A retired climber in Bend showed me his thumb trick, and my forearm pump is basically gone after 3 weeks
I was up in Bend last month helping a buddy clear a storm damaged ponderosa, and a retired climber named Walt stopped by to watch. He noticed me death gripping the rope and told me to wrap my thumb over the top of the handle instead of tucking it under, said that one change would take 30 percent of the load off my forearm. Three weeks of doing it and I can actually finish a full removal without my hand cramping up halfway through. Curious if anyone else had a small grip change that made a bigger difference than all the fancy gear.