Aluminum climber pads

[treesmith]

Mine came in today, planning to put them on my Bucklites, but I've gotta get some longer top straps, as the ones that came with my Bucklites are 22", too short for the aluminum pads. They seem like they'll be quite comfortable, especially on those long days in the hooks. Anybody else on here use them? Do ya have to "tweak" them to make them line up right?

As a side note, a friend of mine (who works for Alabama Power) told me that he twists the shanks on his pole hooks so they fit his leg better, and it's supposed to help with climber kickback. Anybody else heard of this? I've been meaning to try his out, as I have no intention of bending mine only to find out it doesn't help.

 

[flushcut]

 

[SkwerI]

I tried the Caddy pads and didn't care for them. I much prefer the Buckingham 'shin cup' upper pads. I stupidly sold mine to Butch when I 'upgraded' to the velcro wraps, wish I had never given them up.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I had the Caddies and loved them until Brian sold me his old ones. That offset twist makes all the difference.

 

[Burnham]

Caddies here, for a looong time. I tried the ones Butch and Brian are going on about, except they use the smaller pad version...still happier with the caddies, myself.

 

[treesmith]

Did you do anything at all to alter your shanks? Due to their rigidity, I'm not sure how they'll flex with my leg.

 

[Burnham]

I did nothing to alter the shanks. Really, they're not supposed to flex. The idea is to just have the gaffs become an extension of your leg and foot...to me anyway. I don't want flex.

 

[Bounce]

I've spoken with many people who love the cast aluminum pads, but very few who don't. It's a safe bet that you'll be very happy with those pads. However, I've not seen much agreement on the twisted shanks. It seems like folks either love it or hate it, with nothing in between. Somebody at Buckingham explained to me that the purpose of the twisted shank is to allow the shank to lay flat against your calf muscle when held at the proper angle (canted towards the back of the knee) by a rigid pad such as the caddies. But most of the rigid pads hold the shank slightly away from the calf muscle so it isn't usually touching your leg anyway, whether it is twisted or not. I've heard some people describe the twisted shanks as a solution to a problem that didn't exist, and others who said it was the only way their spurs could be comfy.