boots

[Shespen]

Husqvarna climbers have arrived!

Well the boots arrived today and I just picked them up from the saw shop. I don't know what to make of them. Funky looking pair of boots! The sole seems to me to be a bit thin. They are made of some kind of spongy material (which I prefer over the ridgid branch skating vibrams) capped with a thin layer of rubber. I think that I have a thicker layer of rubber on the bottom of my travel mug! The whole sole composite is only sewed from the arch forward around the toe. I wonder if the heel will come unglued. I hate running around in a tree with a pair of flip-flops. I guess that I should withhold judgement at least till I have a chance to try them out. (why do we always critisize something new?) They are very comfortable and the leather uppers look to be very high quality. I guess that I will stick the grease to them and take them out for a test drive tomarrow.
I noticed alot of praise for Wesco boots in this thread. I have to disagree! The last pair of Wesco that I bought had a real tendency to "roll" off the sole and the backstrap would buckle in just above the heel and dig into my achilles tenden. Worst pair of boots that I ever had! This was early 80's tho and I'll concede that they may have made some changes. Whites were good but the best that I ever had was a pair of Buffalo spring-heel.
I'll get back to you on the new climbers!

Steve

 

[treeman82]

rbtree- I got your IM, I was just saying that I can't see spending that much money on those boots, plus the height is just not for me. I like the RedWinds and will most certainly stick with them for quite some time.

 

[2ndgclimber]

whats with the piece of leather fringe on the toe of climbing boots.

 

[rbtree]

An extra layer of leather protection under the laces.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I've been wearing REI "SpiritII" mountaineering/hicking boots for the past 2 months or so. They are the best I've ever climbed in.

In FL'ing they grab the rope effortlessly

they grab bark real good so going up steep leaning stems I can use small bumps for purchase, and climbing the bottom/side of small long limbs is much easier.

Sole pattern does not hold mud, so I'm not bringing alot up the rope with me.

Speed laces are real sturdy so they have not bent or crimped down.

And they are comfy too.

http://a1072.g.akamai.net/f/1072/2062/30d/gallery.rei.com/regularimages/683444.jpg

 

[Kevin]

We need approved safety boots here or your insurance won`t cover you not to mention the fines involved.

 

[Matt Follett]

Steel riggers boots

I wear Work Pro's (formally Dakota) steel rigger boot, they lace to the toe, are very well made leathers, and have this soft spongy sole that grips anything (very little tread, little damage on thin barked species, even platanus in the spring!).

I'm on my sixth pair, and won't change for nothin' at this point. they're not great for spur work 'cause they have little in the way of heels, but they foot lock like crazy and last me a whole year, I don't really wear anything else (even out to diner )

Careful though there's a cheaper version without the soft sole and I don't think they would be half as good. I pay about $160 Cnd with tax

 

[Kevin]

I have a pair of flat sole safety boots without any heel for footlocking but I don`t wear them when climbing ladders or wearing gaffs.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I've never come close to nicking my boot with a power tool, touch wood. Besides, except for the recent storm work, I do a lot of handsaw work.

Matt, where do you find those boots at?

BTW, w/tax those REI boots are around $190.

 

[Matt Follett]

JPS

I get them at Mark's Work Warehouse, they are Dakota's (I mistaked the change over) the model # is MW132006SF

They have a thin thinsulate liner, steel toe, steel sole, brass eyelets

 

[DDM]

I bought a pair of those baileys Red dawgs 16" I been trying to break them in for a yr now a few hrs here and there Most uncomfortable Boots i think ive ever worn. Guess i'll stick to my Wolverines. Love them. Ive worn out a pair of wolverines trying to break in the dawgs.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Matt, see if you can find your boot on their website http://www.marks.com/onlinestore/mwwhweb.nsf post a link to the boot then.

 

[heartland]

I've been using a pair of Huskys for about 3 months now. The uppers are very comfortable and I have no complaints with their gripping ability on limb walks (yet). They hold the rope in footlock real well too.

Only complaint is when used with climbers. The flat sole on the Husky boot allows the climber to slide toward the heel. I have particular trouble with my left foot: for some reason, the climber always creeps back on that one. I actually lost it completely while topping out a tree about a month ago... had to decend all the way back to ground in order to get things back together.... can u say bummer?

 

[rborist1]

:Eye:

 

[treeclimber165]

Tim,
You need to cinch down the lower buckle tighter. Your climbers should not be able to move back and forth on your foot. I rock my foot back and forth as I'm pulling the lower strap tight in order to get the buckle to the next hole in the strap. Years ago a buddy had the same dilemma. His lower straps were too loose also.

Oh, been there done that with expensive boots. No matter how much I spent, they still wore out in 6-9 months. Now I wear cheapo hiking boots. Last two pair were discontinued 'Route 66' boots from K-Mart. $30 marked down to $20, then second pair half price. I got two pair for $30 and they will last me 6-9 months. With Dr Sholl's inserts they are as comfortable as the $180 boots.

 

[heartland]

Brian - not sure what you mean by "lower buckle". Here is a pic of what I have... there is only one buckle.

I have the long strap around my heel and then around the leg iron... from there, it connects to the buckle.

 

[treeclimber165]

Yes, that buckle. As opposed to the buckle on the shin pad, which is not shown in the picture you posted. Where are your shin pads?

I use the old standard pads with a strap and buckle around the calf, so mine have an upper calf buckle and a lower buckle around the ankle. If you have velcro wrap pads, you will not have an upper buckle.

 

[heartland]

I use the velcro wrap pads. I find that on the left leg (the one giving me probs) the leg iron and wrap tend to move and I end up with the leg iron pointing out, away from my knee. This causes the gaff to slide backwards, off my foot. See attached pic. I'm no artist but hopefully it gives you the idea.

Bottom line is that I need to cinch down on it more, eh?

 

[heartland]

Also guess I could adjust the length a bit too... make em a bit longer so they snug up over my calf more?

 

[treeclimber165]

Yup, I think you got the right idea now. I've always adjusted the length of my climbers so the upper pad is about as high as I can get it without interfering with or touching my knee. It's a one-time adjustment, my climbers are 7 years old and I haven't adjusted them since I first bought them and set them up for my legs.
Let us know if you still have a problem after fitting your climbers properly and getting the lower strap tightened down better. The lack of a heel shouldn't be too big of an issue, I could probably wear my climbers over tennis shoes if I had to. (I think the lack of arch support would hurt, though)