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Mark Chisholm

Mark Chisholm

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Alright, I've been sitting on some info for a month now and have been given the "go-ahead" to share it.

There's a new pair of climbing gaffs coming out this year that look really interesting. They are made by Ulrich Distel of Germany. He's the maker of the Geckos.

Actually there's two new pairs. The first is an updated version of the original Gecko (Gecko II). It is still aluminum and plastic, but has been made stronger in certain areas.

The second type, and this is the kicker, are all carbon fiber! One piece design. Gecko CF (carbon fiber) weigh 3.2 lbs pair complete

They will be available in April.

They should sell for about $320 or so and come in 4 different lengths;
SMALL- 42cm for climbers up to 5 ft. 9 in.
MEDUIM- 44cm for climbers 5’9” to 6’1”
LARGE-- 46cm for climbers 6’1” to 6’5”
X LARGE- 48cm for climbers 6’5” to 6’9”

Pretty neat idea! I'll get a photo soon.
 
Sounds neat! Unfortunately, I've already blown my gaff allowance for the next two years. Got the new T2's last year and they are barely broken in.
 
New spikes remind me of an ad that Bashlin had out a couple of years ago in TCI mag. Don't know issue. I could look through all of them, yeah right. Anyway these things looked really cool. Pretty much same upper design but the gaffs were in a set of 2 conical tips on each foot. It looked really nice. I asked Bashlin about it and they said it was on a back burner, but not forgotten. It seems like it was forgotten. Anybody else know of these??
These new CF's look alright. I usually dont wear spikes, had the same pair for 9yrs. now. I hate spikes, thats why I'm waiting for those nice pair that fit and feel good. Haven't found them yet. April is not far, maybe these are the ones?( been saying that for 5 years) :)

Later
 
I remember them Rob. They had two "fangs" that were made of stainless. They seemed heavy, but I liked the innovative ankle swivel. I would tend to think that they never went to production mainly because of the fact that, if you gaffed yourself with these, you may not live long enough to hit the ground. They looked leathal. Long, thin gaffs that would easily puncture a femoral artery. Scary, but they did look cool.
 
Mark: there are many types of carbon fiber materials. These range from cloth type material to helicopter blades. Sure, I'm betting they're made to last forever, but more specifics would be helpful in learning about the product. What about the dielectric property of these new spikes?

Joe
 
I'm not too sure yet, Joe. I asked about the dielectric qualities, but haven't heard back on that. I would imagine that they would conduct electric. After all, carbon would.

They seem to look more fiberous to me. They remind me of the look of my kevlar hockey stick with a composite coating.

I was informed that the strength and flex testing looks better than steel. We'll have to wait and see what the public info says.
 
Sure. They seem to be the same as their steel ones only a lot lighter. I would like to know how much lighter? I use the cinch wrap pads and like the setup. I tend to think that these CF geckos are probably a similar amount lighter to T2s as T2s are to steel.
 
T2's are 3.2 lbs without upper pads. For comparison, Bashlin aluminum are 3.7 lbs and Buckingham steel are 4.6 lbs.

Sorry, but I've never noticed a huge variance in the feel of different brand gaffs. The pads, strap tightness and length of the gaffs makes more difference than anything. All these factors are adjustable no matter what brand you buy. The other major factor is the boots you wear. Therefore I have finally just bought the lightest available and they feel identical to my old gaffs except they are much lighter. For that reason I like them a lot.
 
The Geckos had a spur that stuck out real far. The T2s are more traditional. I like having my foot closer to the tree.
The idea of carbon fiber seems interesting I wonder if the flex factor makes them more or less supportive of the arch of your foot?
Depends on if the carbon fiber is in the stirrup or the shank I guess.
Mark do you know? The picturs dont show
Frans
 
I read this comment a lot and have never understood it. How could the gaff angle put any more or less stress on your ankle IF the gaffs are properly worn?

When I'm wearing gaffs, I am standing on a shank under the arch of my foot and the entire contraption is strapped tight to my lower leg. Standing on the gaff causes the frame to transfer the pressure to the inside of my calf. My ankle cannot turn because my foot is strapped to the climber frame. I believe this puts more side loading pressure on my knees and hips, but not my ankles.
 
I see your point. All i know is, i borrowed a pair of spikes off a friend once and they had a different angle to the spikes i use and i found it put me in a really un-natural position(not that having 5lb of metal attached to your leg is natural any other time) So with this in mind im gonna consider things very carefully before i shell out £200 or more on pair

steve
 
i can't see what all the excitement about carbon fibre is all about.it's been about in the motocycle world for a few years billed as a weight saving material but in my experience is more of a fasion acsessorie unless you want to spend thousands to save wieght.unless it's made of pre-preg carbon it's just a fasion acsessorie.how many of you really notice what wieght is hanging off the bottom of your legs?
 
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
how many of you really notice what wieght is hanging off the bottom of your legs?

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Long distance hikers often say, "an ounce off your feet is like a pound off your back."

My concern would not be in how strong the material is, but rather how durable it is. How will they handle getting thrown around the truck and the job site? I've carbon fiber peel. I guess it all depends on how it's put together.

It's good that someone's making them. Now they can be tested in the field for a while. I'm interested to see how it turns out.

love
nick
 
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