Considering a Spike Switch ...

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Altissimus

Altissimus

TreeHouser
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my first spikes are Klien Adjustable Tree (bought new , in hindsight not sure why the choice) been used many years now. Wore out original pads , then wore out replacements then bought Buc Supers. No worries aloft other than usual stuff but ... a few years back in a thrift store (vernacular for dead people's stuff) , bought a pair of Buck Tree Spikes for less than ten "bucks" (see what I did there ?). Anyhoo, brand new Buckingham 17" #32 , thinking of swapping Pads and Straps and using. Old they are in beautiful shape , I'll take Pics ... if anyone out there understands Buck's shipping codes (maybe 1941). Wondering maybe just save them , seems the Klien Bird Toe is wide compared to Buck , not sure. Heavier , not sure , ... better fit w solid shank 17 , not sure.
 
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"Flashbacks are legal ," (Kesey) ...now remember I thought I really needed replaceable gaff points , probably take a lifetime to wear out a set. Manufacturer recommended destroying the leg irons after wearing out second set anyways , so
 
I started out on a pair exactly like those, too long ago to seem real :). They are a good set, but heavier by a bit than some...and a whole lot heavier than some, too.

I always liked that gaff shape. Worked really well form me, or I learned from the getgo how to work well with them :).

I started out with the most basic of pads, pure torture. When I upgraded to caddy pads (on my own dime, even though the spurs belonged to Uncle Sam), I never looked back. Bliss.
 
Honestly, those picks are in beautiful shape, just check your screws! Personally, I'd climb in them once to say I did, then I'd clean them up and hang them on a wall somewhere, maybe with an old tin hat, as something of a memorial to all the fine folk who've gone before me.

As far as pads go, I'm really liking the big bad greenies on my notch geckos. Need the Velcro lower straps and then they'll be full blown climber caddies.
 
Off topic maybe but the velcro lower straps as an upgrade from the leather "belt" style were a game changer. I briefly used the ski boot ratchet style but one climb in a sappy pine and they were unusable. Not sure how many people install the spurs/spike/irons/gaffs up in the tree but thanks to the ease of use of the velcro, I mainly climb SRT and install my spurs later one handed. Took some time figuring out the install aloft but well worth it IMO.
 
Yep, velcro are great for straps.

I rarely climb in tree spurs, most always pole spurs with Keens.

Tree spurs, I mostly wear Hiax boots. I always feel knee strain in tree spurs.
 
SeanKroll said:
Yep, velcro are great for straps.

I rarely climb in tree spurs, most always pole spurs with Keens.

Tree spurs, I mostly wear Hiax boots. I always feel knee strain in tree spurs.
Click to expand...


Spike harder and deeper. Your knees hurt because your gaffs aren't set properly. Happens to us piney folk too, just stomp them in good. Then you get the other knee strain as you try to pull them out lolz. That's easier to deal with if you gaff at more of an angle with your hips well out from the tree.
 
Ya, that's the other problem, pulling them out.


I can climb doug- fir up to about 30-36" dbh in pole spurs, fine.

Been on them for 17 years.
Had tree spurs for 16 years, getting a great deal on TiBucks, or whatever they are called, 6-8 years ago.



Chunking thick wood with a big saw without overhead support from a climb line...tree spurs.
 
Not sure I'm in full agreement with all that noise. Be that as it may, once you find yourself with a deeply/strongly set gaff that doesn't want to lift free...do what Burnham does ;).

The best technique for me, and what I taught many a new and even some experienced climbers, for pulling a deeply set gaff free of the bole is this. Rotate your foot forward as you lift your toe until the side of your boot at the ball of your foot comes up against the bark of the tree. Then just bear against the tree and lever the gaff up and out of the wood by pivoting your ankle. No jerking and yanking needed. It's easy, and much more comfortable for your body than any other way.

Read and learn, @Kaveman and @SeanKroll :D.
 
Ok, let me try @Kaveman.

Your gaff is deep and truly stuck. You look down at it and see the gaff in the wood, with a gap between your boot and the tree both toward your toe and toward your heel...normal position. Now, shift your foot relative to the tree so that the gap towards your toe closes until the side of your boot sole touches the tree while at the same time pivoting your foot to lift your toe as much as possible. You can now get some friction between the edge of your boot sole at about the ball of your foot, between the gaff and your toe. Bear into the wood to increase that friction as much as possible, and LEVER the gaff out of the wood by pivoting your ankle/lifting your heel.

Any clearer?
 
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Yes. Also, now that I think of it, that's basically what I do my instinct.

I find that the further the distance between my hips and the trunk, the more secure I am on the gaffs, and because I close the angle as I flip my line up, ive already started rolling the gaff out of the trunk, and it makes it easier to "toe out" using the method you describe, incorporated into my upward movement if I feel that I'm picked deep.

Any way, thanks @Burnham. Hope I get to come visit you some day and sponge up some know how.
 
We do things differently in the case of hip position. I keep my hips in fairly close to the tree, avoiding letting my butt hang out of alignment with my back and legs. Otherwise, my body position is not how it has evolved to be for best comfort, strength, and stability. We are built to stand upright.

If I keep my upper body and legs in alignment, but my hips away from the bole, I have to be leaning away from the tree much too far for my liking. That requires me to pull myself farther upright than necessary for every flip of my lanyard than if I maintain a position closer to the tree, which is more tiring than I like and quite an unproductive expenditure of my strength and energy.

Not trying to change your technique @Kaveman. You will and should do what works for you. Just explaining why it may not be the best way :D.
 
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