What kind of spurs do you guys use?

Started on a mismatched pair of brooks. Been on steel bashlins for 25 yearsn but they have the bit of a bend at the ankle like thr bucks do and i DC onxt think you can get them loke that any more. Need a new set of pads though.
 
colb said:
Yes, a foot ascender is just coming out for the cf distel. It is formalized, but still a slight bit of a workaround... it is attached by a webbing strap that is pancaked between the spike and the stirrup. It hangs loose above it, and is kept from flipping over by a piece of elastic affixed to the ascender that loops around the stirrup. Apparently the performance is good. It might be wooden hand who has it.
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I need to know more about this. I don't really like the look of the KK ascender, and I'd have to grind some aluminum away to make them fit.
 
Just a PSA, if you sharpen your gaffs on a belt sander or belt grinder (I do), make sure to take small, quick passes and cool in water between each. That point is so small, you can overheat it super quickly (especially on a dull belt) and lose the temper. All it takes is heating it over 350-400f, depending on the steel, to take hardness away from the tip. If your gaffs are titanium, grind away!
 
All the major players are gonna be decent spurs. The differences between Bucks, Kleins, Bashlins, Gecko's, and DMM's are gonna be subtle and many just don't spend enough time in spurs that they will really notice or understand the differences. Its when you start spending many many hours and get very proficient at climbing in spurs that you begin to understand the differences. Gaff profile and angle, angled stirrup vs flat, shank design, proper pad height, how the stirrup sits in your arch, ect.

This is why I feel that the Bashlins and the DMM Gecko's are 2 of the very best spurs out there. Both have that lovely angled stirrup design, and both offer interchangeable gaff lengths. I am a big fan of the straight gaff profile on the Bashlins as it tends to keep your foot closer to the tree, which is a good thing in my book. Add to this the option of being able to choose from a wide variety of pads with the Bashlins and they get my vote.

The other spur I love is the Buck Titaniums with the 3.5" permeant gaff. They have the straight gaff profile that I love, are super comfy, light as a feather, strong as shit, work perfectly with a powerscender, and work with just about every great pad option out there. Obviously most are never gonna need a 3.5" gaff, but I sure do.

My only real issues with the Geckos is that I am not a huge fan of their gaff profile because it puts the foot to far from the tree for my liking, especially with their tree gaff. The Gecko pad design is pretty comfy, but I much prefer the Caddy pads or Buck Super Wraps.

I think many who are just not going to be spending a lot of time in their spurs agonize over Spur choice, when what is more important is pad choice, properly setting them up, and boot choice. One of the biggest issue I notice is that many guys tend to set their shank length and pad height to high. Bring that pad height down a little lower, getting it a little closer to the meat of your calf and you will thank me latter!!
 
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Bango Skank said:
I used steel Klein's for my first 3 years climbing, they worked, but I was way more comfortable when I switched to steel permenant Buckinghams. 12 years later switched to Bashlin aluminum tree gaffs and I'm in love again. Think I'm all set with spurs for the rest of my life. Same caddies on the bucks and bashlin, love em.

@NailerB how's my old Climb Rights? If I remember, you changed the profile of the gaff with a belt sander. Looked more like the straight bashlin and Buckingham gaff after. Looked infinitely better than the blunt spikes that they come with.

Kleins, the point of the gaff is further away from my foot. Made it harder and more awkward to stabilize with my toes or balls of my feet on skinny stuff. Some (but not all) aluminum Geckos have what looks like the same style bent gaff as Klein's, AKA euro gaffs. Not for me.
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They work a hell of a lot better than they used to! I think they have changed their gaff design to more like what I did, they were way to stubby before.
 
SomethingWitty said:
I do, and I love them.
I got the euro gaffs, and a set of American long gaffs. I have not found a reason to put the long ones of yet.
No plug-and-play ascender options is the only complaint that I have about them.
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I was thinking of getting them. And trying both the Euros ( my friend Shem swears by them.) And american longs. But I will be grinding those rails down neatly to accomodate my spikescender. It is an easy mod. Will do nothing structurally. Understand metallurgy and you are mind. Do it bro. Get the new locking spikescender from Dale..
 
swingdude said:
I was thinking of getting them. And trying both the Euros ( my friend Shem swears by them.) And american longs. But I will be grinding those rails down neatly to accomodate my spikescender. It is an easy mod. Will do nothing structurally. Understand metallurgy and you are mind. Do it bro. Get the new locking spikescender from Dale..
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I love the euro. They're so nice.
Shem? Shembiner shem?
 
rico said:
My only real issues with the Geckos is that I am not a huge fan of their gaff profile because it puts the foot to far from the tree for my liking, especially with their tree gaff.
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I'm a big fan of the CF Geckos, but I agree with this. The pole gaffs are fine, but the tree ones get you too far away from the wood. I can live with it because I'm only in the thick bark (cottonwoods) occasionally. The EURO gaffs put you feet right against the tree and I'm digging them. Takes a bit to get used to them, but they're starting to be my favorites if I'm going to be in a tree on gaffs for more than 30 minutes. The pole gaffs are a little faster climbing for me, so I still use those if I'm just going up to set anchors or to whack a few limbs off.

rico said:
...many guys tend to set their shank length and pad height too high...
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It took me quite awhile to sort this one out... I kept getting bad advice about what is the proper shank length and where the top of the pad should end up. I eventually stopped listening and just tried different heights until it stopped hurting. It was lower than I imagined, and I kicked myself for not figuring it out sooner. So, this is great advice from @rico who spends hours in trees just for shits and giggles and to spy on his neighbor's teenage daughter... but he's right! Before you give up on a set of climbers, try varying the height of the pads and shank length. You might be surprised at how important it can be, and everyone's legs are different, so don't take any "exactly 2.16397 inches below your kneebone" crap too seriously. You aren't going to break your legs by experimenting with that height.
 
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