Geckos... American or Euro?

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Blinky

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I'm finally ready to turn in my old Buck spikes. They've been good to me but the straps and pads are trashed and it seems like mostly takedowns are in my foreseeable future, at least until people start letting go of some more money for pruning.

I can't really swing the cash for carbons, hell, i can't swing the cash for ultralights but I gotta do what i gotta do.

That leaves gaff type as my only remaining decision. Anybody care to give an opinion?
 
I'd be skert to buy the euro style w/o trying them out first. The regular style works great, too great. I actually had to blunt the needle points on the ones I had.
 
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I can see that. Live pine just sucks'em in. I think I'd like it if I could just step the gaff in rather than kicking it.
 
I had the euro style geckos when i worked at valley crest, They're good for de booted palms, Thin barked hardwoods[laurel oak,sycamore,etc]. For pines and thick barked trees i always packed my 3 1/2" personal bucks.
 
Have you ever climbed on Kleins? They have the hooked gaff like the Geckos. I climbed on them for years and really liked them. I bought a pair of Buckingham Titanium with the straight gaff and they are ok but to be perfectly honest I think the Kleins were easier to climb in. People complain about the increased leverage on their ankles but it never bothered me, I liked the easier bite.
 
Brian, the difference is not only in the slightly hooked/curved shape of the gaff...the Euro point has a weird tip shape as well.

I've climbed both, Euro points on ultra light Geckos and American tree gaffs on my current CF Geckos. I much prefer the American style. Probably because I have always disliked the Klien shape, instead liking Buckingham or better yet Bashlin gaffs.

My west coast trees require looong tree gaffs...this is not a preference but a must have situation. Blinkster may find a better way with his NC trees. But anyway, that's my opinion.
 
Why not just refurbish your old Buckingham spurs with new pads and straps? It would save a bunch of money, plus it sounds like you've been pretty happy with them so far.
 
i had the euros on my first carbon geckos. took me ages to get used to them.....the muscle memory in your body has to be re-learnt.....i didnt have a huge problem with gaffing out because i was very conscious of it, but my fluidity was severely hampered. i probably climbed on them for 2 years then replaced them with standard. it was like putting your favourite pair of shoes back on again! only thing id rate them for is ivy covered trees.
 
I never had a problem with the Euro's sticking. Fact is they stick a little to good sometimes. Soft wood they bury easy and can have difficulty pulling them out. In the redwood I had to angle them more directly to get the support I needed. In that respect it wasn't much unlike getting use to short spikes in lieu of long ones.

I have a set CF geckos with Euro points I will give away to the closest guess in this state side forum. I will even pay the shipping.

Well used and still plenty of life left in them.

You have 48 hours to give me a number between 1 and 500 to get these spurs. The closest guess wins.

The only condition is you have to give a contribution to the forum in some manner or form.

I will be gone over the week end with Terri, but will announce the winner when I get back and settle in. About Monday afternoon. In the mean time happy guessing. Only one guess per member.
 
I tried sending you a PM Jerry but you've exceeded your storage capacity. That usually happens if you never empty the 'sent items' folder.
So I'll make my guess public and pick 340. :)
 
Best to leave it open, Brian. No PM's.

Those Euro points aren't so bad. Though the life expectancy is much shorter than conventional points. Any body that has used them will know that.
 
I feel like Butch in the sense of getting to try a pair would be a worthy experiance. And could send them back out in the same manner so I'll say 225
 
blinky if you or butch want to try the euros or the american i have both plus the pole gaffs and the leg irons aluminum just PM me
 
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