I used them for the first time hunting on Saturday. Have been practicing on the telephone pole in my backyard for the last few months. I noticed a few things -
- They don't work on any tree. The first tree I tried (unsure of the type...don't know my Michigan trees yet, they're very different than California ones) had deep grooved bark. The Stepps kept slipping, so after two wobbly ones were set, I took them down and moved to a smooth barked maple.
- I have a 5-step aider hanging off the first Stepp. Worked awesome to boost my height...my footwear (rubber boots) was not fond of them. Unfortunately I had always practiced in different shoes. No biggie, only took a moment to adjust
- There is a "sweet spot" to the tightness. Get it as tight as you can, then back off just a bit. Too tight and it won't cam over. Too loose and well....you don't want that.
- They are not fast to setup. I imagine with more practice, I could get faster of course, but I can't see it going much shorter than about 30 seconds at top speed per step. Probably a good goal for speed would to be getting it all completed in ~15-20 minutes.
- On a real tree, I had a tendency to place each step offset to the left from the one below it. I didn't realize that until I was about 1/2 way up. That isn't good or bad, just an interesting observation.
- I used 3 at the top for my platform. Once set, they were excellent! Absolutely perfect for my needs.
- Getting 2 or more set at exactly the same height won't happen. Be aware of that. you'll need to set one, do the next just above, the next just above the previous, etc. Also, tying the one on the far side of the tree can mess with your head after you've just done all the work to get to that point!
- They can be noisy if you aren't careful. They're perfectly silent so long as you remain in control.
- Removal is dead simple. Even ones where the "knot" gets locked in tight only take an extra moment to loosen.
- It was raining. I was a little worried they would be slick. I had no issues. However, in the dark, they aren't the easiest to see when descending. Looking into some type of reflective marking for the tops of the steps.
I'm considering going with LW sticks for the main climb for a mobile setup. Use the one step with the attached aider at the bottom. Definitely will use them as a platform. I can't ask for anything better there myself. I could see a semi permanent setup where I have the platform and a few top stepps there and then use climbing sticks for a quick ascent and remove those sticks when descending. Tough call on public land.
One thing I would like to try in order to make them faster is splicing the rope in the way the Cranford rope steps are done. Definitely worth experimenting with.