Man I did the exact same thing for like six years. Bought into the idea that rope gaffs were the "real climber" setup so I kept forcing myself to use them even though my calves were wrecked after every removal. Switched to spurs last fall on a big doug fir and it was like night and day, I could actually sit back and let the tree hold me instead of muscling through every step. My hip flexors stopped screaming at me too, which I didn't even connect to the gaffs until I made the switch. Still keep a set of rope gaffs in the truck for the rare weird crotch shot but 95 percent of my removals are on spurs now.