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Stepp Ladder reviews...

J

junkpile

New Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2016
Messages
21
I was hoping I could get some reviews on the Stepp Ladder here. I've searched on the googleplex for it without much luck, and I've searched here as well. I've found a few blips, but nothing terribly specific.

Biggest questions I have are:

Do you like them better than climbing sticks? Seems like I could save a little weight by using them, and should be less cumbersome while walking through the trees and brush while its still dark out.

Are there any drawbacks to them? Noise problems? How fast are they to hang up? How difficult is it to do in the dark?

Ever have any come loose?

Is there any difference between the Trophy Tree Steps from Legacy and the Stepp Ladder from Wild Edge? Legacy has better prices, but terrible shipping rates. Is there anywhere to buy these apart from the Legacy and Wild Edge websites?

I'm ready to either grab a set of these, or go with sticks. I've been living elsewhere for a few years, and my old sticks have gone missing. So, have to make the decision pretty shortly.
 
Advantages: they pack down smaller, can more easily go around awkward trees and branches, large standing area

Slow, not lighter than light sticks, potentially noisy. They can pop up if you don't get the set correctly
 
Jim Stepp partnered with Andrew at Wild Edge to start manufacturing the steps again. Trophy Tree Steps is creating essentially the same step and was born because the patent expired. Trophy Tree Steps is having the steps made overseas and Wild Edge is building them in house one at a time which is why you can only order so many. There is also another company based out of Russia that is selling the exact same product and is less expensive than both of the companies I just mentioned. I'm not sure of the quality since I have not used the Russian product. You can find them for sale on Ebay and there is a lengthy video that demos the product. My biggest concern with the Jim Stepp is noise whether taking them out to ascend the tree or packing them back into your pouch to climb down after a hunt. If you pre-hung these I think that would remove the noise factor but now your purchasing more steps. I would also checkout Stealth Steps http://www.stealthstep.com before you go ahead with the Jim Stepps. I have these and they work great for my situation.
 
I, personally, do not like the Jim Stepp steps better than climbing sticks. I'm sure some guys have mastered the "Jim Stepp knot" for securing the steps, but I never did so it took me a long time to put up the 10 or 12 steps needed to get to hunting height and I couldn't get them consistently secured. I find the 3-step climbing sticks to be much faster and less frustrating for me. Just my preference.
 
drew13 said:
I, personally, do not like the Jim Stepp steps better than climbing sticks. I'm sure some guys have mastered the "Jim Stepp knot" for securing the steps, but I never did so it took me a long time to put up the 10 or 12 steps needed to get to hunting height and I couldn't get them consistently secured. I find the 3-step climbing sticks to be much faster and less frustrating for me. Just my preference.
Click to expand...
I had trouble mastering the knot but it is simple after I watched one video on their web site. Start by putting it flat against the tree and it is simple when you start with it sitting against the tree..

I may use them for a platform but sticks do seem quicker.
 
I like them for platform steps and often preset trees with them as such. I didn't care for trying to climb a tree with them as a stick just seems to be easier for me. I cut off the rope that comes with them as it becomes stiff and hard to work with. I splice on Amsteel 1/4 rope on mine and as a platform step they are usually rock solid if you work with them a bit.
 
There is a post on here about somebody getting screwed by one of the copy cat version company's. Wild edge is making them in Wisconsin and easy to get a hold of them with questions. Ive used 3 as a platform so to speak and they work well, just tough to get them all at the same height given how they cam over. Nothing at this time will replace my helium sticks for climbing.
 
I've used them. They definitely work as advertised. Here's the short PRO/CON List

PRO:
Rock solid when installed correctly
Allow you to get in ANY tree that will support your weight (unless trunk is too large for the rope to fit around)
Lighter than traditional climbing sticks (only marginally and depends on user's height)

CON:
Way too long to install for a mobile setup
Can be noisy when installing

If you wanted to buy a bunch of them to use for preset spots, I think they're great. If I was going to preset a spot a LONG way from the truck, I think this would be my go-to system as opposed to ladders or heavier steel climbing sticks. For a mobile system, they just take too long to install IMO. For comparison, I get about 7' per Lone Wolf stick (I use 3-step aiders attached to each stick). It takes me all of 30 seconds to install 1 stick. I'd have to use a MINIMUM of 4 Stepp Ladders to achieve that same height which would probably take about 3-5 minutes.

With a LW stick, you run the strap around the tree, loop it over the Versabutton and tighten. Done. PLUS you have 3 steps.
With the Stepp Ladder you have to tie the little knot and usually adjust the tension or the height of the rope at least once per stick. And you only get 1 step.

I was installing about 12 Stepp Ladders for my hunts which took 15-20 minutes. And I was pretty good at the knot. But it seemed like there was always some fiddle with each stepp. It needed to be a little tighter/looser/higher/lower. In my experience it takes at least 3x longer to get to hunting height with the Stepp Ladders

Hope that helps!
 
I have seen posts from Wild Edge here in the past. I did not realize they were producing them from WI, which may influence my purchase, as now I'm back on my home turf. But I'm leaning more towards the Lone wWolf, the Muddy Aerolite, or the Helium sticks. I'm not real patient on stand setup, especially if I'm making noise. I'll probably just switch back to my 4 stick plan, unless I get some new input real shortly here.

Reviews I've read here so far are heeded and greatly appreciated.
 
I tried really hard to get the guy at Wild edge to develop a larger 4 point of contact stepp for platform use. If someone could make them with a little heavier gauge steel, a little bit bigger and with 4 pts of contact - that is what I would use as a platform. I have been saying for a year now, wish I was a welder, I would take a lonewolf seat, and attach a two prong bottom to it just like the stepp ladder and would work off the cam over action. I don't think you could come up with anything better then that for a platform like I use them. Guess I will keep dreaming......
 
Dave i built that metal cam over platform, its in the diy. Unfortunately i cant get it to really cam hard. Also my findings elude to why Jim Stepps are 3 point contact. It's extremely difficult to make 4 points of contact on anything, let alone an irregular shape like a tree. I also spoke with him about a platform and he indicated he was just too busy. I told him i could fab and offered to try to make something if he would send me the bent steel pieces. He sounded interested then i never heard from him again, so i built the one i have now.
 
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More stability, with only one on bottom it creates a pivot point when side loading
 
In that respect, it makes sense. I was only thinking about it from the ladder aspect. I'm guessing you may also like some that are a little wider, for use as a platform?
 
I use sticks and the jim stepp. I use three muddy sticks then the jim stepp. That way if im going to return to the same tree i just take sticks and leave stepps

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
 
pokem said:
I use sticks and the jim stepp. I use three muddy sticks then the jim stepp. That way if im going to return to the same tree i just take sticks and leave stepps

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
If you by jim stepp the carry bag is a must. A 12 pack of them will give you enough to leave 2 trees set up and just pack your sticks.
drew13 said:
I, personally, do not like the Jim Stepp steps better than climbing sticks. I'm sure some guys have mastered the "Jim Stepp knot" for securing the steps, but I never did so it took me a long time to put up the 10 or 12 steps needed to get to hunting height and I couldn't get them consistently secured. I find the 3-step climbing sticks to be much faster and less frustrating for me. Just my preference.
Click to expand...


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