what shoes for spikeless climbing

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Hello, I've been spikeless climbing for while now and noticed that the kind of shoes I have on can make a huge difference, grip, in walking limbs....etc. So what are you spikeless climbers wearing in the way of shoes? Does anyone make a shoe specific to the task?

Therrin

you mean you dont spikeless climb barefoot???

Garry Brockley

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Eric Frei

Heck, you can do anything barefoot, this was the real crocodile Hunter before Steve Irwin stole the lime light, however now that Steve's gone the Airlie Beach Barefoot Bushman is back BIG TIME.

Get ya boots off!

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Therrin

Gunslinger

Somehow I don't think that he meant barefoot.

Eric Frei

Oh really, thanks, I was mislead by Therrin.

I wear the same boots as when I have spikes on, except the spikes are off. However, I dont do a lot of pruning.

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got my answers , thanks.

Ekka, what are you fishing for ? It's all in black and white, the guy simply has a crock on for me. But that's ok.

OK, so I've found that soft rubber soles with a agressive tread patterns are much better than standard boots.

Also I think a SLIGHTLY concave sole would be a nice feature to add to increase even more stability in limb walking.

I did a search for for shoes specific to the task and nothing is out there as far as i know, ergo my question.

Thanks Gunslinger for making a good point.

Therrin

I wish we had a crock icon...


Like Ekka, I use the same boots that I use when using spikes.

But if memory serves me right (sometimes it does, its rare though) we have another thread about this floating around here somewhere.

Apparently there are some other shoes the guys like, I think.

Gunslinger

You're correct, there was this recent thread about footlocking boots:

Footlocking Boots

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Thanks, footlock method is not an issue for me since I don't employ it. That's a young guy thing imo. I'm a tad old and weak knee'd.
In the thread you linked, that I did glance at before making this post it mentioned merril brand shoes. Surprizing enough, this is the brand I have, and like the best so far. The Tread is right on track for limb limb walking yet I do feel it could be improved on. My merrills are slip-ons.....don't like that so much.
Their made like a standard shoe cut below the angle, basically a good grade rubber boot with swede aplied to it. When I first got this shoes years ago I stopped wearing them because they were so noisy. Reason being they squeaked loudly on flooring especially when wet.
I accidently discovered how well they function for climbing one day when free climbing a small pine. No doubt they provide a much securer point of contact than any other shoe I've worn and are far less damaging to the bark.
The tread of these shoes are so much better than my redwings, or carolinas,........no comparison.....night and day. Now if someone can put them on a good boot and make some subtle improvements we'd have a killer boot for spikless climbers.

That said I'm going to see if merrill has this same tread on a chukka style boot. If anyone would like to see a pic of my merrills let me know and I'll post some.

Ok did some checking and Merrill does have a good selection of chukkas with various tread styles. My merrills are probably 8 yrs old so and they do still sell them but the tread and style is different to some degree, and perhaps even the kind of rubber used.....not certain that though.

I'm a little surprized that as far as I can tell no one has a boot designed specifically for pruning/spikeless climbing. Seems to me there is a market for such a boot, judging from the advantages and benifits to both climber and tree.

Therrin

When you mentioned "curved sole" for branchwalking, this was the first thing that came to mind. Dont know how they'd work on tree's though.

Rock climbing shoes. Made with special compounds of rubber that stick well to rock surfaces and are designed for a close-fit which affords you extra sensitivity and feeling.
(warning, not chainsaw proof )

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stihlrockin200t

ok heres the anser that you need that nobody obviosly knows or their just pullin a leg or 2. there are boots that are desinged for climbing that have little spikes on the toes called calks to give traction when limbwalking. they do no real damage to the tree. they also work good for climbing with spurs as they are almost knee high and give extra padding on the leg for the straps and the heel is raised so the shank on the spurs fit perfectly and does not slip. you have to look around for them. wespur has a couple pairs of boots made by wesco for climbing and logging.

Therrin

I thought he meant just shoes/boots for treeclimbing/positioning that are more sensitive and flexible than full-on work boots. But maybe I was confused.

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Thanks, Actually when I said "slightly concave", I had the curve in mind to be in the sole, in so that the outer most edges of the sole contacted a flat surface first initially, but I don't know the first thing about designing a shoe or tread. All I can do give my input from what experience I have with a particular product. I'd would like to be a beta tester though...lol.
Send me those shoes and I'll give you a review...lol. kidding aside I would think a chukka for added ankle support would be a must. Who knows what could evolve eventually if manufactures started making these boots. Perhaps this has been considered and manufactures feel the demand isn't big enough to warrant the research and cost of the product.

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thanks vibram soles are good however I would tend to go along with what Therrin said noted, just not sensitive enough for my style of movement...IMO for spikeless work/pruning......just my humble opinion mind you..., hard to explain. Thanks for the input reguardless of my opinion.
Now for spur climbing I would agree if I could afford those boots
I got some 16" Carolina's for spur climbing. Maybe if I where a logger I'd get some of the wesco's. But I'm not.....just a part time tree guy, lightduty,pruning...etc

Therrin

I've spent several hours straight on a rockface wearing rock-climbing shoes. 5 hrs or so. Some of the guys in here I thougth had mentioned doing multi-day climbs on another thread.

You'd think that with all the crazy positions we use doing that, without needing ankle support, that they might work.

But... I really dont know. And yeah, they dont offer much protection. Cant remember the last time I even came close to my feet with a saw while up in a tree though. (on the GROUND is a diff't story). Maybe its more of a problem for shorter guys


(we've seen folks razzed pretty bad on here for using other specific-rock-use gear in trees; like the guy who thought ice-axes worked good for climbing trees , I think he wiped out some power lines)

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yeah, I saw that on youtube(guy climbing with ice axe) rekon he was getting ready to prune that tree?....lol..... looked like bad joke.
I'll prolly get the merrill chukkas with a tread pattern close to what my other pair has. Maybe find a local store to get a hands-on look and feel.

I was thinking the ankle support of the chukka could help prevent or minimize damage by a possible slip with one foot hung in a narrow crotch or something along that line. These shoes would be specific for pruning the tips of limbs so a chainsaw would not be a threat, just my silky sugoi. I like pruning and working light. If I were doing a removal or dropping limbs over 4" or so I would have my carolina's on. More often than not climbing with to much gear can be a hazard to IMO. I don't have much time in spikes and haven't developed much trust in them as of yet. I still need to get caddy's for them. All I have are the leather tee pads right now and after about 30 minutes or so it's just to much pain and aggravation to put up with.
Once I get the caddy's, i should be fine.

kiwi_tree_steve

Uncle Chop Chop reckons you should harden the F@#K up!

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"You have to feel and touch a tree" Shigo

MTS247

Chainsaw pants help and 2 pairs of thick socks can help the foot pain

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"Just cause i don't use it, don't make it wrong!"

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Why thanks Uncle chopper....I'll keep that in mind

Cole

hey steve i climb mostly without spikes, the boots i use for climbing are the salomon cosmic there really good grip but they wear out if your dragging branches on driveways etc aquafell xpert is also a good boot

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Now that's what I'm talkin bout. Glad you showed up Cole...I'm on it...Thanks!

Wow......expensive devils...they are.....gulp

Checked out the "let's see your boots" Therrin......Hey....get some new boots man .....I almost cried.....lol
Hell this profession is a money pit if I ever saw one..geeze 3000 and still need more crap..lol

Therrin

No joke... my first set of spikes I had for 2 or 3 years with those damn little L-shaped leather things. Used to rub my ankles raw and bloody after 5-7 hrs in a day wearing them. Ended up taking fluffy hand towels and wrapping my ankles in those first.

Love my padded bucks =) comfy as hell.

Check out the "Lets see your boots!" thread... looks like there's some comfy ones on there so far.

kiwi_tree_steve

mate ive got scars on BOTH inner ankle's from those SOBS + extra large Lombardy popler!

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"You have to feel and touch a tree" Shigo

stirmantrees

actually very good in the tree but definitely not steel toed. good for all the various positioning necessary for pruning trees without spikes. they feel very constricting after a while and i have not used my pair for a while. got some mountaineering/cross country boots now.
i have friend trying to develop an osha approved model

kiwi_tree_steve

Cant believe that, the Cambium is just under the bark.....

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"You have to feel and touch a tree" Shigo

Martin

I use a pair of my scrambling approach shoes when cimbing spurless. They aren't proper steel toed work boots by any means but the sole rubber to look for is Stealth rubber. It is made by 5.10 for rock climbing. I own 510 shoes for rock climbing and they are the stickiest out there. About 8 years ago I got apair of 510 approach shoes and they took me everywhere wet or dry. More recently I think they stopped making those but I found a pair of Vasque shoes that have the Stealth rubber and started using those up the tree when doing spurless. They wouldn't be quite as good as wearing a pair of caulk boots but if your climbing spurless especially in some torquey positions (limbwalking etc.) I think caulks would defeat the purpose, they could slip and would then damage the tree. Anyways they work great except for all the sawdust down my shoes! Cheers

Therrin

There ya have it folks, unless you're gonna take the whole thing down, just say no to caulks.

He's saying that anything spiky that would pierce the bark enough to give you stability would also damage the cambium.

stihlrockin200t

so what are you saying?