Appreciate the kind words fellas! Merry Christmas!
I am confident the sladder will cost me a chance to get in a tree and kill a deer at some point. But as a new dad trying to maximize efficiency and risk reduction hunting on public ground, it fits in well.
I’m also confident it’s much like the JX3, in that me not understanding why more people don’t use it, is an indictment on me not them. I try to meet people where they are and use their logic and reasoning to talk through their perspective on an issue. And if asked how it applies to me, offer insight on my thought process. I suck at it though. I just think some things ARE, regardless of folks feelings and thought process.
Anywho, I used the sladder to climb a dozen trees and set cameras, and another five times to hunt.
I met one tree I couldn’t get in(and the only way up was SRT, and no chance I get in it without spooking the deer by sight doing it). It was on the hunt I shot my contest buck. The tree I selected and climbed worked better anyway.
I didn’t use another method. I killed 3 deer. One from the ground.
I didn’t fuss, fight, fiddle. Just got up and down dead quiet, with minimum 3 points of contact, in less than 3 minutes each way for the “climbing” portion of getting up the tree. I spent less than a minute on each end to pack and unpack and deploy the method to climb. It weighs a pound.
I still think it goes right back into the “makes no sense” category when you move it a third time and incorporate rappel gear. But for getting to 12-15’ it’s on par with bolts/aider for me.
