I think I might have finally come up with a pretty easy DIY to create some strap on steps. For starters I have to say that I do not suggest anyone perform these modifications and if you do you do so at your own risk, and that it is up to every individual to test and evaluate any modifications at ground level to ensure their safety.
I had picked up a set of the Hawk Helium sticks to try out a mod similar to Dave's. When I got the sticks I loved the design of the steps. As I was thinking about cutting the sticks down for the mod I thought that the part of the cutoff portion with a step on it might work well for a strap on step, and there was already slots milled in it to thread the strap through.I had been working on a couple other ideas that inspired this thought. So today I finally got around to making it happen. First I cut the stick down. There is a U channel on both sides of the stick so I decided to cut one of them off to bring the entire step closer to the tree. After that I just drilled a hole where the step portion needed to go, installed it and I was done. I did all of this with a miter saw with a carbide blade and my drill press and it probably took me less than 15 minutes of work. I was so excited about it's potential I took it out back and set it up on a few trees in the dark. The first tree I put it on was a tree with gaps in the bark and it wobbled around a bit just like any other strap on step so I moved over to tree with smoother bark, set it up and it was just as solid as any other step I've used. I jumped up and down on it and stood with one foot on it and it held up.
So all of that being said I am very excited about its potential but I will have to evaluate some more how well it will hold up. It came in just a touch heavier than an ameristep (0.28 lb vs 0.24), but it folds up. I will take some more pics when I make another one but here is the finished product:
I had picked up a set of the Hawk Helium sticks to try out a mod similar to Dave's. When I got the sticks I loved the design of the steps. As I was thinking about cutting the sticks down for the mod I thought that the part of the cutoff portion with a step on it might work well for a strap on step, and there was already slots milled in it to thread the strap through.I had been working on a couple other ideas that inspired this thought. So today I finally got around to making it happen. First I cut the stick down. There is a U channel on both sides of the stick so I decided to cut one of them off to bring the entire step closer to the tree. After that I just drilled a hole where the step portion needed to go, installed it and I was done. I did all of this with a miter saw with a carbide blade and my drill press and it probably took me less than 15 minutes of work. I was so excited about it's potential I took it out back and set it up on a few trees in the dark. The first tree I put it on was a tree with gaps in the bark and it wobbled around a bit just like any other strap on step so I moved over to tree with smoother bark, set it up and it was just as solid as any other step I've used. I jumped up and down on it and stood with one foot on it and it held up.
So all of that being said I am very excited about its potential but I will have to evaluate some more how well it will hold up. It came in just a touch heavier than an ameristep (0.28 lb vs 0.24), but it folds up. I will take some more pics when I make another one but here is the finished product: