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Remember when you were a kid and you would see the telephone man or the electrical lineman climb up the telephone pole like he was a super hero of some kind. Remember how cool you thought that would be. Well, now you find yourself needing to be the super hero, you find you have to be able to climb the pole or scurry up the tree. But now you know it is not done with super hero powers, it is done with tree climbing spikes.

And since you will be the one now doing the climbing, you need to know exactly what to look for. There are a couple of things you will need to consider when you set out to buy your tree climbing spikes. First, just what are you going to be climbing. Will it be power or telephone poles, or will it be trees?

This is an important question, because tree climbing spikes come in short spikes,and long spikes, and each have a purpose. That purpose is to climb a particular type of obstacle, and you want to be sure you have the correct spike when you go climbing.

If you are going to be climbing power or telephone poles, you will probably want to chose the shorter spike. They are designed for climbing a smoother surface. A surface, like a power pole, that is smooth and without the bark and branches a tree has.

They are also good for climbing trees with softer, smoother bark on them. They are also geared more for the climber that is not spending a great deal of time aloft. Shorter trips and working times are better for these short spikes, as well as the surface that you are climbing.

Now, if you are going for longer work time or you are tacking jobs in trees with thick bark or lots of limbs, you will want to go for the long spikes.

The longer spikes allow you to climb where bark is thicker, and the longer spikes allow you better bite and leverage when working aloft. The deeper bite also allows you to be more stable for a longer, safer work period aloft.

But wither you are climbing poles or trees, you will need to be sure you have quality, well made tree climbing spikes, and that your pads and straps are all in tip top condition at all times. After all, you want a safe climb up that tree or pole, and you want a safe climb down that tree or pole. And you want to come down when you decide to.

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Lineman boots are especially made for the ruggedness needed for lineman, cable installers, utility installers, arborists and tree service workers.  Of course you don’t have to fall into one of these categories to meet the criteria of wearing a pair.  Many others such as motorcyclists have found that they much prefer the look and feel of a lineman boot as opposed to any other regular boot.  When climbing a pole or tree, the demands can be tremendous on the feet.  Especially when you are required to be on the job for long periods of time.  A normal boot sole can flex and cause unwanted stress to the climber’s foot.  The lineman boot has several features that make this the “right fit” for the climber.

1. The quality of the leather is usually top notch and full cowhide thickness.  The leather hasn’t been spliced down or split.  It is typically 7 oz instead of the usual 3 to 4 oz of a regular work boot.  The leather is usually oil tanned, which makes them very water resistant.
2. They have double or extra strength steel plates or shanks in the sole that provide the support under the arch of the foot so that when standing on a ladder, pole rung, or climbing spike (gaff), the boot doesn’t flex.  This allows your whole weight to be supported on even a small 1-inch long rung, and not feet it digging into your foot.
3. There is also a heel breastplate that keeps the climbing gear from eating down and wearing away the leather of the heel.
4. The boots can be found in a variety of available heights.  They can range from 10-inches to 38-inches.  They usually lace up from the bottom near the toes then up to the top of the boot in the traditional criss-cross pattern.
5. The leather side patches on the boot protect the boot and leg from abrasion.

Of course each brand had their own features and differences to the items listed above, as well as their own.  Many have a false leather tongue or kilty.  This was originally incorporated into the boot to provide extra padding between the bootlaces and the instep of the foot.  It became a needed accessory to protect the wear on thin leather from abrasion of the laces.  Today is usually seen as a small strip of leather with a serrated edge with is usually held in place by the bootlace as it is laces through the first eyelets.  Although it really isn’t usually needed for its originally intended purpose, many like the look.  Whether you choose to use the kilty is entirely up to the wearer.

Other features available with lineman boots include:

1. Steel side plate  which further protects the climber from the pole, tree, and/or climbing iron.
2. A leather half slip insole that provides added support to the foot arch.
3. Steel toes which protect the toes from falling objects.
4. Lace to toe or regular toe.
5. Insulated boot lining for cold winter weather.
6. Lace eyelets that come in either silver, nickel or black color.
7. Laces can be found in almost any color, but the traditional colors are tan or black.
8. The stitching color can add a unique look and are commonly available in black, brown, yellow or khaki.
9. Vibram lug soles, or other sole patters (such as claw lug) that are made for wet and slippery outdoor conditions.

There are several fabricators of lineman boots.  A few of them are listed here:

• West Coast Shoe Company (Wesco)
• Viberg boot Manufacturing LTD.
• White’s Boots
• Hoffman Boots
• Nick’s Boots

Whether you need a quality boot for servicing phone, electrical or cable lines, climb tree, or just prefer the look and feel you can’t go wrong with lineman boots.  The boot should be considered a necessary tool of the job.  A lineman boot can aid you in completing your job effectively, safely, and comfortably.

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Safety is an important part of tree climbing gear, and can’t be stressed enough.  Once you have experienced being that high in the air and looked down, you will probably agree.  A tree climbing harness can be your friend.  The time may come that the tree climbing harness is the only thing that stands between you and a very long drop to the ground below.

The harness can consist of several different options depending on the type.  The main component that is easily recognized is the actual jacket that is wrapped around the waist, chest, hips and shoulders.  Having several places that the harness is strapped to provides added protection and comfort.  The idea is to have the ability to climb and move uninhibited.  If you are looking to purchase a tree climbing harness this is the first thing you should look for.

Obviously the material of the harness or jacket needs to be strong as well as comfortable.  Look for a harness that has been tested to either the Union Internationale des Associations d’Alpinisme (UIAA 105) or the European Committee for Standardization (EN 1277).  These are organizations that have a stardard set of testing proceedures that ensure the quility and safety of the product.  Most harnesses have been engineered and tested for a large factor of safety.  In other words the harness is not going to fail from the forces that it will experience from you using it.  Check that the straps do not stretch.  The rigidity will provide the strength, and the cloth will provide the comfort.   Look for good padding around the waist belt, leg, and shoulder sections.  These will add comfort and help you feel secure and snug.  The stitching in the equipment should be solid and strong.

There are several different types of harnesses.  Here are a few of them:

Sit Harness

The sit harness consists of a belt around the waist connected to a loop for each leg.  These are very common and are used for many different sports/activities.  Each of these has slightly different features for each activity such as gym use, traditional, ice climbing, and mountaineering.  Adjustments are made at the waist and leg straps.  These can tend to be slightly uncomfortable in the groin area.

Some brands of sit harnesses include:

Black Diamond
C.A.M.P. USA
Mammut
Metolius
Petzl

Chest Harness

The chest harness is made to accompany the sit harness.  As suggested by the name, it straps around the shoulders and chest area.  By adding the chest harness, the climbers weight is distributed to both the upper and lower body, and can relieve some of the tightness of the sit harness.

Brands of chest harnesses include:

Voltige
Conterra

Full Body Harness

The full body harness is a connected sit and chest harness.  It is a single harness that provides suppoort at both the hips and chest.  This can be a very comfortable tree climbing harness.  Many different webbing and wrapping options are available.

Brands of full body harnesses include:

Protecta
Safewaze
Falltech
Ameristep
DBI/SALA
Elk River
Miller

Tree climbing is done for many reasons.  Be it related to recreation, work, or other, you’ll be glad to have a good harness with you to protect you from falls.

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The following is an excerpt from Richard Preston’s New Yourk Times Bestseller “The Wild Trees: What If the Last Wilderness Is Above Our Heads?”:

Professional loggers had long been climbing up the trunks of redwoods, Douglas-firs, and other tall conifers.  They were called high climbers, and they had mastered a technique known as spur climbing.  It works like this.  The climber wears boots that have long steel spikes – climbing spurs- attached to them.  he wraps a stiff, heavy rope known as a flipline around the trunk of a tree, holds each end of the flipline, plants his spurs in the tree, and braces himself against the flipline.  Then he walks up the tree with his spurs, flipping the rope upward along the trunk as he climbs.  utility workers also use this technique to climb up telephone poles.

When a high climber has spur-climbed up a redwood to around ninety feet above the ground, he wraps a steel cable around the trunk of the tree.  After the climber sets the cable, he descends to the ground, walking down the tree using his spikes.  A logging crew then cuts a notch in the tree at its base with chainsaws.  A truck with a winch pulls the cable, and this, together with the notch, directs the tree’s fall in the desired direction.

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The following is an excerpt from Richard Preston’s New York Times Bestseller, “The Wild Trees”:

Arborist-style climbing is all about ropes and knots.  Climbers get around in trees by tossing the end of a rope over an anchor point-a strong branch or a V-shaped crotch.  Once you get the rope passed over an anchor point, you have to get the end of it back to you.  This is often difficult to do, and there are various tricks for retrieving the end of a rope that’s a distance away from the climber.  When you do get the end back, the rope is formed into a long loop, or noose, over the anchor point, and the noose is tied with a sliding knot.  The sliding knot looks a little bit like a hangman’s knot, though it functions in a different way.  By sliding the knot, a tree climber can shorten or lengthen the loop of rope over the anchor point, thereby moving upward or downward.  A climber can also lock the sliding knot and hang motionless.

The loop of rope is attached to the climber’s saddle (harness) with a carabiner, a stron clip made of aluminum mor steel.  A tree-climbing saddle looks something like a rock-climbing harness, except that it’s thicker and has more padding, and typically has all sorts of tool pouches and devices attached to it-special gadgets that are helpful for getting around in trees.

Wearing a saddle and suspended from the loop of rope, you can turn your body horizontally and plant your feet on the tree and walk up the trunk.  This is called trunkwalking.  You can kick off and swing, Tarzan-style.  You can suspend yourself in the air between two anchor point, hanging in space at the lower point of a V of ropes.  A skilled tree climber can travel horizontally or at diagonals through the crown of a tree while he’s hanging in midair, and not even touch the tree with his body.  This is called skywalking.

Tree climbers who are engaged in arborist-style climbing often walk lightly along branches, keeping most of their weight suspended on the loops of rope and very little weight on the branch.  They call this branchwalking.  A skilled tree climber can branchwalk along a branch that’s no thicker than a gardening stake without breaking the branch.  A tree climber can turn sideways or even upside down in the air, hanging from ropes-that later move is called doing a bat hang.  Tree climbing in the arborist style can be a kind of aerial ballet.  It is a slow ballet, to be sure, for tree climbing never goes rapidly, except in an emergency.

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