Gaffless Palm Climbers

Jomo

TreeHouser
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Jan 31, 2014
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This idea's been floating about in my mind for decades, including a few failed pro typing attempts over the years.

Simple cinching's not the challenge, it's the letting go, combined with maintaining strap stiffness that makes upward progress possible.

Staring at my old abandoned telescoping tube palm stepper prototype's springs, with canibalistic intent, a far more simple, choke, let go, remain stiff, solution popped into being, one set of gaffs and a lanyard, up to a foot of circumferential adjustability, wash fans, filiferas, cocos etc.

Stainless steel aircraft cable, much like a wire core lanyard, springs, steel washers, rubber washers, a cable winding mechanism, and voila!

Palm climbing gaffs!

Gonna punch out one inch square rubber washers from old tires!

The tighter the springs, the stiffer the choke ring goin upward!

Buckets?

Buckets!

We don't need no stinkin buckets!
 

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  • #4
Upscale clients Chris, Hotel Del Coronado, Hilton Hotels, Hyatt Regency, SD Zoo etc.

Gaffin any kinda live tree's a no no!

Jomo
 
So does spiking them hurt them? Or is it a cosmetic thing? I live a long way away from any palms, so i honestly don't know. And didn't they already do a spurless foot thing, called a swiss climber if I'm not mistaken? I saw another way too somewhere, dude just used 2 endless loops, one for one foot and another under his thigh. They were using it to climb concrete poles, I'll see if i can find the video tomorrow or something
 
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  • #8
Yeah, I'm kinda thinkin this design'd work well goin up a steel flag pole too.

Love to see the vid if yu find it 09,

Jomo
 
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  • #10
Sorry, it's an ISA thing, not gaffing palms Kyle.

High end clients usually stipulate their palms be pruned by ladder or bucket lift of some kind.

These Palm gaffs make me as valuable as a bucket, at a fraction of the cost, be it hourly, or equip cost.

Jomo
 
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  • #11
Have yu seen the coconut harvesting climbing chair guy in Indoneia.

The stand up sit down scissor choking chair?

It works too.

But mine's much lighter, simpler n faster!

They don't take kindly to gaffin the trees that feed em in Indonesia either!

Bad karma, berry berry bad!

Jomo
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig9PxRs_c80

Eh that's the only one i could find in my short search, but you get the idea. Not the fastest, but it works. I would think a wraptor ride to the top, spike in (or foot loop, or tree stand base, etc), then rap out would be the quickest and easiest way to do palms spikeless
 
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  • #19
Very clever design Stephen, good find!

Mine's lighter, and in tree adjustable!

SoCal's got tons O skinny pole palms.

I'm thinkin Palm Steppers? Pole Steppers?

Jomo
 
I'd love to know what the climber (in the first vid) did (cone collecting-wise) when he got to the branches?
 
Dismount from the Swiss bicycles and transfer onto the limbs...climb them free, for the most part. The way it was done back in the day...even in my day :).
 
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