Shoes

sounds good but where to get leather in NJ... why can't foot ascenders be more comfy or footlocking extremely energy efficient

roth_wyatt wrote: sounds good but where to get leather in NJ... why can't foot ascenders be more comfy or footlocking extremely energy efficient

There's probably a Michael's craft store within 10 miles or less of where you live in New Jersey. I picked up a bag of leather scraps for about 6 bucks at a Michael's near where I live. They sell bags of random size and thickness scraps, just look through the different bags to find stuff that would work if you wanted to try it.
-AJ

I've been wearing 5.10 camp 4 approach shoes for the last two years and love em.
When these ones wear out I will replace them with the guide model, so my pantin does not slip up over the heel
They're great for a long walk in and stick to bark real well, non aggressive sole so less damage the tree.
If you choose to footlock ( why people still do this I don't know) they work well, slings are no problem either.

I'll tell you why people like me still foot lock. We can't see shelling out the cash for an extra piece of gear that needs lugged around and maintained. We are process driven folk who like to have a skill set in place for when the gadgets aren't available. Nothing against foot ascenders. I have used one once. But for my taste it seems like cheating. Plus I am climbing for fun now and not production. Speed is not of the essense. There. Stepping down off my soap box.

Haha, I footlock with my left foot and use a Pantin on the right foot. Keeps my gear set minimal for SRT and I get to use both feet on the rope at the same time.

I use footlocking quite a bit in my climbing but the Pantin is always on my right foot, it's difficult to climb DRT with an eye-2-eye split tail without a foot ascender.
-AJ

I came up with a solution to keep the back strap from digging in to my Achilles tendon, as pictured here. You want to keep that pantin snug up to your ankle, not below, and not up to your shin either! The Asolo Restins have been working out nicely for me. It's a little too low in the picture and I've since adjusted it.

2chops wrote: I'll tell you why people like me still foot lock. We can't see shelling out the cash for an extra piece of gear that needs lugged around and maintained. We are process driven folk who like to have a skill set in place for when the gadgets aren't available. Nothing against foot ascenders. I have used one once. But for my taste it seems like cheating. Plus I am climbing for fun now and not production. Speed is not of the essense. There. Stepping down off my soap box.

I'm a cheater and I love it.

Whatever you do, if you've got two legs, use 'em!