What's Wrong with These? -- Buckingham Steel Climbers with Cadillac Pads

Get 'em!

Heavier climber? You'll need to take care using those shortys on anything but a smooth barked tree or at the most the bark of something like a Live Oak.

I had both sets for each type of tree. I hardly ever (Cottonwoods, big Pecans) needed the longer hooks, but it was nice to have them.

And thanks for supporting our sponsors! :beer:
 
Looks good. I use the pole gaffs. They're a little tricky on rough bark trees such as the bottom few feet of a bull pine and stupid Hackberry. But you'll like pole gaffs in the top. As Butch said "get 'em". I was looking through an old tool bin yesterday and there must be 10 pair of old spurs in there. I finally decided on Bashlins with the Buc pads. They're the most comfortable to me right now. Had them about ten years. I have a brand new pair of Geckos. Only been on them about 30 minutes total. They dig into my bony shins something terrible. Everyone else seems to love them though. I've been thinking about getting some velcro pads pads for the Bashlins though.
 
I have the Caddies...they are excellent.

I only have long gaffs...all I have ever used and never any problems with them. I might like short gaffs if I had them but I guess I don't know what I am missing...so I don't miss it.

Long gaffs work fine for me.
 
I'm in between long and short gaffs. I purchased a used set of kleins with some funky gaff profile. Burnham's link to the USF climbing guide had great detail on gaff profile. A little filing and the in between size does the trick for me.
 
Robert if you can try gear first hand before you buy, it really pays off. That is especially true of climbers that you can stand on for hours at a time.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #10
pantheraba said:
I have the Caddies...they are excellent.

I only have long gaffs...all I have ever used and never any problems with them. I might like short gaffs if I had them but I guess I don't know what I am missing...so I don't miss it.

Long gaffs work fine for me.
Click to expand...

Thanks pantheraba.
The Caddies seem to be a universal favorite.

Raj said:
I'm in between long and short gaffs. I purchased a used set of kleins with some funky gaff profile. Burnham's link to the USF climbing guide had great detail on gaff profile. A little filing and the in between size does the trick for me.
Click to expand...

Thanks Raj. I plan to do a search for that in the USF climbing guide I downloaded.


Levi said:
I was never able to balance properly in little wood, with the long gaffs but my bro prefers them. Not too many thick barked trees here either.
Click to expand...

Thanks Levi. That is what I had heard somewhere, more than once, about balancing on the longer gaffs, and about one's heel being nearer to the tree(?) with the shorter ones.

SeanKroll said:
http://www.treebuzz.com/forum/threads/wtb-climbing-spikes.36442/

???

Aluminum geckos with pads $200


http://www.treestuff.com/store/catalog.asp?item=15174
Click to expand...

Thanks Sean.
I had thought about the Gecko's because they seemed to be considered the ultimate in comfort (although I recall that Bernham liked Bashlin's).
But the 240 lbs limit concerns me a little... and I don't want to push the limit.
I normally weigh about 220 in the middle of the day and with all the other equipment I'm afraid I would be pushing the limit. (haha, keep having big plans for losing 40 lbs but it hasn't happened yet! :)
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #11
Merle Nelson said:
Robert if you can try gear first hand before you buy, it really pays off. That is especially true of climbers that you can stand on for hours at a time.
Click to expand...

I hear you Merle. Thanks.
Around here there isn't a lot of opportunity.

I have a number of a tree guy who a friend of mine gave me with good recommendation that I have been thinking about giving a call to see if I can work for him part time as a groundie and/or grunt ..... but I haven't decided yet what I am willing to commit to as far as time, etc.

I think I'm just going to have to do my research and make my best educated guess and if I'm wrong I can try to sell them
 
I have both long and short spurs and prefer the short. Buck TI with the Climb Right ultra light pads that I modified with more curve to engage more shin otherwise they are a smidge flat.
 
Merle Nelson said:
Robert if you can try gear first hand before you buy, it really pays off. That is especially true of climbers that you can stand on for hours at a time.
Click to expand...

Normally I would agree but if you've never worn tree gaffs then you have no idea how they are supposed to feel or where the pressure points will be. I wore Kleins with the hook gaff for 15 years before finding out how uncomfortable they were supposed to be. Bought some top of the line Buckingham Titaniums with fancy pads, wore them a year and sold them, bought another pair of Kleins.
 
Klien w long gaffs , all I ever known ... Feel fine in small diameter. Probably what you get used to , Buc Super pads a nice upgrade when wore out the T pads.
 
Regarding the USFS Tree Climbing Guide...unfortunately, one of the portions that was sacrificed in the updated version (2015) was that page of specifications for climbing spur gaff shape.

For several years, the USFS Tree Climbing site carried both versions online, but no more.

I could probably scan pertinent pages of the older version and post them here, if it's something people would find valuable.
 
Never mind...I found a post I made in another thread that includes an old link that still seems to work for bringing up the PDF.

Burnham said:
Look here if you want to have some very specific info on gaff profile maintenance...regular old school American gaffs, not the European type. Scroll to pages 39 through 42...specifically page 42 for the profile shape info.

http://www.fs.fed.us/treeclimbing/policy/guide/tree-climbing-field-guide-2005-edition.pdf

This is the old USFS tree climbing guide...hopefully soon to be updated in a major revision, but this section will remain pretty much as is, if I recall correctly.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Spellfeller
first spurs/climbers?
2 3
Replies
53
Views
7K
Spellfeller
Spellfeller
Spellfeller
My take on much of the New Tribe lineup
Replies
8
Views
3K
Fiddler
Fiddler
soup-n-sandwich
HitchHiker2 tending, sitback, configurations?
2 3 4
Replies
76
Views
11K
leafitme
L
C
Weaver Velcro Cushion Wrap Pad to fit Klein spurs
Replies
6
Views
2K
Cold Logging
Cold Logging
K
TreeStuff. Above and beyond care for its customers.
Replies
6
Views
1K
vharrison
vharrison
Back
Top