Yeah, but those bastards are pure hell on your ankles. There’s two types, some are for trees (these are shown) and others made for telephone poles. Those are the hardest on you as they have longer spikes with less of an angle.
And if one of them let’s go, they both do. At that point you either learn to do a pretty decent bear hug and reset or you get a complimentary trip to the ER with a whole lot of really big and ugly splinters.
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I remember watching a guy climb a telephone pole. Though I remember his boots had more than one spike and they were shorter. There is the strap thing too which helps keep you from sliding down if the spikes slip some.
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Never seen the multiple spike ones.
and after 45 minutes on spikes, you are damned healthy if you can walk afterwards. I gots weak ankles.
this one was already crossed off on the bucket list.
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I COULD be misremembering. Though I thought too line man wore extra long boots that when up the calf to give extra support to the ankles.
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Umm…mostly no. Tree hooks are longer than pole hooks, to adequately pierce tree bark (which offers no hold). Yes, tree hooks have a wider angle from the foot, since “timber” trees are typically wider than poles (which means your legs have a narrower angle of attack; the more-splayed tree spike compensates for that), and “arborist” trees often require the climber to stay closer to the trunk (to avoid neighboring growth/maneuver, again reducing angle of attack).
Losing one hook’s bite is not uncommon, and in no way does that mean the other is destined to let go…unless your technique is just horrible or you’ve picked a hopelessly bad pole to climb. (Yes, both spikes can slip, but – for good climbers – the cause is unforeseeable/accidental…like the time a wasp nest fell on me while I was 14’ up and I wriggled; oy!)
But the really important bit here is what to do when both spikes slip – do not grab the pole! Rather, push your hips away from the pole to the limit of your climbing belt (to get the best angle of attack) and then straighten one leg to get its hook planted in the pole. (Ask any experienced climber about “that time your knee wound up next to your head” and you’ll get a great story about two slipped spikes ; -) Even if you fail to get a hook planted and fall to the ground, you’re better off than sliding down the pole…I’ve seen “pole huggers” require a bucket truck to lift them off the three foot long splinters that penetrated their trunk (and killed them).
(Comfort – if gaffs are uncomfortable, you’re either wearing unsuitable boots or your gaffs aren’t fitted properly. Stop climbing immediately and fix the problem.)
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You rang?
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I had a set as well. I found they didn’t work very well on trees or brick walls which were the two most ideal surfaces for these suckers other than climbing some sort of giant couch. they seemed mostly gimmick to me.
soft rubber grips much better than hard metal spikes, on both the feet and hands. if you want to get up a tree quick, learn to use ones feet properly and have a leather belt.
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I misread that as linesman’s boot spikes, and my immediate thought was “I’m 100% certain they are not allowed in association football, even if you are an assistant referee.”
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Reminds me of this video from Alton Brown:
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In order to deal with people who make vertical videos, you clearly need to assert the right to arm bears.
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I picked up a Tigerlady as a Christmas present for my daughter. Retractable claws that extend when you make a fist. Claws are hollow to capture assailant DNA.
It’s made of reinforced plastic which is not mentioned in the ads.
The company is a big supporter of progressive radio so I didn’t feel too bad.
I bow to your wisdom.
mistakes aside, I’ll NOT be climbing any more poles on this planet mind you.
too much gravity.
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Accessorize your Tigerlady!
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Normally I agree, but the vertical aspect sorta works for those two.
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Yeah, never even tried brick walls. Didn’t occur to me to try anything that the spikes couldn’t penetrate. I found that the hand ones helped, and the foot ones were awkward at best. Lineman spikes and a belt would work way better (but would definitely not have been oh so “80’s ninja movie cool”!)
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lumpy is a condition of a shape.
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No wonder Tiger Mom’s kids listen! 
I picked up this present for you kid, don’t make me give it to you… lol.
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mine showed the spikes fitting between the bricks and gripping onto the top lip of the bricks, which would probably work great if you didn’t weigh anything at all.
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Ha ha ha! NO! No F-in way I would have had the cojones to try that. The grip was precarious enough without having to worry about the small tips either slipping off or popping off a tiny bit of brick and me plummeting onto a hard surface.
Heck, the relatively soft bark of a redwood worked great, and I probably only fell 15 feet or so on my oh so shaky way down (but onto very soft loamy forest floor).
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