Buckingham steel gaffs are built to last several lifetimes for sure. I spent about 9 years on Buck permanent tree gaffs. Around 6 years ago I switched to aluminum Bashlin with tree gaffs. If you can find a used set, I highly recommend them, and if they’re inexpensive but got pole gaffs, it might be worth it to buy the replacement tree gaffs for about 80$.
Cheap pads, wrong type of boots, or improperly adjusted stirrup height might make someone think their spurs suck, but such is not always the case.
I work from spurs often, so that’s my input. If I had to spike up 20 or 30 feet and take them off to stand on a platform for the rest of the day, I might just suffer through the few minutes of arch pain rather than wear lineman‘s or mountaineering boots all day.
Get a rigid pad. Cast aluminum Caddys or something with a steel shin cup insert. Some folks use the cheap L or T pads and wear soccer shin pads under them. It’s not jyst that the top of the climber digs or presses into your calf through cheap pads, it’s that it shifts around and chafes while putting pressure on. Causes some intense blisters and friction burns. Gets painful really fast.