It’s been 17 years since I first strapped on this Buckingham climbing belt and began learning to climb power poles. Damn, this belt sure has lasted. Thrown in the snow and mud, left in the back of trucks to get rain and snowed on. Not to mention the countless hours of working in it and the amount of sweat this thing has soaked up. A mind blowing amount of hours have been spent with this belt strapped around my waist building and maintaining the power grid. My life depends on this belt and that’s why it’s finally time to get a new one.
As an apprentice we weren’t allowed to use a bucket truck, we had to climb everything. Often times I would spend 6-8 hours a day with this belt around my waist with my climbing hooks dug into the pole. Up and down 75-80 foot poles day after day. Those were the fun days believe it or not… Well I do have to confess hanging from a 60 foot rope below a helicopter was definitely my favorite.
Yes, this is me, I still have my fly gear in the garage in my tool bag. Maybe I will show you all the fly harness sometime
From 70,000 volt transmission wire pulling jobs during a fire in Chico, Ca…
I’m sitting on a 2x8 that straps to the pole called a diving board. I am 8 feet off the pole sitting on my ass working. I’m the one on the upper right
To walking through knee deep water during a flood to repair broken wire here in Washington
This belt has been places and kept me safe for many years
The time has come to retire climbing companion of mine. “Throw it away!!” HELL TO THE NO!! I’m gonna take this thing to a saddle shop and have them fix it, then it will be back in action.
I watched as stitches kept getting worn off. Granted it doesn’t seem like it effects the overall structure of the belt but it’s my life we are talking here.
This climbing belt is called a “full float”. Meaning there is a belt that actually contacts your waist then on the outside of that there is another belt that is able to slide from side to side. This is what my skid attaches to. The skid is that “strap” that goes around the pole. The skid has a red internal that indicates when it is worn out. If it’s red… you’re dead
The full float belt allows a lineman to shift their hips and transfer weight to each foot without having to slide the skid around the pole. Hands free. If I shift to the left, my weight goes on my left foot and my right foot acts as a stabilizer. Sometimes the right foot will come completely out of the pole so I can reach farther. The floating part of the belt slides about 6 inches from center to each side.
The leather is starting to crack, (due to poor maintenance) and my tool loop that holds my hammer is ripping and the loops are really stretched out. My new Milwaukee lineman wrench almost falls through it due to it being less bulky as the original Lineman wrench.
I am one that replaces my tools with my money. My current company has a tool replacement policy which is awesome!! Now I don’t use it for my hand tools in my tool belt or bucket. Those are MINE!! Yet when it comes to safety stuff like climbing gaffs, climbing belt, skid, or aerial harness… they are paying. :wink:wink. Some companies even have a leather allowance in order to buy boots and gloves. We don’t but we get a choice of 2 winter gloves and 3 regular gloves. From what I gathered the “leather allowance” ain’t enough to get the good stuff like these La Sportiva Nepal EVO Gor-Tex, along with gloves to last you a whole year… but it’s still available. Plus they only give you certain choices of boots and gloves. I had to have these La Sportivas shipped from France and it only took 4 days to get to Washington state. Because I didn’t want them in frikken yellow. Impressive!!
Anyway back to the belt… My new belt came in after about a month. They are built when you order them. I ordered the same belt I had but in black. I did notice that Buckingham has shortened their name. Now all their stuff just says Buck. Short and sweet. I was really surprised at how soft the leather was in this new belt. My original belt took a lot of oil to get it to soften it up and make it more flexible. The oil helps the tool pouch and tool holders stretch a little bit in order for the tools to form the leather around them quicker. This hood them in place when maneuvering around the pole. So I am gonna throw a few coats of oil on this bad boy this weekend and get it ready for the work week. I will be ditching my bucket truck and slapping on the hooks more often to break this new belt in.
I really hate putting my old belt on the “injured reserve” list but there comes a time when it needs to happen. There is a saddle shop just south of me in Oregon that will be able to freshen this old girl up. I am also tempted to send it to Buckingham themselves to make sure it is done right and inspected properly. I’m gonna give them a call and send some emails about the damage and see what the damages are to my wallet. My old belt isn’t going in the trash, just like my first pair of Wesco Lineman boots… they are still in the garage. Damn I’m weird! I still have the very first pair of Lineman pliers in my tool chest in the garage. I retired them from the field 1 year ago. Maybe I should get them gold plated??? LOL. Lineman are weird is what I’m getting at… or maybe it’s just me???
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