How to make lower straps not murder achilles tendons....

[802climber]

This has to stop.....I have tried tighter, and looser.. wrapping straps around the shanks and not wrapping. I am wearing titanium Buckingham spikes, nylon straps, buck pads, and 10" lineman boots.

After about 4-5 hours on spikes they just bite into my Achilles tendons so bad I can't stand it. So after 9 or 10 hours I can barely walk till the blood gets flowing again.

I remember a lot less pain out of old school Buckinghams, "triple thick" t-pads and crappy Chippewa boots.

I have no whining from the inner shins or shanks of my feet which is what most complain about.. for me it is just that Achilles pinch.


I wonder if switching to the Cushion-wrap velcro pads might make a difference. Switching boots is not really an option for me.

Any advice is much appreciated!!

 

[Grace Tree]

Never had that pain but you might try making a temp pad out of rolled up towel pieces taped to the strap to see if that helps. If you have a pressure point you need to distribute the pressure. I don't think new pads would help unless you're getting some shifting.
Phil

 

[tree md]

Not sure what to tell you about the Geckos because I don't use them. I climb on aluminum Bashlins but anytime I am on spikes for 4 or 5 hours constantly there is going to be some discomfort. I am only ever in them 9 or 10 hours when I am doing a monster takedown.

I don't know if you are doing a lot of huge removals or what but on average I am probably only in spikes a couple of hours at most on an average tree. 4 or 5 hours would be a pretty large, involved takedown for me.

There are secrets to relieving fatigue. Number one: learn how and when to take a load off. If you are waiting for the groundies to clear the landing zone, fetch a bull line for you or what ever, find a good position to take a load off. You don't want to stand in your spikes any longer than you have to.

Really, wearing any set of gaffs takes some getting used to. If the geckos are the problem maybe your feet just don't like them. Move on to something else, a different set. Kind of gross but my feet have toughened up to gaffs to the point where I have large callouses on the bottoms of both of my feet. Wearing gaffs just takes some getting used to for anyone who does it on a daily basis.

EDIT: I just noticed that you mentioned Buckingham gaffs instead of Geckos. I had Geckos on the mind. I have a pair of steel buckinghams with tree gaffs and they are the most uncomfortable set of gaffs I have ever warn. I would try another set. I found my feet experienced a lot less fatigue when I switched to Bashlins.

 

[802climber]

Yeah.. I'm good and used to wearing spurs it's just I've been working too much lately doing all day removals and such, and I haven't experienced the pliers to the achilles tendon to this level before. I am climbing on Buckingham T2 Titanium's which have a new school shape to them and are really great. I used to climb on steel buckinghams w/ the old school straight gaffs which sucked for different reasons than this.

I take the load off every chance I get but the lower straps cut off circulation and to really get rid of the pliers feeling I have to take them all the way off. And sometimes wait a day...

Wasn't really expecting a magic fix, I'll just have to keep adjusting the way I wear them, have tried a number of variations though.

I think I'll go back to wrapping around the shanks and not cinching straps so tight.

I know exactly what you mean, too. I will sometimes rope stuff I don't have to rope just to get a load off, or a minute to plan something out. It's good to be waiting on them one way or another. I would love to hear other ways to accomplish this same thing. I have already broken the habit of watching them and staying on the move instead.

 

[tree md]

That's how I wear mine. One wrap around the shank and then buckle them on the last hole where they are not too tight. Works well for me. I never have any problems with the straps, it's the tops of the shanks that like to chaff my calfs on long climbs.

 

[802climber]

Yeah I sometimes get bruises on my inner shins. I think it might be time for some cushion wraps.. Or back to the cheapo T "pads" for awhile then anything will seem like heaven.

Have you ever tried the aluminum/foam "cadillac pads" or the steel wraps? I don't think I'd be able to move right. I'd like to try em out sometime along with those steel platforms that go under your boots. Robo-climber.. Or something..

 

[tree md]

I have tried the caddy pads and they were nice. The velcro wraps work fine for me now.

 

[Redpath]

I've never decided which was worse: standing on the spikes for 3-4 hours or hanging in the saddle for same. Either way something is hurting! I've found that stiff sturdy boots have taken care of the foot pain-I'm still working on the sore legs. Some days it hurts and some it doesnt. I do the fairly loose foot strap thing as well. One thing I did develop (quite quickly) was a healthy respect for my father who was a lineman for 37 years back before bucket trucks. He climbed poles all day every day and at 80 years old still has legs of steel.

 

[802climber]

I wouldn't be able to stand spiking all the way back down after standing up there for so long. I know rappelling is frowned upon. Have you ever seem em slide down with nothin but their pole strap then -Thunk- stick their spikes back in just before reaching the ground?

 

[tree md]

Rappelling is definitely not frowned upon by me... I rap down 99% of the trees I remove. I just usually leave a stub to rap off of (preferably on the back side so it doesn't stick in the ground). I'm not a big fan of raping down a bare pole. Only time I usually spike all the way down is if I am chunking it out all or most the way down.

I have seen them come down fast in almost a free fall (competition style). My uncle was a competition pole climber. He blew his knees out prematurely doing so.

 

[802climber]

Yeah I knew a lineman who was a tree man who got chewed for tying in and rappelling off poles.. Yeah I will leave stubs or use AFS.. Or if I have to block it out I will choke trunk with my climb line (as well as steel core flipline) and move it down as I go down.