Just picked up a set of spikes...how to learn to use them

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Diesel JD

ArboristSite Guru
Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Messages
853
Reaction score
22
Location
Gainesville, FL
Hey guys...now before you all worry, I have climbed some before...with rope only so I do know how to get down and I'm not completely ignorant....also not going to go use these on living trees or go to work as a hack, just want to learn and have a few dead/dying poles I can work with. It is obvious from the nature of these things that you can hurt yourself if you mess up. other than being tied in at all times and going low and slow is there anything else to observe to make this safe(er). Thanks
 
Keep your knees out and don't hug the tree like a koala bear. If you're hugging the tree then you can't get a good angle and you WILL kick out. When climbing up a spar, use your lanyard/flipline and lean back on it a bit, keeping your body away from the trunk. On a smooth spar I keep both hands on my lanyard so I can flip it up the tree. KEEP YOUR KNEES OUT and step/kick with the side of your foot. Make sure you have a solid bite with one gaff before pulling the other out. Once you have a solid step, you have to trust it and step up so you can take another solid step.

Always tied in, PPE, helmet, witness, blah blah blah...

If your nuts are against the tree, you WILL kick out! Hold yourself out away from the tree! :)
 
Also, practice working around the pole/tree. Not just going up and down. Sometimes its more comfortable to keep one leg bent at the knee and the other leg partially locked out(just my pref sometimes while I'm stopped/cutting). Make sure you have the right spikes for the right tree. Pole spikes in thick pine bark will give you a nice kickout and a raw chin.

Have fun.
 
Like said before , knees out , dont hug the tree , keep the gaffs sharpened at the correct angles . Don't overly kick in cause it will wear you down to pull your gaff out .
 
DieselJD,

When you go to practice, low and slow, gaff-out on purpose so that you learn to master "the recovery stroke" before it happens for real way up some tall spar.

Start, as always with some stretches. This ones a groin buster.

You'll have slid down the pole a ways, your face, gut and balls are now all in intimate contact with the pole. I prefer the taste of fir trees. Hike one knee up to push your hips out a bit from the pole. "Whip" your free leg out from the hip, then up and in from the knee in a kinda Michael Jacksonish Thriller Video move. Don't Hit Your Other Knee! The whip action should be enough to stick your spur back into the pole so that you can begin to stand up a bit and get your other spur in quickly.

Everyone elses advice is spot-on!

Also, you need sturdy boots with a good heel, and steel shanked soles, or your feet will begin to hurt within a short time.

Good Luck!
 
Last edited:
Get yourself a throw ball,
set a line up in a crotch.
Pull up a good climbing rope.
Have a buddy spot you on the way up,
just incase you gaff out !
Practice ,practice, practice
Be carefull ...That's YOUR a$$ up there
 
If you've got someone to climb with who can use spikes get them to go up first and set up a pully so you can have a belay system set up. Make sure they know how to do a pole rescue.

I do 4 steps to one flip of the line, you can put a double wrap in your flip line round the trunk for a bit more security, i like to have a second line to flip as well for a bit of extra safety. Keep your body away from the trunk - lean back.

Most importantly don't gaff the life line!
 
JD,
What kind of gaffs did you pick up. There are some brands that kick out more that others. I prefer the kliens because they have never kicked out and if you have to be real close to the tree they still dont kick out because of the angle of the gaffs.
Also watch where you are placing your gaffs so not to spike your rope, I've done that a few times and its totally preventable by not getting in a hurry.
Be safe.
Bark can also peal loose from dying trees as you climb them, be sure to set your gaffs.
 
I also like Kleins. I've used Bashlins, Buckinghams and Stringer-Brooks. IMO Kleins have the best gaff design, Stringer-Brooks the worst.
 
Brooks....they looked like a good entry level set.....the poles are not that dead...just topped out by the hurricane or recently dropped their leaves. About the boots, will a good set of GI army surplus boots be good for this? they are made by Altama and come up to my shin about halfway,
Thanks
 
Brooks....they looked like a good entry level set.....the poles are not that dead...just topped out by the hurricane or recently dropped their leaves. About the boots, will a good set of GI army surplus boots be good for this? they are made by Altama and come up to my shin about halfway,
Thanks
 
When I was younger, boots didn't matter so much. Anything with enough of a heel lip to prevent the gaffs from sliding back worked just fine. But all my weight (no wiseass cracks here) bearing on the arch of my foot got less tolerable as I got older. Now I'm using $200 mountaineering boots and if I wear gaffs with my lightweight boots it hurts like heck after 10-15 minutes.

Basically, anything with a sturdy sole and enough heel lip to hold the gaff will work. Eventually you may look for boots with a steel shank to distribute your weight off your arch.
 
skwerl said:
When I was younger, boots didn't matter so much. Anything with enough of a heel lip to prevent the gaffs from sliding back worked just fine. But all my weight (no wiseass cracks here) bearing on the arch of my foot got less tolerable as I got older. Now I'm using $200 mountaineering boots and if I wear gaffs with my lightweight boots it hurts like heck after 10-15 minutes.

Basically, anything with a sturdy sole and enough heel lip to hold the gaff will work. Eventually you may look for boots with a steel shank to distribute your weight off your arch.


Exactly, this makes all the difference. No more shanks digger into the ankles.

Best advice I was ever given......" keep yur ass out"!!!
 
Diesel JD said:
About the boots, will a good set of GI army surplus boots be good for this? they are made by Altama and come up to my shin about halfway,
Thanks

I wouldn't recommend it. While I haven't climbed with spikes, I've climbed a few radio towers. You spend a lot of time putting your weight on metal bars that are, in most cases, WIDER than the stirrup of climbing spikes. The pressure on your arch is more concentrated with spikes. But even on towers, with wimpy boots (like Army boots) my arch gets sore after not very long. Those Army boots are NOT very good boots.

Remember, Army boots were designed by a committee and produced by the lowest bidder. :dizzy:

You need something with some REAL support.
 
Another good practice is to have two lanyards.
Climb up to the limbs and hook one above the branch before unhooking the other. Always have one clipped in. I like to use a steel core.
 
RedlineIt said:
DieselJD,

You'll have slid down the pole a ways, your face, gut and balls are now all in intimate contact with the pole. I prefer the taste of fir trees. Hike one knee up to push your hips out a bit from the pole. "Whip" your free leg out from the hip, then up and in from the knee in a kinda Michael Jacksonish Thriller Video move. Don't Hit Your Other Knee! The whip action should be enough to stick your spur back into the pole so that you can begin to stand up a bit and get your other spur in quickly.

DieselJD, I have done quite a bit of pactice climbing in the last several weeks. However, I just can not get the courage to try to kick out on purpose because while climbing I have accidently kicked out and it took a while to catch my breath. I was able to recover from the kickout before falling to the ground, but it was not pretty and I would feel better in the future if I knew the right motions. Are there any good videos out there to help?

Geoff
 
Seems like gaffing out, whether on purpose or by accident would be really scary...I don't know about videos...how is it going with getting the hang of it?
 
Back
Top