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Stepp Ladder Revi

kyler1945

kyler1945

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2016
Messages
6,899
Location
Willis, TX
I've owned the jim stepps for four or five years now. I gave them a go early on, but I found a set of muddy short sticks worked much quicker. Well, in the pursuit of light weight and packability, I revisited them this season. Honestly, what did it was seeing the aider that Wild Edge came up with, as well as seeing the different aiders folks were using here.

I pulled out some tubular webbing, and put aiders on 6 stepps. I've got a long stride, so by some conservative math, each stepp/aider got me 48" up the tree. I really didn't have a ton of confidence, so I packed it up to some local public land prior to my OOS trip. I know what turned me away from the stepps in the first place - tying 10-12 of them on the tree every time. Now that 4/5 could get me to most hunting heights, with three additional steps to complete my platform, I was pretty excited. It went as planned, and I committed to using the stepps for the upcoming trip.

I used the stepps with aiders on 11 of 12 hunts. 10 of those 11 were hang and hunts, in new trees. I averaged about 1-1.5 miles walking in to each set. I use an alps pursuit pack (which was a champ for this hunt), and was able to stuff a set of 10 stepps (6 of which had aiders), a 2 liter bladder, all hunting accessories, lunch, camera equipment and arm, layers of clothes, and my kestrel on and in the pack. I could have carried the stepps over my shoulder, but being able to stow them in the backpack is a huge plus for walking a mile through CRP and up and down hills.

This is by far the quietest and safest I've felt climbing trees. I had two occasions where i set my tree within 50 yards of bedded deer in daylight (unknown to me), and they didn't spook. Once again, going slow and deliberate had a lot to do with this. I feel confident that SRT or 1stick would've resulted in too much movement. And packing in a set of sticks would've made too much noise.

I still intend on giving the wild edge aider a try. But the webbing loops a easy to make, actually quiet the stepps down a bit in the bag, and are a no fuss way of getting up and down.

The combination of the Kestrel and stepps set up this way made the trip very enjoyable. I was able to come up with one negative, sort of...

Because everything is so light and easy to pack, i removed my set all but twice. The guys I hunted with were hunting preset hang on stands and sticks. We had an hour drive every morning, and forcing them to give me an extra 20 minutes in the morning to get my set in place wasn't easy. Being this mobile really does present you with a dilemma. If you've only got one set of stepps, leaving your set ties you to that location for the next hunt.

I eliminated this issue by picking up 10 more stepps. I've now got 25 total, 18 of which have aiders on them. And two of the shoulder bags. I keep 6 with aiders, and 4 without in each bag. That way, if I want to leave a set, I've still got a set and bag ready to go if i change my mind on where to hunt. I have my SRT, and 1stick set up in case those two can't cover it.

Here's a thanks to wild edge, as well as you guys who did the aiders on the stepps - i was just about to sell them when i came across that info.
 
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Are you carrying them in the wild edge bag? I don't currently have the bag and the only reason I am hesitant to order one is I wasn't sure if they would still fit in the bag with the webbing loops. Also, do you have any issues with the webbing loops getting tangled when you are trying to take them out of the bag?
 
That’s great. As soon as I get Christmas behind me I plan to add a set of ten or 12 to my setup. I can’t say enough good things about the stepps using the aider. I still think there is a better answer to the aider but I really have no complaints.
 
GCTerpfan said:
Are you carrying them in the wild edge bag? I don't currently have the bag and the only reason I am hesitant to order one is I wasn't sure if they would still fit in the bag with the webbing loops. Also, do you have any issues with the webbing loops getting tangled when you are trying to take them out of the bag?
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I use the bag. The stepps are worthless as a climbing method without it, in my opinion. Jim was a brilliant dude.

In order to make it work with the webbing aiders, it takes a little more time. When I load the bag before a hunt, i put each stepp in and fold the ropes and aiders downwards to make it easier to stack them in the bag. Then, i start with the top stepp and fold them all back pointing upwards. Then i grab the whole bundle and fold it just above the top stepp, and lay it down in between the standoffs toward the bottom of the bag. I fold again at the bottom stepp, and run back upwards. I then zip up the bag. This leaves about a foot or 18" of tag ends hanging out of the bag. If I was carrying the bag on my shoulder instead of in my pack, i'd repeat the process again. But I just leave them out and stuff in my backpack.

When I get to the tree, i lay the bag down, unzip, and take ropes by the bottom fold and pull out top of bag and zip back up. Then I use it just like intended. The threads on the webbing aiders wil catch on the sharp points on the stepps. Do not rush this part of the process. 20 seconds is all it takes to slowly pull them out, and undo any catches.

Once you're climbing, there's no difference pulling them out of the bag with/without aiders.
 
I also use the step ladder w/aider method of climbing on hunts that require long walks and use my LW sticks with aider on hunts with shorter walks. This is my first season using the stepp ladder system and I practiced by doing about 6-8 "dry runs" in my back yard before hunting. About two weeks ago I had a step spin out on me and I fell about 2-3 ft before my lineman's belt caught me. Unfortunately I took a step to my sternum in the process. I just scheduled an appointment to see the doc because I still get a sharp pain any time something comes in contact with my sternum. After analyzing the fall, I am fairly confident the problem was because I didn't stretch out the rope on that one step before that hunt. I bought an 8 pack and a 12 pack of steps and I thought I stretched out all 20, but I can't say for sure that every rope on every step has been stretched. I'm only commenting to remind everyone to make sure every rope on every step has been properly stretched or they can spin out on you even if they feel solid when setting them. Please learn from my mistake!

On a side note, I think adding aiders to multiple steps is a better idea than using the aider from Wild Edge.
 
Thill said:
I also use the step ladder w/aider method of climbing on hunts that require long walks and use my LW sticks with aider on hunts with shorter walks. This is my first season using the stepp ladder system and I practiced by doing about 6-8 "dry runs" in my back yard before hunting. About two weeks ago I had a step spin out on me and I fell about 2-3 ft before my lineman's belt caught me. Unfortunately I took a step to my sternum in the process. I just scheduled an appointment to see the doc because I still get a sharp pain any time something comes in contact with my sternum. After analyzing the fall, I am fairly confident the problem was because I didn't stretch out the rope on that one step before that hunt. I bought an 8 pack and a 12 pack of steps and I thought I stretched out all 20, but I can't say for sure that every rope on every step has been stretched. I'm only commenting to remind everyone to make sure every rope on every step has been properly stretched or they can spin out on you even if they feel solid when setting them. Please learn from my mistake!

On a side note, I think adding aiders to multiple steps is a better idea than using the aider from Wild Edge.
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Can you explain "spin out", I am struggling to visualize how they could spin. Did one side of the step just slip, or did the step come un-cammed and flip over?
 
Interested in these was wandering if anyone has tried attaching an aider to the step itself?
 
I like the aider I find it quick, easy, and quiet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I have had one side slip and get almost sideways. I have yet to have one that felt solid move much. One good thing about using an aider is you have already weighted the step once using the aider before you step onto it. One thing to keep in mind is the angle of the rope. It seems recommended to put the rope running downhill from the stepp. The more downhill the rope is in comparison to the stepp the looser it can be if it does slip.
 
EricS said:
I have had one side slip and get almost sideways. I have yet to have one that felt solid move much. One good thing about using an aider is you have already weighted the step once using the aider before you step onto it. One thing to keep in mind is the angle of the rope. It seems recommended to put the rope running downhill from the stepp. The more downhill the rope is in comparison to the stepp the looser it can be if it does slip.
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I had one slip the other night. It slipped so that it was on the tree at 45 degrees. Everytime it happens it gives me quite a thrill and question if I still want to use them lol. I'm not sure if I'm not getting them tight enough every time or if they are just settling in to some gaps in the bark.
 
I had one Friday that I was using as a platform that had one leg not even touching the tree. Once I noticed it I expected it to slip but it didn’t. That was on an oak. I did set up on a small pine and had a few get a little wobbly last weekend. I’m using the wild edge aider so the first time a stepp takes my full weight I have both hands on it and my weight on the aider. If it slips or moves at all I feel it. I can step up onto the next step and tighten that one before moving on. I think that’s a benefit of using their aider or another aider in the same manner. I still feel as though I could get more spacing between the steps with a foot aider that would stay strapped to my boot. That would make climbing down using the aider so much easier. Right now I am getting about 3.5 feet per step and do not use the aider on the way down. I also finally got some knee pads and love them. When climbing I can put a knee on a step if I can’t get my foot that high but the aider gets caught behind the edge of my knee pads. I usually just put them on in the tree. That was a little weird to start with but is getting easier. I have noticed that about all the rubber is gone from the hook on the wild edge aider. Not all over but on the inside where it contacts the step under a load.
 
I have had them shift on me as well. I noticed when I use them in soft trees (I have limited knowledge of trees) the cam is really tight but the bark is so soft that has slipped on me. But I know that it will not come off the tree but it is a bit nerve racking at times. Also when I have used them on knobby tree where I have a hard time getting all three contacts to be solid it has slipped a bit. These are the best method for me as of now. I did keep 3 muddy sticks to revisit sticks in the spring, but they may show up in the classifieds. They have the muddy versa button.
 
jbrow340 said:
Interested in these was wandering if anyone has tried attaching an aider to the step itself?
Click to expand...

I started with this method. I made a fixed length tubular webbing aider and connected it to the stepp. I practiced this way a number of times this summer. It works, and I was comfortable using it. It does require more attention to how tight the stepp is getting to the tree.

I swtiched to the redsquirrel method right before season and I will not be going back to a connection to the stepp. I am able to get more height and the stability is less dependent on how tight the stepp is. One other thing, when wearing bulkier clothes I think it is easier to have the aider off to the side a little instead of directly in line with the stepps. I always put my right foot in the aider. With heavy clothes I put my toe into the tree a little more off to the right. I think this makes it easier to get my foot up to the next stepp.
 
I use my left foot but like skell I use mine off to the side. I’m probably more likely to have the step slip with the aider on one side but that’s what is working best for me right now.
 
I'll snap a picture when i get back to my gear to show how i tie the aiders to each individual step. It actually ties to the square tubing, and only lays across the top of the rungs. I would not feel comfortable having it attached to the rung itself. It keeps the loop wide open, away from the tree, my weight balanced across the whole step, and is a no fuss setup

A couple of things that probably need to be emphasized more in marketing and our recommendations to others is stretching the ropes prior to full on use, and also making sure you have the step tight enough before moving up the tree.

I plan to try out RS's aider as well as the wild edge one over the next week or two. But I had no trouble with my system on this trip.
 
I actually left my Wildedge Aider on the top step last sit... So the next time that I go to that tree I will be using RS aider idea! So I will be trying it out, I think it makes complete sense, I just haven't had any issues with the WE aider.
 
If you use the wild edge aider you can pull down on the adjustment rope to make it shorter. I originally grabbed the aider with one hand and pulled up on the adjustment rope with the other. I saw a video pulling down on the rope. It’s probably a little more wear but it is one handed adjustment that way.
 
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