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Looking for help with my climbing set up

C

Close caller

Active Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2018
Messages
126
This has been my first season saddle hunting. Bought a kite saddle, hunted a bunch with it and really like it. I move quite a bit more but that’s another topic.

Using 6-7 sticks now to get 25-30 feet. It’s heavy and bulky. I hunt public land so to get where the deer are, it’s very tough with all those sticks.

Looking to lighten things up if possible.

I use 3 XOP stick and 4 muddy pros. I think I can get close to 25 feet with the 4 muddy’s And 2 XOP sticks. However, I’d like to find an easier way to get 25 feet. I’m 6’2” with long legs.

I’ve seen the Knaider/swaider stuff and would like something simpler. I was thinking maybe using the 4 muddy pro sticks with attached aiders?

Please let me know if anyone has any suggestions.

Thanks
 
Well, you could try a movable aider. Probably a 3 or 4 step. Basically attach a climbing stick as high as you can and then attach the aider to the top steps of the stick. When you reach the bottom steps of the stick, take off the aider and clip it onto your belt, step up to the top step, snug up your lineman’s belt and repeat the process. At your height you can probably get 7.5 - 8 feet per stick and get close to 24 feet with only 3 muddy pro sticks.

Disclaimer - aiders move around and the longer they are, the more unstable they are. You have to practice this at ground level on various tree types including leaners first. Get comfortable and confident first. Having an aider kick out when you’re 20 feet up is scary. Be safe.
 
A 2 step aider on your first stick can get you 7-8 feet. Either fixed or movable.

Then a single aider for higher sticks gets you 5ish feet per stick. I can stretch it out and use the 2 step aider higher, but it is a little riskier climbing than I care for.

I use 3 sticks this way and settle in for most hunts at 18-20 feet. I don't feel I need to be any higher, never got picked off once this year. A 4th stick would comfortably put me in the stratosphere.
 
I use 3 Muddy pros. With a 5 step aider on the bottom stick and 3 step aiders on the next two. I’m constantly hitting 20+ feet to my feet.


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I used a single stick (a cut down Hawk Helium with a rope cam cleat mod similar to the Muddy) with a single step aider most all year.

To climb with the single stick I attach the stick to the tree with the cam cleat at eye level. I girth hitch my tether as high as I can reach and about 90degrees CCW around the tree from the stick and pull it tight so I'm on my tip toes on the ground. I sit back in my saddle with my right knee against the tree and put my left foot in the aider. Once there I can stand up on the aider and climb up to the bottom rung of the stick. Standing there I move the tether up as high as it will go and sit back in the saddle again. From here I can reach down and lift the stick up and unhook the cam cleat. I move the stick up to eye level again and repeat. My preferred hunting height is between 20-25 feet. I'm typically there in four to five stick moves at which point I attach my platform at the height of the top of the stick about 120degrees CCW around the tree from the stick. I can then use the stick as an extra step for walking around the tree if I want once set up.

Believe me when I say it sounds more difficult than it is. The real plus is that I'm only carrying a single cut down climbing stick.

Full disclosure I rappel from the tree when done so I haven't tried the reverse method going down.
 
I can get 20 feet with 4 lonewolf sticks and about 20 feet with 4 Wildedge steps using a swaider&knaider.
 
elk yinzer said:
A 2 step aider on your first stick can get you 7-8 feet. Either fixed or movable.

Then a single aider for higher sticks gets you 5ish feet per stick. I can stretch it out and use the 2 step aider higher, but it is a little riskier climbing than I care for.

I use 3 sticks this way and settle in for most hunts at 18-20 feet. I don't feel I need to be any higher, never got picked off once this year. A 4th stick would comfortably put me in the stratosphere.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I think I like the idea of the fixed aider better. I’m a pretty athletic guy so I’m hoping I could handle a two step aided for each stick. Hoping the lineman’s belt will help stability.

Maybe I could use the first stick with more aiders to get me to 25’
 
ImThere said:
I use 3 Muddy pros. With a 5 step aider on the bottom stick and 3 step aiders on the next two. I’m constantly hitting 20+ feet to my feet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Three sticks would be amazing compared to what I’m lugging around now.

I might try this. Where do you get your aiders?
 
boyne bowhunter said:
I used a single stick (a cut down Hawk Helium with a rope cam cleat mod similar to the Muddy) with a single step aider most all year.

To climb with the single stick I attach the stick to the tree with the cam cleat at eye level. I girth hitch my tether as high as I can reach and about 90degrees CCW around the tree from the stick and pull it tight so I'm on my tip toes on the ground. I sit back in my saddle with my right knee against the tree and put my left foot in the aider. Once there I can stand up on the aider and climb up to the bottom rung of the stick. Standing there I move the tether up as high as it will go and sit back in the saddle again. From here I can reach down and lift the stick up and unhook the cam cleat. I move the stick up to eye level again and repeat. My preferred hunting height is between 20-25 feet. I'm typically there in four to five stick moves at which point I attach my platform at the height of the top of the stick about 120degrees CCW around the tree from the stick. I can then use the stick as an extra step for walking around the tree if I want once set up.

Believe me when I say it sounds more difficult than it is. The real plus is that I'm only carrying a single cut down climbing stick.

Full disclosure I rappel from the tree when done so I haven't tried the reverse method going down.
Click to expand...

You sir are a bad a$*! Man I’d have to see that in person and have some serious practice before I tried that
 
Close caller said:
You sir are a bad a$*! Man I’d have to see that in person and have some serious practice before I tried that
Click to expand...
No sir, while I appreciate the comment, I am a self described fat old man with a bad knee (56, 250#). As I said, this sounds so much harder than it really is. It takes very little effort to sit in a saddle suspended from a tether and reposition a climbing stick. The reason I offset my tie in 90 degrees is that I can get a relatively straight leg started into the aider. When I lean back with one knee against the tree it brings the aider right into reach for my foot. Once my foot is in the aider I sit up, grab the top rungs of the stick with my hands and climb up. No serious effort required.
 
At your heightish with xop sticks, I put the bottom of the first stick around waist height (42 or so), the sticks are 32 in each and say 26 (or even 28) in between sticks. So 3 sticks and whatever platform to 18 ft or so, 5 to get above 25. Aiders etc can get you further but sticks will never be ultralight or compact. And I already am attaching sticks around eye level.

I'll try out aiders over the summer, and sticks are the fastest, easiest way to get high, but they're frustratingly bulky after you lose the treestand.

This is what turns saddle hunters into gear junkies. Without the need to carry a stand (which has a minimum comfortable useful size) the climbing method is suddenly huge in comparison, with lots of alternatives.
 
True. Now after ditching the tree stand I’d really like to be as light and mobile as possible to hunt public land
 
Close caller said:
Three sticks would be amazing compared to what I’m lugging around now.

I might try this. Where do you get your aiders?
Click to expand...

I have a black diamond 5 step which I prefer and the 3 steps are cmi. They are fine but the material is a little “softer” and can be harder to use. Not that noticeable but yet it’s is. If that make sense


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Close caller said:
True. Now after ditching the tree stand I’d really like to be as light and mobile as possible to hunt public land
Click to expand...
How much do/can you use presets vs hang/hunt? I haven't done it yet, but e.g. an srt setup with presets can be quite portable - but depending on the forests you hunt it may or may not be universal enough to reliably run and gun. If you go to aiders, they probably make the best impact with WE stepps, but are easy to test run with sticks. if legal, bolts or Spurs are really nice. I feel like I have a summer of testing ahead of me to get some better options where I can't just use bolts.
 
I’m also 6’2 and can get to 18-20 feet with three diy sticks. Each stick is 24 inches with a single aider hanging from the bottom step. The weight is 6.75 lbs. If I added one more to get to 24-26 feet the weight would be 9 lbs.
 
theAdmiral said:
I’m also 6’2 and can get to 18-20 feet with three diy sticks. Each stick is 24 inches with a single aider hanging from the bottom step. The weight is 6.75 lbs. If I added one more to get to 24-26 feet the weight would be 9 lbs.
Click to expand...

With your single aider, how long is it?
 
I’m 5’6” and use 4 lone wolf sticks to get 20-22 feet without stretching them out much. I do use a single step aider on the bottom 2 sticks to give me a boost right off the ground. My buddy is 6’2 and he gets 20’ with just 3 lone wolf sticks because he can stretch them out more.
 
Personally I've looked into many lighter ways of climbing but generally speaking, you exert more effort and time climbing the lighter (public land legal methods) you go. Which I would just prefer an easier and quieter climb with a slightly heavier pack in.

For this reason I find it much more reasonable to just bring 3 LW sticks with 2 step aiders and strap them securely to my pack. Another option to reduce bulk for carrying in is using a ring of steps.

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