Diy camo climbing sticks & aiders

[g2outdoors]

15 yards, 5 yards , and close up of the new camo stick and aiders.

My sewn webbing step made a HUUUGE difference. It was so easy to climb. Really, really, really easy. Can't wait to use these again.

The bottom of the aider is about 12" off the ground. The top Muddy step is 7.5' from the ground.

Sent from my Galaxy S8.

 

[DaveT1963]

Folks there is a trade off with increasing steps height on sticks. I also wanted mine to be more maneuverable through the brush while attached to a pack. 22 inches was just about perfect - loner step but also hidden behind me/less snagging on brush. Just what worked best for me. I could probably stretch to 25 inches but then I am getting back to a longer stick and having to be more concerned with how far that sticks out, etc.... with my 22 inch sticks and how I attach them I seldom catch them on brush as I bend over and go under it.

 

[DaveT1963]

By the way, I average about 6 1/2 foot with my stick and foot loop on first stick - just over 6 foot with the rest. and then a 1.5 foot step up to platform = 20 foot. I seldom go higher.

 

[ImThere]

Is the step to step 22” or the length of stick 22”?


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[Ontariofarmer]

By the way, I average about 6 1/2 foot with my stick and foot loop on first stick - just over 6 foot with the rest. and then a 1.5 foot step up to platform = 20 foot. I seldom go higher.

Using reds adjustable aider idea but attached to the top of the stick like you do I could gain an extra foot by pulling my leg higher before stepping up . I did measure it. I tried it yesterday but only on the bottom stick


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[MCDM]

Is the step to step 22” or the length of stick 22”?


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I have been wondering the same thing!!

 

[DaveT1963]

22 inches from bolt to bolt that steps pivot on so yes between steps.... the overall stick is 23.5. My original sticks were 20 between steps

 

[DaveT1963]

Using reds adjustable aider idea but attached to the top of the stick like you do I could gain an extra foot by pulling my leg higher before stepping up . I did measure it. I tried it yesterday but only on the bottom stick


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Same here - however, due to the fact that I seldom if ever hunt over 20 foot (our trees don't really support it - I am usually 16-18 foot up) I don't have a need to stretch things out. I like the consistency of evenly spaced steps (with exception to the first stick as the ground is a wide platform to stretch down to). For me the easy part is the climb up - coming down with an adjustable aider complicates the process. I am sure with practice this can be overcome but like I said my system with a fixed aider gets me to 20 foot and I seldom if ever need to go higher (if I do I just one stick it with the top stick). The only reason I went to one aider is to reduce movement of them in the wind as I did have a couple bucks pick that up and alter of course.

I love all the ideas though and if I was a lot younger and stronger I would look into more of them. For me 7 pounds is a happy medium to climb trees safely and to ingrain my routine. It is the same, tree after tree.

There have been so many great DIY posts on this site - I am still forever thankful to whoever it was that posted first about the Ropeman1 and Kong Duck those were game changers. Same from Klemz coming up with the original idea for a platform. The SRT technique sounds cool as heck and with preset paracords I can see that as a very effective technique.

What is cool on this site is how everyone keeps taking ideas and taking them to the next level. I still expect BassBoy or Bowhunter15 to one day reveal a milled or cast new platform that is going to be ideal for us saddle hunters. And man, New Tribe has set a very high standard for a complete hunting saddle with all the safety features built in - never been a better time to get into saddle hunting.

 

[DaveT1963]

15 yards, 5 yards , and close up of the new camo stick and aiders.

My sewn webbing step made a HUUUGE difference. It was so easy to climb. Really, really, really easy. Can't wait to use these again.

The bottom of the aider is about 12" off the ground. The top Muddy step is 7.5' from the ground.

Sent from my Galaxy S8.

Nice job on the painting. It never ceases to amaze me how light things are in nature. When I first saw your sticks I thought, man those are far to light in tone. Now seeing them from a distance I believe you could even go lighter? Not sure it will make a distance to the deer - but it certainly looks good and if it builds confidence in you and your set up that's all that matters. I might just have to get some more spray paint and try using the sponge technique.

 

[g2outdoors]

@DaveT1963 - light grey is the key color. And leave the greens out of it. Greys and browns are what you want.

Regarding the deer, I've had them see my black sticks and aiders multiple times. Sometimes they spook, sometimes they don't. This doesn't happen with preset ladders because the deer get used to them.

It may not make a huge difference, but any little thing I can do to tip the odds in my favor, I'm gonna do.

Sent from my Galaxy S8.

 

[Ontariofarmer]

Yeah it was super easy. I followed this tutorial and used the lengths above for spacing.

DIY Sportsman had a good video as well, but I needed more rungs.

After much trial and error, 16' starting length ended up being perfect.

Sent from my Galaxy S8.

Good video

 

[DaveT1963]

@DaveT1963 -but any little thing I can do to tip the odds in my favor, I'm gonna do.

Sent from my Galaxy S8.

absolutely agree with that. The little things add up

 

[Ontariofarmer]

Regarding the deer, I've had them see my black sticks and aiders multiple times. Sometimes they spook, sometimes they don't. This doesn't happen with preset ladders because the deer get used to them.

It may not make a huge difference, but any little thing I can do to tip the odds in my favor, I'm gonna do.

Sent from my Galaxy S8.[/QUOTE]
I loved G2's video and interaction with his daughter. This is more important than hunting. I appreciated the time and effort to put a video together and the making of a webbing aider on the other post. It was a great review and I am sure very helpful for new saddle hunters.. I really appreciate G2's input on this site as well.

G2's sticks really did disappear on the tree and perhaps Boswell's comment came off a bit harsh but I doubt that was his intent. But I would suspect that from what little I know of hunting that the movement of aiders is more important than the camo on the sticks for getting busted. I am certain that I got busted for this reason this fall which I why I liked Dave T's post on moving the aider up with you.

From what little I understand about deer - they see the color blue and movement which is why we have camo. We move and the camo breaks up that movement. I suspect that is what Boswell was referring to.
That said I have put Stealth tape on sticks to make them quieter... which I need because I sometimes move too quickly. Of course stealth tape is camouflaged. Some people are quieter and slower moving than me. I hope this sounds reasonable, gracious and kind.
Open and kind discussion makes us all better hunters. Obviously G2 is a good father which is more important than being a great hunter.
That is why I love Flinginairos videos. obviously a family man and a fantastic hunter.
Correct me if I am wrong about how deer see? Because I want to learn.

 

[TFNC]

I have a question for the more experienced guys here. Why couldn't you use a multi step aider like this, but bring it up the tree with you? I mean hang it off the step like Dave, bring it up as you go. I mean the higher you go you might not need all the step on the aider, but you could just skip to the ones you need.

 

[DaveT1963]

I have a question for the more experienced guys here. Why couldn't you use a multi step aider like this, but bring it up the tree with you? I mean hang it off the step like Dave, bring it up as you go. I mean the higher you go you might not need all the step on the aider, but you could just skip to the ones you need.

for me why carry 3 aiders when one works? I always hung mine on sticks.... I never was a fan of semi-permanently attaching them to sticks - now I just have one aider and I use it (or not) on each stick. I see no advantage for having multiple aiders at this pint with my set up.

 

[MCDM]

I have a question for the more experienced guys here. Why couldn't you use a multi step aider like this, but bring it up the tree with you? I mean hang it off the step like Dave, bring it up as you go. I mean the higher you go you might not need all the step on the aider, but you could just skip to the ones you need.

You thoughts are spot on!! I used to use three 3-step aiders one for each stick and on full length heliums. I was maxing out around 26+ feet but I always hated carrying around all of it. It didn’t occur to me to use just one until @DaveT1963 jumped in. I tried it out yesterday and was the bees knees lol!! No more clutter of 3. Sometimes the best ideas are so simple and that i think we sometimes search too hard for the best solution that the simple thing like carrying 1 is totally out of the question but in fact its the solution we need.

 

[g2outdoors]

Two points here:

1. I've read all the science about what deer can and can't see. I've read about why camo works and why some patterns are better than others. Science says they shouldn't be able to see my sticks and aiders, but I'll be damned if I haven't watched multiple deer walking along, spot my stick/aider and follow it up the tree to me. I've seen it happen to a lot of other self-filmers as well. Guys have talked about it on this forum a lot. I've seen it happen with no wind blowing the aider as well. That said, it didn't mean the deer spooked - some did, some didn't. And I've had way more deer walk by the sticks/aiders and pay them no attention. But I don't like any of them knowing I'm there at all. I don't pretend to know the answer. The only thing I can control is my effort to reduce the chances of this happening. If some spray paint camo, and DIY camo aiders help me do that, I'm all for it. It may not help at all lol!

2. Bringing aiders up the tree. I can't go any less than a 4 step aider and still get over 20' high. I'd have to carry a 4th stick and I don't want to do this. I haven't come up with a good method for attaching a 4 step aider to my Muddy stick while being able to carry it up the tree with me. I suppose I could sling it over the bottom step. I just haven't tried it yet. I assume reaching down below my feet to attach/detach the aider and move it up/down to the next step would be troublesome. Maybe not? Maybe I just need to do more yoga. What I've started doing is rolling up the aider and placing it on the top step during the hunt. While standing on the bottom step, I squat down a few inches and hook the aider with the toe of my boot. I grab the aider off my boot, wad it up, and lay it on top of the stick. When it's time to descend I simply drop it back down. I've done this method twice now and it worked very well.

 

[Ontariofarmer]

I have a question for the more experienced guys here. Why couldn't you use a multi step aider like this, but bring it up the tree with you? I mean hang it off the step like Dave, bring it up as you go. I mean the higher you go you might not need all the step on the aider, but you could just skip to the ones you need.

I did that this year using muddy sticks. I would use one muddy stick at the bottom to stand on and then place my first stick using another stick to stand on. I would get that first stick about 110 inches off the ground. And then I would take two more sticks up with me. At first I took multiple aiders. Later I took one and moved it up and used just some of the steps on the aider. After the first move I get about 84 to 90 inches per move.

Using the modified helium sticks and Red/DaveT's methods I think I can get at least 7 or 7.5 feet per move with a one step aider using Reds method to pull my foot on the aider higher than I would get if it was a fixed height. It does not seem too difficult for a 60 year old.
Originally I used a 6 step black diamond aider but with the new method I will lose height at the start of my moves and gain height on subsequent moves. I hope that makes sense. I do not have the abiltiy to do videos.

 

[Ontariofarmer]

Two points here:

1. I've read all the science about what deer can and can't see. I've read about why camo works and why some patterns are better than others. Science says they shouldn't be able to see my sticks and aiders, but I'll be damned if I haven't watched multiple deer walking along, spot my stick/aider and follow it up the tree to me. I've seen it happen to a lot of other self-filmers as well. Guys have talked about it on this forum a lot. I've seen it happen with no wind blowing the aider as well. That said, it didn't mean the deer spooked - some did, some didn't. And I've had way more deer walk by the sticks/aiders and pay them no attention. But I don't like any of them knowing I'm there at all. I don't pretend to know the answer. The only thing I can control is my effort to reduce the chances of this happening. If some spray paint camo, and DIY camo aiders help me do that, I'm all for it. It may not help at all lol!

2. Bringing aiders up the tree. I can't go any less than a 4 step aider and still get over 20' high. I'd have to carry a 4th stick and I don't want to do this. I haven't come up with a good method for attaching a 4 step aider to my Muddy stick while being able to carry it up the tree with me. I suppose I could sling it over the bottom step. I just haven't tried it yet. I assume reaching down below my feet to attach/detach the aider and move it up/down to the next step would be troublesome. Maybe not? Maybe I just need to do more yoga. What I've started doing is rolling up the aider and placing it on the top step during the hunt. While standing on the bottom step, I squat down a few inches and hook the aider with the toe of my boot. I grab the aider off my boot, wad it up, and lay it on top of the stick. When it's time to descend I simply drop it back down. I've done this method twice now and it worked very well.

I am no yoga man. It is easy if you add a rope to your aider and attach it to the top step like Dave T does. Then you don't have to reach down. Watch his video on this and you will totally get what he does . You could do this no matter how inflexible you might be.

I am sure you can get busted from moving aiders. I know from experience. I am an expert at getting busted. Surely I after 4 years of hunting I have exhausted every method of being busted. It is fun to see the deer anyway.

 

[MCDM]

If you take your aider @g2outdoors and run webbing from the point you attach to the stick. Run the webbing up over the top of your stick like @DaveT1963 does. That way you extend your steps on the aider below your stick. Step up on your stick and there it is ready to grab and advance to your next stick.