Ive been using this setup up with some 3 step aiders this season and the dual step helps to get that next stick/aider hung as high as it needs to be.
The inside step is more of a toe/ball-of-your-foot rest, but its adequate once you are leaning into your lineman's belt and better than balancing on one foot. The smaller the tree diameter, the better it is.
I never really considered it before having one, but what is best about having dual steps is the "chin-up" position you can put your hands in. Its really a great position of strength and control as you are trying to fish your boot into an aider step, or trying to stretch the step-distance between sticks.
Hardware I used:
Steps- They aren't listed in Lonewolf's site-store, but if you call/email their support, they do sell replacement steps for 6-something dollars per step (includes plastic washers, bolt and nut)
main bolts - https://www.mcmaster.com/#90201a121/=15e4ves
"stop" bolts - https://www.mcmaster.com/#90117a535/=15e4wlm
nuts - https://www.mcmaster.com/#94945a205/=15e4x0r
Tools:
Small phillips screwdriver, couple 7/16ths wrenches and 3/16th allen wrench
One of your wrenches needs to be a combo wrench with an end that looks like....
With all the steps and hardware removed from the top of your stick use a small screwdriver to work up the four corners of the endcap until you can pull it out.
Then take a nut and pin it to the inside wall of the stick with your pinky. Maneuver it to the bottom "stop-bolt" hole and get one of your 3/8 1/4-20 allen bolts started into it. Do the same for the other side.
The only wrench that would fit down the inside of the stick is the enclosed end of a combo wrench like I have pictured above.
Tighten everything up and you will be able to see those threads just past the top of that nylon lock nut. Push your endcap back in and what it should be looking like now with an allen bolt head on both sides of the stick.
Then just stack the 2 1/2" bolt - small washer - step - large washer - into stick - large washer - step - large washer - batwing - small washer - nut
(All nuts used require the low-profile nut listed above in order to get the bolt threads through the nut)
Tighten and done.
WARNING! Now you may be thinking I can do my bottom step also, but I wouldn't recommend doing both. Having the batwing spaced out from the bolts allows it to spin 360. If you did do top and bottom and your stick settled down the tree alot, you could potentially spin both batwings like this which I assume would cause the stick to collapse onto its side
As far as stacking the sticks, the versa button bolt head doesn't reach the next stick, so there isn't that tight snap fit. They still sit in the batwings normally though and once lashed together I don't notice a difference. Granted I lash my sticks in pairs, so I'm not sure how big a pita it would be holding 4-5 sticks together trying to get a lashing around them.
Its not perfect, but its an easy to do option
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