Best Spurs

[Brando CalPankian]

I've been asking a lot of gear related questions lately. I'm upgrading all of my old stuff, as I got a new climber and I want to be more comfortable these days.

I'm rocking OG Gecko Aluminums. They've never been super comfortable, but they work and have been rock solid. I figure if I'm getting a new saddle I might as well spring for some new spurs so my new guy isn't climbing on my old t pad bucks I have laying around.

Which leads me to this poll. I'm debating going with Bashlins with the offset and buck Cadillac pads and upgraded velcro lowers. I've not tried carbons or anything, just steel and aluminum. And, as stated, the geckos haven't been amazing but weren't worth upgrading until now.

I don't really have anywhere close to try out a bunch of pairs. I could do what some folks said and order stuff, then send back what I don't like. I'm hoping to circumvent some of that and narrow down options. The Talons seem... Different. Haven't heard much about them. Distels are new on the market. Has the change to Notch Gecko hurt quality? Any real changes in spur tech or is it the same as 10 years ago???


Thanks!

 

[Jonny]

I haven’t tried many.
After I got Aluminum Bashlins with caddy pads and Velcro straps, I decided I’m good on spurs for the rest of my life. I don’t see how these can be improved much. Maybe I don’t know what I’m missing, but I’m ok with that.

I used steel Kleins with tree spikes for my first 5 years. They worked but whenever I could get away with it, I’d borrow by foreman’s steel Buckinghams. After a while I bought my own steel Bucks with permanent tree spikes and was happy with those, and expected to use them for the remainder of my climbing career. Then someone gave me an old pair of aluminum Bashlins with blunt pole spikes and rotting leather pads and straps. Just for the heck of it, I bought replacement tree spikes for them, and swapped my pads and straps from the Bucks to the Bashlins and fell in love with them. They perform and look designed very much like my old steel Bucks, just much lighter weight.

So my vote is based off trying 3 different spurs. I should try my buddy’s aluminum Geckos sometime.

 

[Matias]

I have only tried the geckos and the bashlins, and since I have such wide feet, I prefer the geckos. The bashlins pinch my feet. Those caddy pads are the shit though. I have steel, but my buddy let me rock his aluminum, and I really wanna get some when I can justify it. Obviously, that may take some time, as the steel seems like it'd take an act of god to mess up.

 

[Brando CalPankian]

I have only tried the geckos and the bashlins, and since I have such wide feet, I prefer the geckos. The bashlins pinch my feet. Those caddy pads are the shit though.

Do you know which Bashlins you tried??? I liked my old buck steels with full wraps, sadly they got stolen along with my first TM.

 

[Matias]

Do you know which Bashlins you tried??? I liked my old buck steels with full wraps, sadly they got stolen along with my first TM.

I don't, but they were old as all get up.

 

[27RMT0N]

I think like a lot of things, there is no 'best' spur, just the one that works the best for you.

I started way back in the day on some old lineman spurs a customer gave me, obviously these were terrible. Once I actually decided I want to do tree work, I bought some steel Buckinghams, which I used for many years, going through various different pad/strap combos. Those were great honestly to start with, but heavy. Eventually I moved to aluminum Bashlins which are my daily drivers and my favorite by a fair margin. At one point I tried the aluminum Geckos and just hated them, the geometry just didn't work at all for me, but I don't think there is anything wrong with the spurs themselves. I also have the Bucklite Titaniums just for the hell of it. They are pretty nice, but I don't like the gaff angle as much as the Bashlins.

You just have to try a few and see how they feel.

 

[Matias]

I think like a lot of things, there is no 'best' spur, just the one that works the best for you.

I started way back in the day on some old lineman spurs a customer gave me, obviously these were terrible. Once I actually decided I want to do tree work, I bought some steel Buckinghams, which I used for many years, going through various different pad/strap combos. Those were great honestly to start with, but heavy. Eventually I moved to aluminum Bashlins which are my daily drivers and my favorite by a fair margin. At one point I tried the aluminum Geckos and just hated them, the geometry just didn't work at all for me, but I don't think there is anything wrong with the spurs themselves. I also have the Bucklite Titaniums just for the hell of it. They are pretty nice, but I don't like the gaff angle as much as the Bashlins.

You just have to try a few and see how they feel.

Fully agree about there not being any right choice here; it's about what feels good to you. All the guys I work with have much narrower feet than me and prefer a different geometry than I do. I would really love to try the Talons, but I don't know how to make that happen besides buying a pair. Strider Tree makes them sound pretty sweet, and I have found that our styles and preferences are fairly similar.

 

[rico]

Best spurs? For me it was the older Bashlins with a set Mallory pads. Magic. Sadly the Bashlins are no longer compatible with the Mallory/Opsal/Caddy pads. I find it amazing that after all these years nobody has been able to come close to creating a better, more comfortable pad than the caddy pads. Slap em on a pair of Buck’s new steels with the offset stir-up and their offset hybrid gaff and you have a pair of kickass spurs that you could spend your entire career in for around $400.

https://www.wesspur.com/SPU102-Buckingham-Tree-Climbers-with-Lower-Straps-Gaff-Guards

Or you could spend $800 on a pair of Distel Carbons and quickly learn what poor design and really bad geometry feels like. As an added bonus the carbons will do you a favor and turn to dust in a few years!

 

[ghostice]

Or you could spend $800 on a pair of Distel Carbons and quickly learn what poor design and really bad geometry feels like. As an added bonus the carbons will do you a favor and turn to dust in a few years!

Rico could you enlarge on info you've heard please? I had just Black Friday purchased Distel Carbon tree gaffs (never did get em) from Wesspur on chatting to some guys up here (currently on Buck Ti gaffs - tree and pole) - this was part of my new year weight reduction program (gotta stop bringing up the kitchen sink too). Any further info appreciated.

 

[rico]

I have spent enough time in the carbons, and Distels in general, to know that for me their angles and profiles are all wrong. The only ones I remotely got along with were the DMM version, but there is still that fucking gaff profile to deal with. Just gawd awful. I Don’t gaff out very often, but I gaffed out more in the short time (a year or so) I climbed in Distels than I did in over 40 years in Bucks and Bashlins.

 

[flyingmosstreen]

Buck steels with caddy all day at work.

I have the carbon distel but those just sit at home. I wear them for side jobs but they are a totally different feel from my work spurs.

 

[Matias]

Rico could you enlarge on info you've heard please? I had just Black Friday purchased Distel Carbon tree gaffs (never did get em) from Wesspur on chatting to some guys up here (currently on Buck Ti gaffs - tree and pole) - this was part of my new year weight reduction program (gotta stop bringing up the kitchen sink too). Any further info appreciated.

I hear that the Ti is prone to cracking; same with carbon, but that's from guys that don't take good care of their gear, so YMMV

 

[ghostice]

I have spent enough time in the carbons, and Distels in general, to know that for me their angles and profiles are all wrong. The only ones I remotely got along with were the DMM version, but there is still that fucking gaff profile to deal with. Just gawd awful. I Don’t gaff out very often, but I gaffed out more in the short time (a year or so) I climbed in Distels than I did in over 40 years in Bucks and Bashlins.

Thanks very much to all of you for the Beta. I was going to try them (Distel carbons/tree gaff) as a lightweight experiment and would still like to something carbon I guess, just not at $1K highly devalued Canuck bucks. Rico I don't know if you were talking about the euro gaffs rather than the tree gaffs or pole gaffs but in general that's the problem I've had with pole gaffs - gaffing outta poplar trunks and/ or bark and even on some birches that were way past their best before date. Surprise!
The Ti sets I have seemed OK and on the tree gaffs, I've even attached a foot ascender (spur ascender) with an epoxy job to get around some hardware problems I heard about in TreeBuzz way back. This all makes me feel way more gooder about the postal/ customs screwups I've had lately tho - thanks. Does anyone have any info on Kiwi Climbers - my sense is they're out of production.

 

[Merle Nelson]

Be careful buying Bashlin climbers these days. Looking at their website I think their idea of "offset" is just a pitch out pushing the climber gaff out from the ankle a bit. However in years past they did this AND jogged back some giving my ankle bone more room. Those are over the top great climbers for me.

Also Caddy pads have always been listed as not fitting the Bashlins but 3 or 5 minutes with an old saw file fixed that.

 

[rico]

Tree gaffs

Thanks very much to all of you for the Beta. I was going to try them (Distel carbons/tree gaff) as a lightweight experiment and would still like to something carbon I guess, just not at $1K highly devalued Canuck bucks. Rico I don't know if you were talking about the euro gaffs rather than the tree gaffs or pole gaffs but in general that's the problem I've had with pole gaffs - gaffing outta poplar trunks and/ or bark and even on some birches that were way past their best before date. Surprise!
The Ti sets I have seemed OK and on the tree gaffs, I've even attached a foot ascender (spur ascender) with an epoxy job to get around some hardware problems I heard about in TreeBuzz way back. This all makes me feel way more gooder about the postal/ customs screwups I've had lately tho - thanks. Does anyone have any info on Kiwi Climbers - my sense is they're out of production.

tree gaffs.

 

[rico]

Be careful buying Bashlin climbers these days. Looking at their website I think their idea of "offset" is just a pitch out pushing the climber gaff out from the ankle a bit. However in years past they did this AND jogged back some giving my ankle bone more room. Those are over the top great climbers for me.

I think you are referring to a contoured shank which is what the manufacturers do to create space between and ankle and the shank. The art is in the execution and many get it very wrong, which puts the foot too far away from the tree. Bashlin aluminums (BD14B) have a very gentle contour, and are as good as it gets when it comes to keeping the foot close to the tree..

Offset refers to a stirrup which has been pushed forward, which puts the gaff in a more optimal position. When it is done correctly the stirrup is also angled so it sits flat on the climbers foot, which more evenly distributes the load.

Next is whether the gaff is straight with the shank, or is offset (a slight angle towards the toes), which creates a much better and forgiving ride. I believe Bashlin was the first to do this and most of today best designs have followed (for good reason).

Last is the gaff itself, and what most get horribly wrong..

Best tree gaff in the biz-


One of the worst-



I believe the only 2 manufacturers that are making spurs that tick all these important boxes are Bashlin and Backingham..

Buck just released a new set which looks very promising. Lightweight. Non contour design. Offset and angled stirrup. Offset gaff with a nice profile. Will be spending some time in them when the rains let up. Will report back.

https://www.wesspur.com/SPU811-ArborAir-Tree-Climber-Kit

 

[rico]

Also Caddy pads have always been listed as not fitting the Bashlins but 3 or 5 minutes with an old saw file fixed that.

Yep, been doing this for decades. I have not had the current version of the Bashlins in my hands, but have heard from people I trust that this is no longer an option as the new shank/sleeve design is a little too thick to accommodate the modified caddy pads. I will have to get my hands on a pair to know for sure…Bummer for sure, but finding the older model is relatively easy.

 

[Treezybreez]

I’ve spent most of my time on steel Bucks with caddy pads. I tried my old boss’s aluminum geckos, but they were horribly uncomfortable and unadjustable. Now I climb on Buck titaniums with my old caddy pads. I don’t have any complaints. The weight reduction is noticeable.

 

[Brando CalPankian]

I think you are referring to a contoured shank which is what the manufacturers do to create space between and ankle and the shank. The art is in the execution and many get it very wrong, which puts the foot too far away from the tree. Bashlin aluminums (BD14B) have a very gentle contour, and are as good as it gets when it comes to keeping the foot close to the tree..

Offset refers to a stirrup which has been pushed forward, which puts the gaff in a more optimal position. When it is done correctly the stirrup is also angled so it sits flat on the climbers foot, which more evenly distributes the load.

Next is whether the gaff is straight with the shank, or is offset (a slight angle towards the toes), which creates a much better and forgiving ride. I believe Bashlin was the first to do this and most of today best designs have followed (for good reason).

Last is the gaff itself, and what most get horribly wrong..

Best tree gaff in the biz-

View attachment 92455
One of the worst-

View attachment 92456

I believe the only 2 manufacturers that are making spurs that tick all these important boxes are Bashlin and Backingham..

Buck just released a new set which looks very promising. Lightweight. Non contour design. Offset and angled stirrup. Offset gaff with a nice profile. Will be spending some time in them when the rains let up. Will report back.

https://www.wesspur.com/SPU811-ArborAir-Tree-Climber-Kit

I'd pay for this insight. Seriously. It's what I've been hesitant about in regards to pulling the trigger. I care less about weight and more about how it functions. I used someone's bashlins one time and it stuck in my head. At the price point I was scared to pull the trigger and get the wrong thing. Good to know buck makes a similar angle and offset to what I once encountered.

I've settled with the geckos for long enough. I just want to be comfortable. Spurs last a long damn time too. Thank you @rico for your insight. It's spot on with what I was searching for.

 

[Brando CalPankian]

I’ve spent most of my time on steel Bucks with caddy pads. I tried my old boss’s aluminum geckos, but they were horribly uncomfortable and unadjustable. Now I climb on Buck titaniums with my old caddy pads. I don’t have any complaints. The weight reduction is noticeable.

Geckos aren't great. They're better than t pads but you feel it. Steel has spring to it. I don't notice a few ounces, I do notice foot set and ankle angles while climbing. When I climbed in bashlins some years back it felt like walking, whereas I've always been cognizant of foot placement in my geckos.