Ahoy hoy. As the thread title suggests, I just had a bad experience with a new-to-me pair of Gecko aluminum spurs, but given their immense popularity and how light they are I'm hoping the fault is mine and seasoned hands can explain why.
Backstory: Last year, as a new climber I bought some used steel buckinghams’ with tree gaffs and Cadillac pads -- which I love. Combined with a secondhand Puma harness, some Canada West shanked boots, and a few tea towels (thanks BBR), I have spent nine hours without rest up a tree with no discomfort. However, I work in two different countries, so left both harness and spurs down south anticipating getting a 'new' setup in Canada, which I have done. Bought a used lot that included a weaver harness that looks more or less identical to the Puma and some aluminum Geckos with Euro spikes that I was stoked to try. Well I tried them, and although they are nice and sticky on the tree they are KILLING my hip joints. Some stiffness/stretch on the inside muscles of my thighs is standard after a month off but this is other level discomfort after 2-3 hours, and all oriented around the hip socket and rotator/stabilizer muscles on the outside of the joint. Setup included cranking both sets of straps as hard as hell so they don’t move at all, which I thought was the point. Am I wrong? A friend also wondered if the Weaver harness might have something to do with it in terms of positioning of the D’s, but I don't have the Puma here to compare. The gear lot included a second Weaver harness that's idenitical but Small rather than Medium and as a skinny 34 waist I'm between them for size, so I'll try that out once the hurting stops. Plan C is buying more Cadillac pads for a set of steel Kliens that were part of the lot but I wanted to ask the masters before I shell out more coin. Any advice would be appreciated because I want to love these spurs!
Backstory: Last year, as a new climber I bought some used steel buckinghams’ with tree gaffs and Cadillac pads -- which I love. Combined with a secondhand Puma harness, some Canada West shanked boots, and a few tea towels (thanks BBR), I have spent nine hours without rest up a tree with no discomfort. However, I work in two different countries, so left both harness and spurs down south anticipating getting a 'new' setup in Canada, which I have done. Bought a used lot that included a weaver harness that looks more or less identical to the Puma and some aluminum Geckos with Euro spikes that I was stoked to try. Well I tried them, and although they are nice and sticky on the tree they are KILLING my hip joints. Some stiffness/stretch on the inside muscles of my thighs is standard after a month off but this is other level discomfort after 2-3 hours, and all oriented around the hip socket and rotator/stabilizer muscles on the outside of the joint. Setup included cranking both sets of straps as hard as hell so they don’t move at all, which I thought was the point. Am I wrong? A friend also wondered if the Weaver harness might have something to do with it in terms of positioning of the D’s, but I don't have the Puma here to compare. The gear lot included a second Weaver harness that's idenitical but Small rather than Medium and as a skinny 34 waist I'm between them for size, so I'll try that out once the hurting stops. Plan C is buying more Cadillac pads for a set of steel Kliens that were part of the lot but I wanted to ask the masters before I shell out more coin. Any advice would be appreciated because I want to love these spurs!
