How to Measure the Height of a Tree - Simple

Sure glad this works, it's the same method I use when I put the wife on the tractor to pull on a tree so I can make sure the tree doesn't damage the tractor by landing on it.

To ensure your "stick" [Yardstick] is perfectly straight up and down drill a small hole in the tip of the yardstick and tie a piece of Paracord through the hole using a knot to prevent it from slipping out. Then cut the length of the paracord to the desired length and tie a stainless steel nut to that end. When you hold the stick at arm's length you can adjust the angle using Gravity to bring the nut alongside the stick. Viola! 90 degrees!

Not a woodsman but I do appreciate good humor. You reminded me of the old Red Green show out of Canada.

Ha! You've reminded me of my Forestry Instructor demonstrating this method many years ago: after getting the stick to the correct length, he'd say "you then put one end of the stick up to your remaining good eye..." :-)

You could also put a bowl of water down on the ground and when you can see the very top of the trees reflection in that bowl of water you are exactly 💯 on brother!

Great humor! It made the video. Based on the comments I don’t think most folks appreciated it (or understood it) but it was awesome! And the method is cool too

Good information to know. I'm going to go over to the neighbor's from lawn and try it. To check the accuracy I'll cut down the tree and actually measure it. Of course I'll wait til they're not home to do this.

Trig for trees. Love it! Who knew maths were important in the woods. Great channel. Keep up the great work!

I’ve been using a similar method for estimating how far the top of the tree will land from the stump. No stick required. Hold your arm straight out like you were doing, but bend your forearm up 90 degrees at the elbow. Now distance yourself from the tree to the point where your elbow is at the bottom of the tree and your fingertips are at the top. Now turn your forearm level to the ground. Your fingertips are where the top of the tree will land. It’s pretty accurate and quick.

Sadder but wiser; I did the backwards crab walk and fell into a gopher hole. You were right to advise against it.

You're a hoot, Wilson. Sure glad you found a "thing", it must have been close to a "round about".

Am not a woodsman but have subscribed just because of the manner in which you present and cover your topics . Good stuff .

Old school, but it works. Been using this method for years. Helps to avoid hitting stuff when I’m working in close quarters.

Simpler way. Mark the tree from the ground up to a known height. Say 5 feet. Mark that place on the tree. Back up a distance and use the tape. Hold your tape vertical at arms length and measure the height of the 5 foot measurement on your tape. Then measure the height of the tree on your vertical tape. If say the 5' mark measured 1 inch on your tape and the tree measured 20 inches, multiply 5 x 20 and the tree is 100 feet tall.

I like this guy's humor and his method for finding how high the tree is.

Nice explanation of the Biltmore stick ! I used this as a kid to win a Boy Scout summer camp competition. It really does work!

Another way is to walk out a random distance away, hold a stick vertical at arms length, shorten it to the hight of the tree (I've not been able to stretch them longer, so you might need bigger stick). Then rotate it horizontal. With one end at the base of the tree the other end will fall on a spot the height away from the tree. I like the 45 degree method you showed us, but I use this method to quickly see if I fall a tree to the side how far it will reach. You can measure how far that spot is if curious, but knowing what it's going to hit is usually more important.

Great video, I appreciate the subtle humor.

You forgot to mention, if you are standing below the stump [in elevation], then you subtract from overall distance. If you are standing above, then add to the distance. Good video.

Thanks for taking the time to create this video. Very interesting.