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Wild Edge Stepps platform

g2outdoors said:
Splice one of the flat hooks from Strapworks onto your continuous loop. Then just hook it to the Stepp Ladder rope.

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Hmmmmm. You know that might be better if I slide it onto the main stepp strap. They won’t fall off when I undo the stepp. Slide them into position, then Just loop the continuous loop on the hook. It’s not much of a hook though. I see if they want to fall off while I’m lining everything up to cam over.
 
ckossuth said:
Dang it! I was hoping those would have done the trick. Just FYI, I figured out how to weld a hook on the steps to where they all remain stackable. I remember that was a concern you mentioned earlier. I think the hook would also be in a good location to promote maximum stability.
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Welding something is still in back of my head. It would be the least fiddle factor.
 
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I like the way they held their position on the strap. Even when untied, they won’t slide off. Once hooked to the side step, to slide it into position wasn’t smooth. Had to slide each ameristep clip an inch or 2 at a time. Couldn’t just pull the step around the tree. They didn’t slide that freely. Then once I cammed over the main stepp, it looked like it would cut the strap. Probably not and maybe my continuous loop was too short but I didn’t like that sharp edge in that position on the main stepp line.
 
I've read this thread but I may have forgotten why. I know you only want to use 1 extra one. Why don't you just run the main stepps line through the softshackles?
 
redsquirrel said:
I've read this thread but I may have forgotten why. I know you only want to use 1 extra one. Why don't you just run the main stepps line through the softshackles?
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I’m wanting 3 stepps. Just been playing with adding one stepp right now until I find the best way to attach it. Feeding them on to the main line will work but it’s cumbersome and adds weight to the main line causing sag while you try to tie it on. It would be a lot easier to tie on one stepp and cam it over to tighten knot, then in cam it and let it hang on the tree while you hang a stepp on each side, then slide them into position and finally cam over the main stepp to lock everything in place.
 
swampsnyper said:
I’m wanting 3 stepps. Just been playing with adding one stepp right now until I find the best way to attach it. Feeding them on to the main line will work but it’s cumbersome and adds weight to the main line causing sag while you try to tie it on. It would be a lot easier to tie on one stepp and cam it over to tighten knot, then in cam it and let it hang on the tree while you hang a stepp on each side, then slide them into position and finally cam over the main stepp to lock everything in place.
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Ok gotcha.
 
How about two of these going through your rope, then just hook the step when you are ready to cam over your main step? Overall length is 4.75 inches. I'm guessing it is around 4.5 to the inside of the hook, which is the exact depth from tree the wrung of the step. It may be just a tiny bit too long but it is close to perfect.
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@swampsnyper , you really have me revisiting using steps as platforms. As soon as the freakin' temps get above 32 degrees this morning, I am going to give it another shot. So here is my question..... Is the process to install your platform really no simpler than just doing it the traditional way? What if we just say screw it and not weave the ropes through the rungs like in the wild edge vids and just stagger the steps around a tree? Who cares if they do not line up? Does it really matter at the end of the day? My attempts have always focused on making them level, but pinching the ropes was always the issue. I can do it, but it took too much time.

BTW, hooking the ameristep is an interesting idea. What if we could find something much wider than the ameristep in order to create stability? Somebody was toying around with some huge relatively flexible but firm rubber tube. Maybe just use two of those with the rope threaded through. The Step would be the area where you would stand most of the time, but the tubes would allow you to move around the tree. I have no idea where to get one of those tubes though. I guess large schedule 80 PVC wrapped in a non-slip tape would work as well, if not better.
 
Okay, another crazy idea....... Would need a some fireman's hose. It would be great to use just one length of it, but then we would run into issues with different sized trees. So we would need to cut them into six inch lengths. The stuff is super tough so it would be possible to literally take something like an ameristep, or the brackets I am using, and bolt it to the hose. Thread the Step's rope through the hose and you are done.
 
Peterk1234 said:
How about two of these going through your rope, then just hook the step when you are ready to cam over your main step? Overall length is 4.75 inches. I'm guessing it is around 4.5 to the inside of the hook, which is the exact depth from tree the wrung of the step. It may be just a tiny bit too long but it is close to perfect.
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Maybe. One of the problems I ran into is hooks with a deep bite. It’s usually to tight to get enough slack to hook them.

I’m thinking and been thinking it but have been to lazy to get out the sewing machine to try it, would be to put the ameristep hook on a strap and sew it around the middle cross bar. All test that I have done held more securely when the rope went from the middle bar and wrapped around the side tubing to go to the tree, just like it does when putting a step on normally. Going from the cross bar straight to the tree tends to slide or pull to the center of the step at the tree when you cam over the main step. It prevents the step rocking side to side more the wider the attachment points.
 
Peterk1234 said:
Okay, another crazy idea....... Would need a some fireman's hose. It would be great to use just one length of it, but then we would run into issues with different sized trees. So we would need to cut them into six inch lengths. The stuff is super tough so it would be possible to literally take something like an ameristep, or the brackets I am using, and bolt it to the hose. Thread the Step's rope through the hose and you are done.
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Threading is what I want to avoid. Tying the knot with weight hanging on the rope sucks.
I’ve been just camming over 3 steps for now. It’s not that bad. Cam the center one over 1st. Then the 2 side ones I put a little higher to miss the rope of the center one. The 3rd one I thread thru the 2nd one I installed and it usually falls out in a spot where it clears the ropes to cam over.
 
@swampsnyper I spent some time this afternoon with the steps. I paid no attention to getting them lined up and as a result I learned a couple of things. BTW, I do not want to hijack your thread, so sorry for going a bit sideways. My order is different from yours when setting the three steps.

I did the first step, then shifted it to the left and cammed it. Then I did number two. I put the rope through number one, and I ran the rope under rope number one. Shifted it to the right and cammed it over. These two seem to just automatically line up with each other. The legs of number two easily set above the rope of number one. Number three was threaded through both. But, pushed the rope of number three to the bottom of the rungs of one and two so it I could cam it over easy and not have the other ropes come into play. It took a couple of minutes tops to do the whole thing.

Interesting result. The staggered steps is actually very comfortable because the heels of both feet are placed on the lower step and the balls or toes are on the higher steps. It provided more even pressure on my feet and less flexing of the ankles when hanging. I was actually a bit disappointed because I have invested about 100 bucks in 20 of those corner brackets, and now I am torn as to which I like better.

I spent a lot of time standing on both today. I also figured out that placing my corner brackets close enough that a foot can rest on two of them makes a huge difference in comfort. Both systems were very comfortable but the edge goes to the steps because their width, various curves and angles and just superior firmness really allows you to get into some difficult positions. They just do not move. You can really put as much force as you want against them.

So, this is a long ass way of saying if you can perfect the system, it will be huge. However, just staggering the damn things is plenty easy. Each rope that gets threaded through a cammed step goes below the other rope(s). Finish with the one in front of you, setting the legs of the step below the other ropes.

One question about your setup; how does it react to a lot of side pressure?

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