Pro tip: check your climbing spikes before you load up

I had a set of spikes that I have been using for about 4 years now. Last Tuesday I was on a big white oak removal in a tight backyard. Got about 30 feet up and my left gaff slipped right off the tree. Turns out the bolt holding the gaff to the shank had loosened up over time and I never noticed. I came down slow and careful but it scared me pretty good. Now I check every bolt on my spikes before I even put them on. Has anyone else had a close call because of gear that just wore out slowly over time?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_julia1mo ago

You're making it sound like your spikes almost murdered you lol. It's a bolt that came loose, not a catastrophic failure. I've been climbing for years and I've never had a bolt just fall out like that without me being able to feel it first. Sounds more like you just didn't notice it was wiggling around before you got up there. A quick hand check before you start climbing would have caught it. People act like their gear is trying to kill them when really they just need to do a basic pre climb check. It's not that deep.

juliawalker1mo ago

Wait you've never had a bolt just fall out on you? @the_julia I feel like that's kind of wild to say never. Maybe I just have bad luck but I swear things go wrong even when you check them sometimes.