Here's to beating a dead horse again...Having free climbed with both a phone contractor and two cable TV companies in the past, I must say that it is my prefereed method of climbing. Not because I'm trying to be macho or 'old school' but it is and always has been most comfortable and natural to me.

I am currently in a lineman school and we learned free climbing first, then hitch hitchiking (which I've always hated) and now we're using the Buck Squeeze method. Dominion Power came to our school last week and said that they thought OSHA would mandate the Buck Squeeze system for EVERYONE in early 2009. So like it or not, it's coming.

Buck Squeeze is mandatory all through out National Grid. . . Must have 100% FALL protection on at all times ...meaning buck squeeze on bare pole, or if you past the cable phone or secondary and you won't fall more then two feet before the next obstacle catches you, the pole strap or seatbelt can be used

I had asked that question at one of my apprentice classes for cpr and the answer that my instructor gave me is that if we leave them in the trucks all of the time the hot and cold could damange the device and would not work when we really need it. I also asked why don't our GF'S have them in their trucks and he replied how hard is it to get ahold of your gf when there is not an emergency let alone a serious problem.

the company that i worked. they usually use high lifter to make the work done easily.. but sometime we use ladder for interior

What is the buck squeeze method of climbing? As a cable dawg, all I know about is free climbing and hitch hiking. Will these new laws affect phone and cable linemen for climbing as well? Or just the high climbers in power?

man one of the main reasons igot into the field was i saw those guys free climbing . i had never seen such coll stuff in my life then i got to where i could free climb no better feeling in the world!!!!!
now we've got to deal with this buck strap crap i've climbed in one no fun at all ,very time consuming hard to get around open secondary or any thing else bad idea !!!! well enough of my whinning for now .
you all stay save and enjoy it while you can

Kinda hard to picture it but the buck squeeze wraps the entire pole instead of just the back half. if you gaff out it squeezes the pole and you dont go anywhere. they suck, suck bad, suck real bad. But, if it saves someones legs, neck, back or life, then i guess it was worth it.

This post has been edited by 8buck: Dec 29 2008, 07:33 PM

Southern California Edison wanted to go to double safety and last year they said it was going to happen,but they let craft guys decide from a few choices and not many wanted that damn bucksqueeze so we voted in a adjustable rope safety and it aint the best but it is alot easier than the options.When they delivered them i asked mngmt what the rope and carabiners were rated at so i could use it for a tx sling in a pinch,they didnt find it very amusing(it could come in handy in a rigging bind).

AEP is making you climb with pole sharks or a buck squeeze...

I believe most of us that have been around for 10--20 years or more started free climbing, well I would dare say now most of us have to climb with double safety rigging today and in less then 5 years it will be law everywhere.


It's a little thing called liability on the behalf of the companies by thier insurance agents and a lack of climbing training and knowledge due to all the bucket work now. I know most of the new guys here (power, telco & cable) all seem to prefer to carry a 80lb ladder backlot instead of a set of spurs

aint that the truth... these newbies climb just enough to get through school, or not at all if directly hired....

climbin linemen are a thing of the past

 safety.bmp ( 791.07K ) Number of downloads: 69


You guys are just following us. I started this thread almost 3 yrs ago and have read all the other crap everyone has to use and I'm with you Burnitup, it could be a lot worse.
And by the way, it's good for 5000#. This is my first one and I actually used it to pull a Sheriffs car out of a ditch one day.
It has some use after all.........

Im new one here. I have been doing a First Energy school in Cleveland, Ohio. We started out with a normal safety strap and hitchhiking up. No freeclimbing, only aloud to free climb with fall arrest. Now we have the bucksqueeze. At first it was terrible, but its gotten better. You are able to climb and flip at the same time, but going over objects is another story. We have a second yellow strap for going over secondaries, etc. You are never unbelted from the pole. All in all, if it was my choice, I would use it on a bare pole. Anything else I would freeclimb if I could. Its coming guys so be ready. I just feel bad that these guys with 20 years in their hooks have to use this
contraption.

I have gone through the comments on free climbing and being safetied off at all times. I am a free climber and have been for 17 years. I first saw the Jelco Pole Chocker nine or ten years ago in Kansas City at the International Rodeo being used by a Canadian team and I was amazed to see a rodeo team competing by being safetied off at all times and doing as well as they did. Here it is ten years later that I have one on my climbing belt.

Back in November 2008 I was in Salt Lake City at a safety seminar and met the owner of the Jelco Pole Chockers. Even though the company I work for has not changed any of the climbing rules I still free climb and use the Jelco Pole Chocker as well. I have found it very usefull on ice and leaning poles. I also use the pole chocker if I am going to be on a pole for a long period of time. If and when the climbing rule changes at my company I will be ready.

The Jelco Pole Chocker is easy to use and there isn't as many adjustments as the Buck Squeeze that I have seen. I personally do not like the Buck Squeeze and will not use it. I have heard of some cut outs with the Buck Squeeze but have not heard of any cut outs on the Jelco Pole Chocker. I let the young apprentices use my Jelco Pole Chocker and they like it. I would highly recommend trying the Jelco Pole Chocker vs. the Buck Squeeze for yourself to see which one you feel stands out and is the better choice for you. By no means would I let the "Brass" choose which one I would use.

The one thing that caught my eye with Jelco Pole Chocker is the person that owns the company takes the product to the field, to the linemen in the field and talks as well as demos the product themself. how many owners do you see bring the product to the field. This is the owner not a sales rep. One thing I heard the owner say about the Pole Chocker is it was designed by a lineman made for a lineman.

I just graduated from college where we climbed without a buck squeeze. We had them there to use because most of the companies are switching over to them and asked the instructors to teach the students how to use them. I believe there is nothing wrong with saftey but what I did see was that the students that were "not comfortable" to put in nicely, climbing were scared to climb above a cross arm without the buck squeeze. It concerned mw because when we did pole top rescues these same students would only climb with the buck squeeze. It took them a long time to get up there to help. In my opinion, I believe first time climbers need to learn how to climb without the buck squeeze so they are able to gain confidence in there abilities and get comfortable in the proper work positions. I know next years class had to buy the polariat (don't know if that's the proper spelling) by bashlin. It's there version of the buck squeeze.

The old " Dope on a Rope " ,,,,,, gotta love Pg&e W.S.

I work for Xcel Energy in texas transmission dept and we just switched to the new Bashlin fall restraint which is a million times better then anything we have tried. What we do here is you cimb in it until the forman thinks your qualified to freestyle. This new one lets you climb like your freestyleing so it does not teach you any bad habbets like the bucksqueeze.

This post has been edited by Onecell: Jun 17 2009, 06:03 PM

I work for Allegheny Power (soon to be First Energy). We went to the Buck squeeze last year. Like others have said it is very time consuming, frustrating and difficult to master, IMO. Watch someone free climb a 3 phase pole and watch the conductor swing. Then watch someone climb with the Buck Squeeze-the conductors swing like they wuld in the middle of a hurricane. Terrible and a possible source of danger if the line is hot. I use it because it's mandatory, but if the Company would allow me to sign a waiver which denied me the opportunity to sue them if I fell and I'd sign on the dotted line. It's also rough on the lower back IMO.