose and keep going.

Probably not much lighter than the metal step, but it works on all kinds of fences. Cheap and stowable on any pack with side pockets and compression straps. Drill and add a line tether as needed.

IMHO, 8 ounces for a metal casting that will support your weight on a small point is getting off easy.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

My bicycle has that electrical tidy tube stuff around the chain and chainrings. Seems pretty durable. You can make something similar with irrigation tubing. It only is on the fence for a minute. Even if the barbs start poking through they won’t poke through for very fence and they won’t poke through all the way.

[BlackHatGuy]

Just do like the boys in A Clockwork Orange and wear a jock cup on the outside of your clothes. Should solve your problem….

[BlackHatGuy]

“Slot the ends of a couple lengths of plastic pipe to spread the wires as a companion might do, toss pack and your expensive shell/insulation over and crawl through. Pop the pipes loose and keep going.”

Couldn’t you just use trekking poles with baskets to do this as well?

[Ryan Jordan]

Couldn’t you just use trekking poles with baskets to do this as well?

Please describe this in more detail @doug-i – I can see the basket end but I can’t see the other end.

Today, I did some more testing, I can stretch the fence wires that are spaced to 10″ spacing on the tightest fences to about 20″. That’s plenty wide enough for me to crawl through, so I’m considering the PVC slotted pipe option. I want to know what your vision with trekking poles is…

[BlackHatGuy]

Most baskets I know have at least one notch/cut out in them (some have a few). Angle the basket so the cutout goes over the wire somewhat, or is aligned with it, etc. Rest the top of the pole/handle against an opposing barb, creating a needed gap in the fence. Repeat with the other pole a few feet to one side. Pretty much the same thing Dale suggested — it was his suggestion that spurred my thought of trekking poles. If you could get it to only one adjustment, the same one every time, in each pole, it could become an automatic movement after a few ‘crossings’.

[Ryan Jordan]

I was planning on taking Black Diamond Distance trekking poles on this trip, which don’t collapse in a way that will allow this to work. I could take my BD Alpine Carbon Cork, which collapse to 22″, and those would probably work…

Hmm…

[BlackHatGuy]

I should add that I’ve never done this! It’s more of a concept of what should work, I’ve no doubt plenty of others have thought of this before me and used it, but that’s just a guess.

[Sam Farrington]

I’m with obx hiker.  The foam pipe cover comes in different inner and outer diameters, and weighs very little, certainly less than the step gadget.

But would not do anything that would remotely seem like damage.  Have met a number of not so friendly ranchers in Colorado whose fences are on public lands like BLM.  None of them would I want to tick off.

[Roger Caffin]

Seems to me you (Ryan) had better test out some of these ideas locally before you start the trip. I can’t help feeling that a lot of them are just not going to work in the field – given the barbed wire fences we have crossed over the years.

Mind you, if the top wire is 4′ off the ground, then getting your leg over it with whatever protection you might have is going to be difficult and tiring. Our fences are generally lower than that. Such fences sound rather solid, so I would go with a pair of real leather riggers gloves (not some wimpy fabric work gloves) and climb over the wires at a wood post. Been there, done that, many times.

I will add that if you are near a corner, you may find a diagonal brace post (‘strainer’) which you can use to ‘walk’ up to the top of the post and down again. No damage at all.

Cheers

[Dale Wambaugh]

You could cut some short sections of pipe to slip over the tip of the poles and sewt on the baksets with a groove in the end, but the handle end escapes me. Maybe a carabiner in the strap? You don’t want them popping loose halfway through…

{{{{{{{{{{TWANG}}}}}}} and a yelp heard in Jackson Hole. “Yep, another feller got hisself in the wire agin.”

[DAN-Y]

Go for the gold…..go over the top :-)

[Dale Wambaugh]

If it weren’t for the back issues, a Fosbury Flop would be interesting.

[DAN-Y]

It’s possible he may do one of those unvoluntarily during one of his 38 crossings ;)

[Dale Wambaugh]

I get tired just thinking about it. I’m going to go lay down now….

[Dave @ Oware]

Fun problem.

I am thinking 4 sets of hooks with adjustable cord to pull the middle wires to the top and bottom. The barbs should? hold the hooks in position. May not need to adjust these each time, Maybe not at all.

Could be as simple as some hardware store S hooks and some thin cord and use a taut line etc.

Here are a couple with stuff I have on hand. One using a cord adjuster, the other stupid light with mitten hooks and  .75mm cord. The mitten hooks don’t break but do bend free at low force so I used two. I have no bob wire to test this on.

 

[Dave @ Oware]

You know how they sell donut holes? Sort of up cycling?

Find the maker of leather chaps and buy the upper part they cut away from the legs.

[Brad W]

If going over the top is the only answer, why not take a piece of leather you can drape over the top barb?

[Roger Caffin]

Fosbury Flop
With a pack on?

Plastic mitten hooks would be of no use: far too weak. Some hooks made of 2.4 mm Ti wire might be strong enough.

Cheers

[Chris R]

Maybe one of those aluminum ladders they use for crossing crevasses? ;-)

I think you will be hard pressed to separate the strands on a gov’t built fence sufficiently to climb between, though a lot will depend on post spacing.

[obx hiker]

Just do like the boys in A Clockwork Orange and wear a jock cup on the outside of your clothes.

That’s a visual blast from the past. 1971? Ahhh February ’72. Sophomore year college. Went with a friend a year younger and I knew it was his freshman year so ’71-72. and for some reason drove 30 miles to Raleigh. One of my mates on that foray is no longer with us. God I guess I’m getting old.

Don’t be like me reader. Pay attention to the people you are with. They won’t be around forever and maybe not even tomorrow.

[Roger Caffin]

If this turns up twice, my apologies. Forstner drill bit, ~$4.89 on ebay.
Add 1′ long Al or Ti handle with cross bar. Crank back and forth: you don’t need to keep turning.
Carbide: it WILL cut the ice! To any depth.

This is another sort – comes with long shaft. Called a Flat wood bit.

$3.85 from ebay. Add short cross-bar handle.
(I have a number of these for use on wood: they go well.)

Cheers
EDIT: BOTHER. This was meant to go in ‘A Winter Water Challenge’ but I have not yet worked out how to do that. Sorry.

[DAN-Y]

rig it like this

[DAN-Y]

Quote:

T-post stepper accident. I wentout a couple of weeks ago and tried it on a highway department fence alonside the road. Seems the post is a little bigger. Since it was the first time I used the step, I really didnt know. Swung my leg over and put pressure on the other side of step and it gave way, or slipped off rather. Tries to run the top of the post through the palm of my hand. Through the glove I still required 7 stiches. Enough layers to protect the crotchitile area. I used the step again on regular “farmer” posts and it worked great. May have to buy another and file it a bit to work propely on highway barbed fence.

[Ryan Jordan]

Yeah, those t-steppers won’t do well on highway posts…I tested on one of those and it didn’t take long to come up with a “nope” conclusion! Mine works great on the fences I’m crossing.

[Author]

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