Klein Steel with Opsal aluminum pads that I'm going to stealth strip. I also have the pole gaffs not tree gaffs believe it or not as the tree gaffs are another inch longer and are only needed in the thickest of barked trees. The longer tree gaffs keep your feet out farther from the tree and add to some instability. In my research, for better balance and stability, go with pole gaffs instead of tree gaffs. I climbed a locust (which has a pretty rough and deep bark pattern) with the pole gaffs on the Klein's and they were very stable and bit in fine. The other trees I would climb would be beech, tulip, soft maple, all have a very thin bark and so pole gaffs will do fine for most on the east coast.