Sorry for bringing up on old post but I stopped at the rock climbing store last night. The guy told me that he does not recommend this set up unless you pull the ropes down everytime(which defeats the purpose), because the UV rays will quickly weaken the strength of the ropes. And the prussic knot is not supposed to be used to stop falls. If you does use a prussic knot he recommends atleast tying a knot below the prussic once your in your stand to stop the knot form slipping down. The rope was .80 a foot and the prussic was .60 foot. He also said the using an ascender to stop falls is dangerous to because that much force could cut the rope right there upon the fall. He is a hunter and uses nylon strapping looped around the tree and attatched to his harness, but he only uses a climbing stand on straight trees. But thats not the appilcation we're looking for. The main rope should be rated no less than 2500 lbs. I still thinks it better than climbing with no ropes at all. I found this rope on Ebay today.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7229431370 I emailed the seller to find out what the strength is. Does any one know? They may sell this a an Army surplus store. Then you can buy the prussic rope from a rock climbing store.
Let me know what you guys think. Has a prussic knot ever stopped anyones fall?