gaff pad problems

[treeman82]

I have had the Buckingham velcro wrap pads on my gaffs for about 5 years now. They are the ones with the steel inserts. In the past 5 years it has pretty much always been comfortable to be on them. They hurt my feet if I have been on them for too long... but that's another story. I haven't used them for the past couple months really, however I kept them in a good spot where nobody bothers them. So I went to use them on Friday and MAN were they killing my shins. When I came home that night I looked, and the front, inside of my shins each had an area where the skin had been rubbed off to a point. I looked at them tonight, and I guess enough skin was taken off, that scabs had started to form. I have been using the same boots for 3 years now, so that couldn't be the problem.

Does anybody know what could be the cause of the problem? Sean, any ideas?

I am supposed to put the high part in the back right?.... same way I have been doing it since I got them.

 

[kf_tree]

most people i know that climb with them are lucky to get 2 years out of them before the velcro wears out. i know one guy that push's there life by duct taping them on. 3 years for a pair of boots? i'm lucky to get a year out of boots. if you rubbed the skin off something is too loose. there has to be movement some where to chaff the skin off. does the velcro still keep them tight?

what about your pants? were you wearing the same pants as always? did they have any rips where saw dust got in your pant legs. are the adjustable shafts set to the right height?(that could make a huge difference)

 

[Gord]

wearing same/similar pants as before? assuming that the pad is on your pants and not boots.

were you maybe doing a lot of pogoing in spurs, up and down all day? can wear out the best set of shins.

were they adjusted snug enough?

few things to ponder. could just be you jumping into them as a proficient spur climber after a long time off.

 

[treeman82]

Same pants as always, pads go on the pants. They feel about as snug as they always did. No rips in the pants. The only thing I might consider as a slight possibility wear wise are those little tabs which hold the gaffs in the steel slots, but that is minor. I was doing a bunch of pogoing the past couple days. I think the last time I used them for a descent amount of time was back in March?

 

[Tom Dunlap]

My B'hams are still in fine shape after, at least, six years of use. I'm very deliberate when I take the pads off. I brush off as much sawdust before I peel them. Then I brush off any sawdust from the velcro before I re wrap them for storage. The pads are ALWAYS wrapped whether on or off me.

They have twisted shanks too. That makes a HUGE difference. Straight shanks will tend to dig into your leg bone more.

You could try lowering the adjusters one hole. The tops are supposed to be in the hollow part of your calf, just below your knee.

Tom

 

[lync]

GAFFS

Matt,

If I wear carharrts its like sandpaper to my shins, if i wear chainsaw pants i have no problem. Try to retighten after about 15 minutes of use, the nylon does stretch.

Corey

 

[treeman82]

Thank you everybody for your help. Tom, I went today and took a look at how they measured on my legs for height. I don't know how this didn't happen years ago? But I wound up having to extend the shanks to the last holes just to get them to the right lengths on my legs. I guess it's like those pants that fit one week, and the next, and the next, and the next, and then the next week they don't fit at all.

 

[Koa Man]

I have found that those foam soccer knee pads placed on the inside of the leg just below the knee is very comfortable, even when using the cheap L pads. You need to put them on before you put on your boots.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I've been wearing those pads like that for years.

Zero pain.

 

[DirtHawg]

Treeman
Are those like the Bashlin "auto kick back" or "Spur stay" pads?

I have tried those on a set of Bashlin climbers and my shins were tore up at the end of the day. I went back to the "Cadillac" pads. They are Bashlin item number 140D and 140DS. If you look into them. Get the 140DS for they are padded and hard to beat.