Foot plates for spikes... WTB

emr

Cheesehead Treehouser
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
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Location
Neenah, Wisconsin
Does anyone have a set of foot plates they want to sell? I know they don't have the best reputation in the world but I want to give them a try. With my foot pain getting worse by the day and 3 weeks of removals upcoming, I need to anything to help make it through the day. If you have a set, pm me with what you are looking to get for them. Thanks.
 
Eric, for the moment, at least, you can try to cut out some plywood for the top and bottom of the stirrup, with a spacer the thickness of the stirrup. Screw it all together. Voila. At least a temporary trial fix. See if you like them. You can also put a block on top of the upper plywood above the shank to hold the set-up in place against the heel of your boot.

I heard from a guy that did this and he liked it. He just took some new, scrap plywood periodically and made more, every few months.


You could use a piece of sheet metal as well for the top to reduce the added height above the stirrup, especially if it puts your ankle bone in the wrong position in relation to the shank. My supervisor at Parks has this complaint about them.

I've worn the metal ones with light hiker shoes, and they were okay, though I don't care for those spurs overall, so I wouldn't rule them out or call them great, either.
 
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  • #3
Good advice. I was at the foot doc again today and the only advice she gave me was to get boots with thick soles. She must know feet, but she doesn't know crap about tree climbing or spikes.
 
Eric do you climb SRT or Ddrt? I am making the transition to SRT,and pretty rapidly at that, so I have been leaving the spikes on the ground for some of my removals. I think that with less effort using Srt, at least for me, I can spend a little more energy actually climbing the tree. It has worked pretty well so far. Don't get me wrong, spikes for removals are very comforting and help the job get done quickly. My 2 cents.
 
Haven't tried it yet but I have them packed for next long day on the iron.
I removed the stainless steel foot plate from an old pair of work boots
and will insert them under the insole of my climbing boots.
Should work well to dissipate the pressure.
 
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Ddrt here. I am kind of stuck in a rut with regards to new climbing techniques. I just don't have the time or energy to make the switch right now. Not to mention I am not sold on the wrench. I will wait until a better method comes along.......... hopefully that day comes soon.
 
Wrench is pretty sweet. SRT is pretty sweet. You'll like it when you try it. No isolating required.

How about using the Secret Weapon technique for DdRT off of a SRt access line, if you like to/ stuck on DdRT?

Hitch hiker is pretty sweet, too.

I'm at a toss up on the two. Both are much easier than DdRT, but I understand you gotta have the time to learn to save a lot of time and effort.
 
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I think once the HH is out I will find the time to learn. I do like SRT to ascend and have done that for years. I just really like the looks of the HH so I will wait. Am I under estimating the use of SRT for spineless removals?
 
Probably depends on the tree and the foot pain you're having. Most removals, I'll wear spurs, but I can even do it with light hikers if its a fast removal. Long time in spurs and I"ll wear boots. Are you doing your removals with an adjustable false crotch where you can rest on your climbline anywhere you want while waiting on ground ops without recrotching above you?





You can make a wooden wrench. Have you seen that? Cheap and easy.
 
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I would even dream of doing a removal on spikes without an adjustable false crotch of some type.

Wooden Wrench.... thought of trying that but just haven't tried it yet. I kind of like the F8 Revolver but it's not smooth enough for me. I really think that my weight is an issue with lots of these SRT gizmos. Most of you climbers weigh a fraction of what I do and I think that extra weight makes the hitches preform differently than you skinny climbers.
 
In addition to inheriting my father flat feet years of working off of rung ladders in addition to some climbimg with hooks left me in pain .

Back in the day I used very good linemens boots .Lace to the toe Redwings .They helped but the biggest help was steel orthodics in the shoes .Even 30 years ago they were 300 bucks but they do help a lot .Birds are made to perch on a limb ,people are not .
 
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New boots are in my very near future and my orthotics were ordered Thursday but take several weeks to arrive. I have some big removals scheduled before the orthotics will be in and I guess it takes a while for the orthotics to work so I want something for the mean time.

I am not sure about learning a new SRT technique on these trees. That would go against the "low and slow" theory. Once I get home I am going to open up a pair of my old boots and see if I can make a pair of foot plates from the metal shank. I like the wood idea too. If those don't work, I will order a set of foot plates.
 
Way back the orthadonist made me up some soft type insoles of which he slowly added elevation to before making the metal ones .It really didn't take that long to get used to them .

Now of days because I seldom work off of ladders and never from hooks a pair of leather "Sketcher " sneakers works as good as anything .However if for some reason seldom as it is I have to climb the Red Wings are close at hand .Actually about the only thing that gets tired any more is my butt from spending a lot of time on it .:)
 
I would even dream of doing a removal on spikes without an adjustable false crotch of some type.

Wooden Wrench.... thought of trying that but just haven't tried it yet. I kind of like the F8 Revolver but it's not smooth enough for me. I really think that my weight is an issue with lots of these SRT gizmos. Most of you climbers weigh a fraction of what I do and I think that extra weight makes the hitches preform differently than you skinny climbers.


Erik, what what that first part. Are you saying you would or wouldn't? For me, most removals are from the bottom up, as most are conifers. Without a choked SRT line or AFC and DdRT or constantly recrotching, I would be unable to rest on my climbline...well that is to say, its easiest for me to choke the climbline as I go for the most part...and ultimately, I'm asking if you stand in your spurs all during the removal or rest on your rope periodically.

The F8 was a good step forward, but can't compare to the RW or HH.


Does weight matter, or are you just figuring that it does? Can't the wooden RW just be drilled to give more friction. The metal one can be adjusted.

I don't know what you weigh, Erik, but I'm about 195 without gear. Works fine for me, and I'm not flyweight, nor heavyweight.
 
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Stupid phone. That was supposed to say that I wouldn't dream of doing a removal without an adjustable FC.

I am guessing weight factors in. I go 250 with gear and i can't get SRT tools to work for me. Just ascenders.
 
You mentioned F8 revolver. What else have you tried? Did you tweak you hitch? try different ones?


I had to try many different incarnations of the distel that I used on DdRT for SRT w/ HH.

People suggested an extra wrap on a Blake's hitch for my supervisor who goes about 240.

Maybe different hitches and variations. Seems like a wooden RW would allow tweaking based on angle and width of the hole.
 
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I have tried every single different combo that I can think of. I used 4 different hitch cords with countless different hitch combinations. I was very frustrated and that's when I kind of gave up on the SRT thing. I guess I haven't been totally defeated because I am still open to trying it, just with a different system.
 
Did you try different metal friction components? Some people use a single, large chain link and 'biner. I've used the small end of my F8, as well as the big end. Maybe two 'biners on the F8, or a ring and 'biners.

In any case, the RW and HH that work up and down are much better than the F8 revolver/ F8 regular biner methods. The $5 hickory hammer handle from Home Depot gives you a solid stick to work with that doesn't seem prone to splitting, and should be customizable to some degree based on the hole's angle and width, and the handle length will play into its action some, but not likely its overall friction/ weight absorbing potential, to my way of thinking.
 
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The funny thing is that I started using a chain link with a biners years ago..... long before the F8Revolver ever came around. I guess that's an old caver or rock climbing trick. It works great for descending, better than any other descended IMO. I always backed it up with some type of friction hitch. And I have tried a couple of different variations of f8's, biners, etc but still couldn't get anything dialed in. See why I got frustrated?

I do appreciate the suggestions and i hope I am not coming across as a whiny beotch.
 
Erik, what what that first part. Are you saying you would or wouldn't? For me, most removals are from the bottom up, as most are conifers. Without a choked SRT line or AFC and DdRT or constantly recrotching, I would be unable to rest on my climbline...well that is to say, its easiest for me to choke the climbline as I go for the most part...and ultimately, I'm asking if you stand in your spurs all during the removal or rest on your rope periodically.

The F8 was a good step forward, but can't compare to the RW or HH.


Does weight matter, or are you just figuring that it does? Can't the wooden RW just be drilled to give more friction. The metal one can be adjusted.

I don't know what you weigh, Erik, but I'm about 195 without gear. Works fine for me, and I'm not flyweight, nor heavyweight.

I agree, Sean, most removals are bottom-up. I frequently do take-downs standing in the hooks the entire time, other than occasionally standing on a limb to take pressure off the stirrup. I'm somewhat flat-footed, and sometimes my arches hurt, but I can live with it. If someone had some foot plates on the job, I'd give them a try, but I wouldn't order a set just to try them.
 
Are you guys using lineman's boots?

Since I got my custom Wescos, standing in spikes all day doesn't bother my feet at all.
Kills my knees, but that is another story.
 
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