; I know all the jazz about safe and harmless tree climbing, but letting all your weight sit on a harness and a rope is just a bit over the top. There is no skill or talent involved with climbing any more. I climb with gaffs and a safety belt. How many folks still climb like that? How many have even done it at all? Ropes have there place but i can testify that gaffs don't cause all the damage they are apparently supposed to. My boss,(a veteran of 40 years) has climbed with gaffs and a safety belt all that time and has never killed a single tree. He has had customers that have used him time and time again. I have seen big pin oaks that he topped and trimmed years ago and they looked beautiful! Any of you guys that climb primarily climb with ropes should get 110 feet in an old poplar with 2 spikes holding you off the ground and a thick belt around your ass holding you against the tree. A bit different than being strapped to a series of ropes!