# steel footplates for buckingham spurs



## luckylogger (May 31, 2009)

anyone use these steel footplates. do they help the hurting feet problem?
are they akward in the tree?
thanks boys


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## asthesun (May 31, 2009)

luckylogger said:


> anyone use these steel footplates. do they help the hurting feet problem?
> are they akward in the tree?
> thanks boys



they are great if you're going to be standing on your hooks alot. they offer no traction for limb-walking though and prevent your boot from bending. linemen like them, i dont see a place for them in tree service arsenal though. if you're a logger they might be ok since you'll not be doing much complex stuff, just limb limb limb top pole.


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## treemandan (May 31, 2009)

I use them off and on. I don't buy nice expensive tree climber boots. I have the bucky platforms but they fit my kleins as well.


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## tree md (May 31, 2009)

I climbed with them on a pair of Klien's many years ago. Didn't like them at all. Like Asthesun said, you can't really bend the arch of your foot or limbwalk with them. I'd just buy a more comfortable climber if the one's you have are causing discomfort.


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## clearance (May 31, 2009)

I always climb with spurs, Buckinghams for the last few years, first Kliens. Always worn Viberg lineman boots. Never had a problem, ever.


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## treemandan (May 31, 2009)

tree md said:


> I climbed with them on a pair of Klien's many years ago. Didn't like them at all. Like Asthesun said, you can't really bend the arch of your foot or limbwalk with them. I'd just buy a more comfortable climber if the one's you have are causing discomfort.



Yeah, watch your step with them. I had thought about welding a few spikes to the bottom to improve them but then I have thought about other things too.
I agree they will slow you down( nominally so) in some areas but I have to say it isn't long before them nice expensive climbimg boots start to sag in the arch. 
On limbwalking you either have to be like twinkle toes or set your spikes. I have no problem with either. 
I once knew a guy who had these crazy spikes. I think Sherrill used to sell them. They were constructed of high density plastic with a big " Herman Munster" foot plate which was mounted to the calve shank via a pivot. Seemed pretty light and able to withstand some abuse. The sole was thick rubber so they were a little more nimble than these steel footplates.
I was looking for a set, I forget what they are called and haven't ever seen another pair. I had "come across" these steel ones, they certainly add some weight. I wouldn't mind tossing them but I like the boots I wear more.


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## DK_stihl (May 31, 2009)

*Munster spikes*

Were they Wolf Claws? I think that Bailey's sells those.


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## DK_stihl (May 31, 2009)

*Wolf Claws*

http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=WC+1003&catID=1454


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## treemandan (May 31, 2009)

DK_stihl said:


> Were they Wolf Claws? I think that Bailey's sells those.



Nah, it weren't them. I thought I saw them in Sherrill years ago.


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## asthesun (May 31, 2009)

treemandan said:


> Yeah, watch your step with them. I had thought about welding a few spikes to the bottom to improve them but then I have thought about other things too.
> I agree they will slow you down( nominally so) in some areas but I have to say* it isn't long before them nice expensive climbimg boots start to sag in the arch. * On limbwalking you either have to be like twinkle toes or set your spikes. I have no problem with either.
> I once knew a guy who had these crazy spikes. I think Sherrill used to sell them. They were constructed of high density plastic with a big " Herman Munster" foot plate which was mounted to the calve shank via a pivot. Seemed pretty light and able to withstand some abuse. The sole was thick rubber so they were a little more nimble than these steel footplates.
> I was looking for a set, I forget what they are called and haven't ever seen another pair. I had "come across" these steel ones, they certainly add some weight. I wouldn't mind tossing them but I like the boots I wear more.



i've had my wescos for about 3 yrs now and they're still very comfortable. my feet are the last thing to start hurting when i've been up a tree all day. i think a better investment than footplates would be good boots and good pads. irons are all about the same, just varying weights.


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## treemandan (May 31, 2009)

asthesun said:


> i've had my wescos for about 3 yrs now and they're still very comfortable. my feet are the last thing to start hurting when i've been up a tree all day. i think a better investment than footplates would be good boots and good pads. irons are all about the same, just varying weights.



I will keep that in mind thanks. Meanwhile keep those stank ass boots away from me, especially when I am eating. That much time it'll probably take a bullet to keep them off my ham sandwich.
No, but seriously, I like to get new boots each season... same with my pair of underwear.


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## luckylogger (May 31, 2009)

i have some nice hoffman climbing boots. they are comfy as hell to wear. double steel shank in the sole to be rigid. but still if im waiting in a tree for stuff to be on the ground my feet hurt. i will throw my other strap over a branch and put my rope bag between my bag and the tree and kick my spurs out and just hang there. now thats comfy. im also 240 pounds so think of the psi of 240 pounds onto those 1 inch wide steel bars on spurs. unless my boot soles were made of concrete, the best of boots will flex


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## treemandan (May 31, 2009)

luckylogger said:


> i have some nice hoffman climbing boots. they are comfy as hell to wear. double steel shank in the sole to be rigid. but still if im waiting in a tree for stuff to be on the ground my feet hurt. i will throw my other strap over a branch and put my rope bag between my bag and the tree and kick my spurs out and just hang there. now thats comfy. im also 240 pounds so think of the psi of 240 pounds onto those 1 inch wide steel bars on spurs. unless my boot soles were made of concrete, the best of boots will flex



That is pretty much what I concluded after so many boots and I am bout a buck fiddy.


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## clearance (May 31, 2009)

clearance said:


> I always climb with spurs, Buckinghams for the last few years, first Kliens. Always worn Viberg lineman boots. Never had a problem, ever.



I'll say it again, Viberg.


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## treemandan (May 31, 2009)

clearance said:


> I'll say it again, Viberg.



Ok Ok we believe you.


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## asthesun (May 31, 2009)

treemandan said:


> I will keep that in mind thanks. Meanwhile keep those stank ass boots away from me, especially when I am eating. That much time it'll probably take a bullet to keep them off my ham sandwich.
> No, but seriously, I like to get new boots each season... same with my pair of underwear.



well, everyone's foot stank is different. i go through shoes quite frequently due to stink, but i've haD the same boots for a while now. probably due to the sole thats in the wescos, a very basic mesh sole similar to the sole that comes standard in combat boots.


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## tomtrees58 (May 31, 2009)

have them but the weird don't like them still climb with strangers brooks tom trees


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## tree md (Jun 1, 2009)

luckylogger said:


> i have some nice hoffman climbing boots. they are comfy as hell to wear. double steel shank in the sole to be rigid. but still if im waiting in a tree for stuff to be on the ground my feet hurt. i will throw my other strap over a branch and put my rope bag between my bag and the tree and kick my spurs out and just hang there. now thats comfy. im also 240 pounds so think of the psi of 240 pounds onto those 1 inch wide steel bars on spurs. unless my boot soles were made of concrete, the best of boots will flex



I don't have top of the line boots but I do wear Carolina 16" linemans. It's the brand I've worn for about 16 years. There comfortable to me. I like a good heal when I'm climbing on spikes so I can walk limbs without the shank being in the way. I climbed on steel spurs for a long time, Kliens and Buckinghams. If I had to spend long hours in them they would really hurt my feet. I'm 220. I switched to aluminum Bashlins a couple years ago and they don't hurt my feet nearly as bad. On short climbs I can't even tell I'm wearing them. I've heard the carbon spikes are even nicer. If you spend long hours on spikes then I would definitely upgrade to a lighter pair.

Edit: Also, I wear a saddle with a seat and I usually either have a line set or use my climbing line like a lanyard on the lower D's. I can either straddle the spar and hang from my climbing line while sitting in my seat or find a comfortable spot to kick back and take a load off in the canopy. I don't like to waste a bunch of time in the tree but I work with an older ground crew and like to allow them to keep up with what I'm dropping and not bury them. Seems to make the jobs go more smoothly. I have also been known to eat lunch in the tree if I don't feel like coming down and having to ascend the tree again. A comfy saddle and spikes makes for a much more enjoyable day at work, especially if you are spending time in a large tree.


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## outofmytree (Jun 1, 2009)

I have been reducing the use of spurs and my feet love it! I wear Haix protectors only when I have the spurs on otherwise its a pair of Oliver All Terrains. The inbuilt plate in the Haix makes for a much more comfortable climb with spurs. I once made the mistake of using the Olivers for a spur climb. Ouch!


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## luckylogger (Jun 1, 2009)

hey clearance
i respect your love of vibergs but i got 2 pais sitting getting moldy
ive logged for 15 years on the west coast of bc
worked the entire rigging crew side, loading crew,heli-logged, single stemmed etc
vibergs are good boots
good but not great
for the price they charge, they are to me ....poor
when i had a brand new pair separate after 1 week, viberg would not good for them
i was totally chapped
i called them and blew up on them
i spend $500 on a new pair of boots and the left boot fell apart in a week
i was at the head of knights inlet
not like i could return them at days end
i was day 7 into a 21 day shift
they accussed me of overdrying the boots
ya....whatever
i have spent more time in vibergs than any bozo that works there
i know how to treat boots
bottom line is since the logging world has shrunk so badly on the west coast, viberg has cut corners to make their existance feasable. 
their boots now cost more than ever and they are now crap
yup vibergs are now crap
you dont always get what you pay for
they went from water buffalo hide to dairy cow or lama or some crap
they are now a shell of what they once were
buyer beware...no joke:greenchainsaw:


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