Interesting website...

http://storrick.cnchost.com/VerticalDevicesPage/VerticalHome.shtml

He's a bit cranky about the Pantin and other devices. Excellent info but bear in mind he's not a tree climber so he's potentially clueless when reviewing some knots and devices for tree climbing use.
-moss

As moss says, you have to take what Storrick says with a grain of salt, because he is not a tree climber (as he puts it "I don't play Tarzan of the jungle"). That said, there is indeed a great deal of very useful info on there provided you remember the differences between caving/rock climbing and tree climbing. (Hmmm, maybe that latter point deserves a thread of its own...)

I happen to agree with his assessment of the Pantin, but that's partly because I almost never climb in boots, and partly because I'm on the heavy side. As usual, your mileage will vary.

I don't agree with his assessment of friction knot backups of rappel devices - he's the most widely cited ref on the web for people who argue against these. I use a friction knot BELOW my rack routinely, and I think that's a very useful option for tree climbers.

I do like reading his assessments of mechanical quality and the behavior of the devices on rope. Very helpful.

The current version of the Pantin stays on your foot I think Storrick had an early version, he suffers on the bleeding edge. You don't need boots to use it but it helps to have an ankle high shoe, I guess that's a boot but even a high sneaker would work.

The part he mentions about coming off the rope with every step, I have no idea what he was doing to cause that. It stays on the rope when you want it to and comes off easily hands-free when you want it to (a virtue). When it is loaded on the rope it does not come off. There's a little skill to be developed (not much) to learn how to use it smoothly. Mark, you might like it more if you try it for branch asscents (as opposed to trunk ascents), put your left foot in a single footlock on the tail below the Pantin, right foot has the Pantin, makes a nifty psuedo rope walker for DRT (footlocking the tail) or SRT. It allows you to stand on both feet side-by-side which is very nice for all weight classes (flyweight to substantial). Tom D. photographed me climbing this way in the zipline tree on the last day of the 'Vous climb, maybe a photo will show up.
-moss

Yeah, I should probably fiddle around with it again. I could keep it on the rope better than Storrick reports, but even on boots it seems to ride up - probably need to modify the straps or the buckle on the main strap. I guess I gave up on it after I learned single footlocking; that's available on either foot, works well in any foot gear except sandals (although my nine year old son used to footlock in sandals, and I've footlocked successfully in Sorel boots), and seems to do about the same thing as a Pantin.

Yep, I call the single footlock the "Poor Man's Pantin". It's the best foot ascender since sliced bread (what?), costs nothing and works great. The Pantin is just the mechanical version with some minor advantages for my climbing _style_. I tweaked the strap adjustments on my Pantin so it stays tight on my foot (doesn't ride up my ankle). It's another piece of gear that needs a few climbs to get it squared away. Being able to use the single foot lock with my left foot with the Pantin is a huge advantage for me. Unfortunately you can't do the same with a single footlock on each foot, I tried it.
-moss