Ideal size for a climber?

[The Branch Doctor]

Any of you guys think there is an "ideal" size/weight for a climber?

It came up in another thread and made me curious what everybody else thinks of the subject.




Except the Canadians... nobody cares what they think.:P:D

[MasterBlaster]

As long as their feet go all the way to the ground...

[The Branch Doctor]

As long as their feet go all the way to the ground...

Ha! You could say that they always do... eventually.:|:

[lumberjack]

Either super tall and trim, or normal and trim.

Not 6'2" and 260lbs, that's more of a groundy.

[top hopper]

Ive always thought tall and slender would be the ideal build.

6 ft tall, 200 lbs ish ??

Im only 5 ft 9 ish, and appprox 175 pounds depending on the season, and I've always been a little envious of the climbers that were a few maybe 4 inches taller.
That additional reach would be nice.

[lumberjack]

My height and 200lbs would be pretty slender. The antithesis of a ground guy. Back when I was doing PT 5 days a week and got down to 220, I could climb better but couldn't lift near as much.

[The Branch Doctor]

IMO, 6ft-ish and under 200lbs. 165-185lbs is a lean mean climbing machine that's light enough to do some serious limb walking, strong enough to handle the strains, and the endurance to stay aloft for long periods of time.

My .02:D

[Skwerl]

Long arms and legs are more helpful than overall height. I know that with my hands cuffed behind my back, I can step through my arms and bring my hands in front of me (while sitting in the back of a patrol car).
NO, I'm not sharing any details. :P Besides, it was a decade ago.

[MasterBlaster]

Cops love it when you do that, lol!

[NickfromWI]

I think just under 200 pounds is good, and almost 6' tall. I am 160 and hauling up a 046 wears me out sometimes. Carrying it around throws me off balance.

I think if you have enough mass and muscle to sling a big saw, you're good.

The smoothest climbers I've seen are usually small framed people.

love
nick

[sotc]

at comps ive seen guys, like an aussie named straun, make the footlock in fewer grabs as they are 6'2"- 6'4" and make traverses that normal size people find difficult

[Old Monkey]

It depends. When I have to do spruces I think it would be great to be small. When I am removing large trees I think being 6' 4" is great. Slender would be good. That's on my things to do before I have a heart attack list.

[xtremetrees]

5'9 165. whoa thats me!

[squisher]

Skinny= long term aches pains and strains imo. 5'9" and sitting right around 200, 180 is slim and trim for me and I've never experienced a sore back.

Imo size/build don't really mean squat. Some people climb others...........don't.

That's a Canadian opinion.:P

[sotc]

null and void:D
im 6' 190, seems a nice balance, cept for the spare tire

[Old Monkey]

Willie if you have a spare tire, then I'm the Michelin Man.

[sotc]

how do you climb like that? :lol:

[IchWarriorMkII]

I think I come in lighter than the whole bunch of you guys...

[MasterBlaster]

It's all in how many one hand chin/pull ups you can do. :drink:

[JIML]

We got a few guys at work that climb that are 6'-6'5" not 100% sure, one of them is real tall. He can reach so much more than us short guys. Plus he is strong as an ox, can handle 4-5 pruner sticks in a tree no problem... IMO our best limb walker is a little short guy. Has balance like a squirrel...

[Hobby Climber]

Size? ...I donno, I'm 6'4" at 265lbs and can hold my own, (for a 43 year old fella that is). Not the best but not the worse either, just somewhere in between!

*

I met a very interesting fellow last year at the Michigan T.C.C. and man can this guy climb!!! WOW!!! I think Theresa (TC3) may know him. :/:

He's a big guy and not once did I see him loose speed going up & down all day long!

He goes by the name of Whiz over at the Buzz and is pictured on the left below. Oh and thats Tree Rat to the right!

HC

[lumberjack]

Haha TC's bro. I was there when he won those snazzy pants!

He climbs like an ape from what I've seen.

[Koa Man]

I think someone like Kareem Abdul Jabbar's body type would be good for a climber.

Tall, but not heavy and strong. Big hands to grab limbs and long limbs to reach out and cut stuff a shorter guy would have to climb up to.

[Al Smith]

Well idealy I suppose an orangatang but not an old one .:|:

[pete mctree]

Power to weight ratio and balance are the important things IMO. I'm 5'10 and about 170. Great for most work, but when blocking down a stem with a 660 I struggle in comparison to the big guy's.

The ape index does help too (height compared to armspan) + numbers are what you want, I'm +5 - my span tip to tip is 6'3!!

[Skwerl]

Cool, Pete. I've never measured that before. I just checked and my armspan is 6'1½". I'm only 5'7" tall. 8)

[THillMaine]

I'm 6'6" and about 200. Works good enough, but I too struggle when bringing up the 395 into the tree. Otherwise it works well, I can footlock pretty fast and the lanky arms whelp with grabbing branches. I always thought someone short and stout was ideal though..Maybe 5'10 and 180 or so, not fat just thick.

[will]

you climb with your mind,your body is just a tool.

[Greenhorn]

The best climbers I have ever seen are all arm and leg - small torso. Closer to an ape, the better. I think sense of balance has alot to do with it too.

I think most every sport has an ideal build and people that dont fit that are exceptional in other areas to make up for it - balance etc.

[Banned by Squirrels]

I just know that I would prefer seeing the girl in Wesley's avatar climbing to alla you.

[MasterBlaster]

If that's all you want the internet has tons (http://www.sexygirlsoutfit.com/tag/sexy-girls/) of it.

[sotc]

my arm span is 6'2" and im only 6', you bunch of knuckle draggers

[JIML]

im 5'10" and got a wingspan of 6'3"

[Banned by Squirrels]

HA! Good one.

I don't think any one size climber has the overall advantage. I've seen Wes shimmy out on limbs that I would never dream of going out on.

As for me, I'm a climber trapped in a groundies body...

[stehansen]

HA! Good one.



As for me, I'm a climber trapped in a groundies body...

Me too. I'm 6'0" and 245, however; I have the telephone numbers of a couple of guys who can get it done. AND they will work for money, the one guy, if you buy him a mountain dew and a bag of doritos you had better just get out of his way because wood will be flying down.

[MasterBlaster]

I don't think any one size climber has the overall advantage.


QFT! :thumbup:

[gf beranek]

I know this guy, Straun Edwards. He's gotta be close to 7 foot tall and weighs about 200 pounds. All legs and arms. Footlocks 40 feet in six repetitions. Amazing.

[JonnyHart]

6'0 and about 240lbs. Far from the fastest, but I get it done safely and in good time.

[The Branch Doctor]

6'0 and about 240lbs. Far from the fastest, but I get it done safely and in good time.

That's what it's all about bro.:D

I'm glad I started this thread! I appreciate everybody's input.

[sotc]

I know this guy, Straun Edwards. He's gotta be close to 7 foot tall and weighs about 200 pounds. All legs and arms. Footlocks 40 feet in six repetitions. Amazing.

and smooth as silk in the process, i competed with him a couple times

[Old Monkey]

I went to a birthday party at the zoo today. I watched some gibbons swinging around their cage and was severely humbled. Man those little creatures have some moves. Swinging on the underside of a branch and then landing on top of it with your feet just above where you hands were a fraction of second later. The zoo keeper wouldn't let me give them a MS 200T to see if they could lug one. Even if they couldn't manage a chainsaw, I want one to set my lines, deadwood trees and bring me refreshments while I am climbing.

[MasterBlaster]

I bet they could be trained to operate a handsaw.

[Stumper]

I used to think that slim, wirey, strong, but lightweight was best-little tough guys. I thought that because the best climbers I had ever seen were built that way. My horizons have expanded. I've seen excellent climbing from several different builds so I no longer think it comes down to one bets build.

[GASoline71]

6' 5"... 235 lbs.

Guess I qualify for knuckle dragger...

:lol:

Gary

[gf beranek]

Willie, Straun smoked everybody at the last comp.

[Tom_Scheller]

I used to think that slim, wirey, strong, but lightweight was best-little tough guys.

If I was 15% slimmer, wirier, stronger, and lighter I would a 100% better climber. Of that, I am 97% certain, but only because it's Sunday.

TS

[sotc]

Willie, Straun smoked everybody at the last comp.

where was that? hes a cool guy to hang with, gave me pointers while we watched other competitors

[Bodean]

I've always thought I was too small.

I'm crafty and strong in the tree,
but on the ground gravity seems to superceede.

[stehansen]

There is a paragraph on this very subject on page XXVI in The Fundamentals of General Tree Work.

[TreeRhino]

6'3" around 240. I'd say i'm a better than average work climber. I probably couldn't stand up to a lot of the guys who compete, but in a work situation, I'd say I could hold my own. Losing about 15-20 pounds would probably do me well, but I make up for my bulk by being smart and efficient. In the end, i think the key to working a tree, not just climbing it, is your technique and how you use your strengths to be efficient. So body size doesn't matter all that much. Some guys are good climbers because of their body types, I happen to be a good climber in spite of it.

[Burnham]

I'm one of the littler guys, it seems. 5'8, 160 at the end of Sept., 165 at the end of Feb. I'd like to still be 155, but at 54 I think those days are gone:D.

I'm not fast, but I have been called efficient...if you reduce wasted motion to the absolute minimum, you can make yourself look good. The only way to do that consistently is by thinking before you move...not sit and think, just anticipate what the consequences of a manuever are and plan accordingly, all in a smooth unhurried fashion.

[Skwerl]

Absolutely, Burnham. And the longer we do it, the more natural it is to see our route. I really like what Darin said about climbing with your mind and your body is but an instrument.

The sad day is when our bodies can no longer perform what our minds can conceive. :whine:

[No_Bivy]

never...Fred Beckey, 84 still climbin'. You climb till your done...you'll know when.
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[Blinky]

I'm with Burnham... slow but deliberate, I screw up when I try to go fast. 6'-1" 190#... reaching is easy but high stepping isn't... my balance definitely ain't what it used to be. ...and I'll never quit as long as I can still move.

[Wagnaw]

185 and 6'1" here... I'd say being 22 has something to do it, but No Bivy beat me in the 50 ft footlock.

[No_Bivy]

and you are saying "that old fat man can still kick my ass"?:lol:

If I could give up Ice cream, chocalate and beer......I could drop a few pounds.:/:

[MasterBlaster]

I can't touch ice cream with a ten foot pole! :\:

[Stumper]

I can't touch ice cream with a ten foot pole! :\:

You definitely have underdeveloped polesaw skills.

[Bodean]

I'm about 5'11" and 160-165.

Planning ahead and running the tree like a chess board,
keeps me looking good with lots of brush on the ground in a sensible manner.

I hope to make it til I choose not to climb.

[Dom]

This has always interested me, as I'm only 5'3"ish and around 120lbs if not lighter. I've never had any problems being a shortarse and climbing, occasionally it would be nice to have a little extra reach, but i'd say the benefits of being small and light far outweigh any disadvantages.
I'm strong and fit and perfectly happy lugging big saws around, the only problem I've found is that spikes are a little too long for my legs, and that when i'm chogging down a stem with a big saw I find there often isnt enough space between my chest and the tree to get the chainsaw engine in comfortably.

[The Branch Doctor]

You definitely have underdeveloped polesaw skills.

:lol::lol: