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Very rough set up

I had the same thing happen when I tried climbing trees leaning my way too hard, also with the Muddy pros.

Now I go up the other side whenever possible, don't seem to have any problems that way. Can be a little tricky to work with the aiders (I use two step home made aiders on all my sticks) on trees leaning away hard, so if I know I am going to one of these I take an extra stick or two or change to Lone Wolf sticks to still get to height.

As far as trees leaning toward me I can deal with not too much of an angle by being careful to load the aiders straight down when I start putting weight on the stick, but haven't found a way to make it work when they are leaning too much...
 
Waymore said:
One question I have is my Muddy Pro sticks tend to kick out at the bottom. I'm think he it's because it's hard to get them real tight wth the rope and cam system. Do you guys have that problem?
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I had that problem with my leverage steps (3 steps per rail), but as soon as ditched the cam buckle strap for amsteel I haven't had the prob. Cinch as tight as you can, get up on the bottom step and put as much weight as you can to lock it. (I Will sometimes give a little hop to add a lip extra.

I'm now using the 3 step leverage mod'ed with a lone wolf versabutton and amsteel, and with one step aiders and going way higher than I ever felt comfortable before, even with a full ladder.
 
hickstick said:
I'm now using the 3 step leverage mod'ed with a lone wolf versabutton and amsteel, and with one step aiders and going way higher than I ever felt comfortable before, even with a full ladder.
Click to expand...

Huh, didn't even know the leverage sticks! They seem like a good hybrid between the Muddy Pros and the Heliums. Would be great if you could answer a couple of questions:
- How much do they weigh (in real life and with your versa button mod)?
- How is the craftsmanship? I am pretty happy design wise with the Muddy Pros, but the production quality is pretty poor. This leads to some parts making noise when I shift my weight on the steps.
- Could you post a pic of your modded sticks? I think I know what it looks like, but a picture is still always helpful

Many thanks, and Happy Thanksgiving to all!
 
JoMat said:
Huh, didn't even know the leverage sticks! They seem like a good hybrid between the Muddy Pros and the Heliums. Would be great if you could answer a couple of questions:
- How much do they weigh (in real life and with your versa button mod)?
- How is the craftsmanship? I am pretty happy design wise with the Muddy Pros, but the production quality is pretty poor. This leads to some parts making noise when I shift my weight on the steps.
- Could you post a pic of your modded sticks? I think I know what it looks like, but a picture is still always helpful

Many thanks, and Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Click to expand...
I haven't weighed them in original condition (the manufacturer says 2.5 # each.... definitely lighter with the versa button and am steel. I'll weight gem later...prepping for 19 to thanksgiving .

Manufacturing is top notch...except that stupid W bracket....just bad design. the make no noise (unless you clang them off of something .)
 
hickstick said:
I haven't weighed them in original condition (the manufacturer says 2.5 # each.... definitely lighter with the versa button and am steel. I'll weight gem later...prepping for 19 to thanksgiving .

Manufacturing is top notch...except that stupid W bracket....just bad design. the make no noise (unless you clang them off of something .)
Click to expand...

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6CkcHHRVLVmMkhzTE1CZ3ZudWJ0TGFOMVdxQWY1aGk0bC00/view?usp=sharing

here is the top of the stick were you can see I added the versa button. one stick/versabutton/amsteel weighs 2 pounds 7 ounces....with the added one step aider its 2# 10oz. I don't use anything other than the amsteel to strap them together when stacking to carry in. but I do add the back packing strap and wear it cross body sling style, (I wear a fanny back with all my other stuff).

the only thing I did for the mod was unbolt the W bracket, and bolt on the versa button, then trimmed off the extra thread end of the bolt cause it was interfering with the stacking.
 
hickstick said:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6CkcHHRVLVmMkhzTE1CZ3ZudWJ0TGFOMVdxQWY1aGk0bC00/view?usp=sharing
Click to expand...

Neat, thanks so much for taking the time to take and post the pictures!! Good idea with the rifle sling as a carrier as well (though I might be the only guy in this forum who hadn't realized that yet...)

I will probably go ahead and order some Leverage sticks for next season and do the same mod with versa button and amsteel.

The one thing I think I will do differently is that I will order the two-step model of the leverage sticks. I played around with LW and Muddy sticks and came to realize that the factor limiting the height per stick is how far up I can reach to attach the stick to the tree. This means a two-step stick with a double step aider gives me the same hight as a three-step, but for a considerably less weight.

@ kenn1320 (I hope you're watching this thread as I am not smart enough to quote two posts in one reply..): are the two-step ones you heard are not stacking well?
 
JoMat said:
Neat, thanks so much for taking the time to take and post the pictures!! Good idea with the rifle sling as a carrier as well (though I might be the only guy in this forum who hadn't realized that yet...)

I will probably go ahead and order some Leverage sticks for next season and do the same mod with versa button and amsteel.

The one thing I think I will do differently is that I will order the two-step model of the leverage sticks. I played around with LW and Muddy sticks and came to realize that the factor limiting the height per stick is how far up I can reach to attach the stick to the tree. This means a two-step stick with a double step aider gives me the same hight as a three-step, but for a considerably less weight.

@ kenn1320 (I hope you're watching this thread as I am not smart enough to quote two posts in one reply..): are the two-step ones you heard are not stacking well?
Click to expand...
I'm new to posting on here but have been a member for a while now. I have two sets of the leverage sticks two step version with versa button mods. I used the original cam straps on four by cutting the snap off and screwing the versa button thru the small loop on the cam strap so they stay on the stick. The other four I put 5mm rope on as I had seen someone else do on YouTube to see which I liked better. I was in Va and coming down next to last stick rope mod it slid on smooth bark tree not sure what kind. Any way the bark let go and it slid about a foot before cinching down tight again. My right foot slipped off and the stick kicked out I slid down and landed on the next stick. I climbed down and the rung no the stick that kicked out hit the inside of my right thigh and ripped my pants about 8 inches and skinned my belly a little but could have gutted me just as easily. Long story short sticks stack fine work well but I like the straps better the the rope mods. I have been reading your threads on spurs and just ordered kleins and rappeling gear.
 
I haven't had any slips, that sounds scary. I have even climbed some sycamores. What I have had happen with sticks, was I hadn't realized that I had set up one stick in a concave spot. When I put weight on one of the top steps, it spun like a pendulum and I went with it. My linesman belt and saddle swung me into the tree and held me there. It wasn't nice in my knuckles, but it sure was effective! I also ended up with a step poking my belly, but luckily only bruising from that.


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I had my stick kick out the first time I used 1 step aided, probably a bit to big of a step along with the rope/versa mod. Kicked out to the side. I was glad the Mrs. Wasn't watching that day as I dangled there from my LB


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Jefferson10940 said:
I had my stick kick out the first time I used 1 step aided, probably a bit to big of a step along with the rope/versa mod. Kicked out to the side. I was glad the Mrs. Wasn't watching that day as I dangled there from my LB


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The lineman belt saved you? Did you have harness on as well?

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g2outdoors said:
The lineman belt saved you? Did you have harness on as well?

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Click to expand...

I had my TL saddle on. I wasn't high only the 2nd stick but it was a wake up call. I shortened the aider and decided not to get greedy. I've actually been using a combo of sticks and stepps.


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Make sure you dig the toe of you boot into the tree. You may want to change back to the lonewolf buckle from the ropes. The straps work a lot better than ropes when you have aiders.

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Last edited:
g2outdoors said:
Make sure you dig the toe and back to the lonewolf buckle from the ropes. The straps work a lot better than ropes when you have aiders.

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Click to expand...

That's what I've been thinking. I was planning on packing the straps in my pouch so they stay quiet.


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g2outdoors said:
Make sure you dig the toe of you boot into the tree. You may want to change back to the lonewolf buckle from the ropes. The straps work a lot better than ropes when you have aiders.

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Click to expand...

I agree. The buckles weight a little more but I have stuck with using straps over the rope mod or amsteel
 
I ordered 3 lone wolf straps yesterday. I bought 1 last week and I find it more stable than the rope mod. Today I used 3 sticks and 3 stepps to climb. Used Ernie PF and 2stepps for my platform. Worked out great. I got to hunting height. I'm liking the stepps as platform compared to Ameristep on strap cause I can put side pressure on stepps without them moving.


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I have tried both buckle/straps and the rope mod. I truly think it is key when using aiders to dig that toe into the tree getting your foot set in the aider before proceeding to the next step. Also try to limit any sway while climbing try to keep your body straight even with bent trees. We all want to get up the tree as fast as possible but sometimes slow is smooth and smooth is fast.
 
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