What kind of spurs do you guys use?

Mowerr said:
Well you could try to think of it this way... Become as good as u can without spurs for working canopies.
I try to use my spurs as little as possible but you always need them for blocking down stems. So definitely use those trees even just to beat up the stems...
Because if there's anywhere you can work without spurs, its in a wide spread canopy.
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Thank, man. I think I've seen a vid of or at least read about spurless removals...I don't remember at the moment, but is this a real pain, if you know? What would the point be, of not using spurs for a removal?

Seems like stubs would be required, and maybe I remember this from a video of one.
 
DSMc said:
I would give you different advice. Get good with your spurs. Far to many arborists put themselves in awkward positions and increase their exposure to injury for the simple reason that they are not comfortable doing spur work.
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I'm pretty bad/awkward/not-confident with all of it, at the moment, so any practice with either/both would do me alot of good! I'm pretty close to the bottom of that learning/confidence curve.
 
Practice and try to be excellent at both. There are definitely removals of broad spreading trees that I do without hooks and there are some I do on hooks. Pluses and minuses of both.
 
DSMc said:
I would give you different advice. Get good with your spurs. Far to many arborists put themselves in awkward positions and increase their exposure to injury for the simple reason that they are not comfortable doing spur work.
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I agree but the only way to do that without hurting lots of innocent trees is to work for yourself which I don't think hesvquite there yet or to work for someone else and idk if he can cuz he has a full time gig I think. I do agree with u tho.
I never heard of spurless removals of whole trees. I think what they may have meant was to take the canopy down spurless then block the stem down on spurs.
 
DSMc said:
I would give you different advice. Get good with your spurs. Far to many arborists put themselves in awkward positions and increase their exposure to injury for the simple reason that they are not comfortable doing spur work.
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Leave it to DSMc to be the voice of reason. If one is uncomfortable in spurs then they need to get comfortable because there is really no reason to NOT wear spurs when doing removals.
 
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rico said:
Leave it to DSMc to be the voice of reason. If one is uncomfortable in spurs then they need to get comfortable because there is really no reason to NOT wear spurs when doing removals.
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I've been working with them. They still suck, and they slow me down a lot over the course of most climbs.
Once in a while, though, I really appreciate being able to stand on a bare patch of the tree. It's always nice to not have to put them on when I get down to a log, too.


Most of my work is pruning, and I am good at it. I'm good at removals as well. I fall closer to the production range that no-rope hacks can manage when I have to wear spikes and there is no negative rigging.
Learning to fell gets you out of a lot of situations where you would have to put them on, and learning good positioning and planning can keep you from needing nasty stubs and working from awkward positions to work out a canopy.
I still feel more awkward standing anywhere besides a medium sized vertical trunk in my spikes than I do anywhere at all in a canopy without them, but I'm really trying to make myself use them enough to make it natural.

I fear it will be a long journey. I more comfortable in a tree than on the ground. There's no rope to use for balance here.
 
There is nothing I can't do with spikes on. As in limb walk, just stand on the part of your boot that has no spike. I have approximately 17,000 hours on spikes and 5,000 trimming without spikes. So clearly I do more removals. If my experience, if you are not substantially faster in spikes, you need more time on spikes. I have meet a few climbers who aren't that great on spikes. They either don't have the time in, or just won't ever get it. I have done a handful of removal without spikes. Its not faster. Sometimes it might be nearly equal on really easy stuff. But to each their own. Your experience may vary.
 
Mowerr said:
I agree but the only way to do that without hurting lots of innocent trees is to work for yourself which I don't think hesvquite there yet or to work for someone else and idk if he can cuz he has a full time gig I think. I do agree with u tho.
I never heard of spurless removals of whole trees. I think what they may have meant was to take the canopy down spurless then block the stem down on spurs.
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I'm actually getting some time in working with a local team of professionals in my area who seem to be interested in bringing climbers together, being serious about training, keeping up to date on tech and techniques, etc., (the 'rising tide' idea, I think). And I've had some individual coaching from one of them on spurs. It's working out pretty well so far with my regular work schedule, and I'm not really having to net less time with my family, since I have a great setup at my main gig, as far as flexibility in hours goes.
 
Dammit. Ok. I can’t post the picture. Two little bronze looking clips that would likely go on the straps somewhere. I’m not too worried about them.
 
Good morning! I read through this thread and there is quite a bit of good information here. I am hopeful this may be a good place to ask for some advice. I spent 16 hours on my Kleins with hydra cool pads completing four removals last weekend. By the end of the first day, I had rubbed my shins raw. Additionally, I suspect my foot straps were too tight as well. I developed an itchy rash in the locations where the leather straps crossed the tops of my feet. I read that this can occur with too much compression which prohibits the skin from sweating properly. Based on the feedback provided in this post, I am unsure what the correct adjustment is to prevent the shin scraping from occurring. Last night I tried to raise the pads higher to determine how that would feel. The pads were starting to dig into the back of my knee with the minimal articulation of my leg. Therefore, I lowered them down a little further from their original position to test at a later date. Can anyone offer any comments based on these photos?

Thanks in advance for all the insights and experience you all share.
 

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Michael Canterbury said:
Good morning! I read through this thread and there is quite a bit of good information here. I am hopeful this may be a good place to ask for some advice. I spent 16 hours on my Kleins with hydra cool pads completing four removals last weekend. By the end of the first day, I had rubbed my shins raw. Additionally, I suspect my foot straps were too tight as well. I developed an itchy rash in the locations where the leather straps crossed the tops of my feet. I read that this can occur with too much compression which prohibits the skin from sweating properly. Based on the feedback provided in this post, I am unsure what the correct adjustment is to prevent the shin scraping from occurring. Last night I tried to raise the pads higher to determine how that would feel. The pads were starting to dig into the back of my knee with the minimal articulation of my leg. Therefore, I lowered them down a little further from their original position to test at a later date. Can anyone offer any comments based on these photos?

Thanks in advance for all the insights and experience you all share.
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I have never used or seen the hydra cool pads in person. If they don't have a rigid insert or shin cup, extended periods on the spikes can definitly beat up the shins. I used to use pads with no rigid part and my shins looked just like that many times. Buckingham makes pads with steal inserts that solved that problem for me. Spikes such as geckos with the fiberglass pad shell also worked good for my shins too. As for your feet, I have not experienced that phenomenon personally. I run my foot straps as tight as is comfortable. I also wear thick leather boots, with my spikes, so I don't get much pressure on my foot from the straps. I think the thick leather spreads out the pressure. And lastly, if you are new to wearing spikes, they will certainly take some getting used to. If you wear them on a regular basis, your body will toughen up to compensate for the stress, but there so no replacement for good pads and setup. I'm sure others will chime in with great tips also.
 
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