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Squirrel Steps With Cam Buckle

JSEXTON23

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2017
Messages
1,234
Location
Ohio
Ok, here’s something I want to try. Cam buckle strap, but instead of the webbing being sewn to the cam buckle, sew a flat hook onto the webbing and hook it to the cam buckle. That way you have the webbing threaded through the buckle permanently.

I’m sure that I’m not the first person to try this. I would be using this for climbing, not a ros. Anybody care to share their experience?
 
The above is what I have in mind. I just don’t like the flat hook on this one.
 
I tried this for climbing with squirrel steps (exactly what you are proposing) and discarded it. I used one of DanO's straps with flat hook sewed on. The problem is, cam buckles can't get nearly as tight as an OCB. I find that - for me - squirrel steps have no forgiveness, they have to be very tight to be safe and functional. Cranford rope steps can be looser and still safe, because the step portion is at an upward angle, so even if the top pulls away from the tree a bit, they are still safe. The angle on the squirrels is much less so there is less leeway. I also found that tightening the cam buckle on the tree was annoying - it was difficult to hold the strap in place while pulling on the tag end because the whole setup is so light and doesn't bite into the tree like a climbing stick does. Just my observations.
 
I tried this for climbing with squirrel steps (exactly what you are proposing) and discarded it. I used one of DanO's straps with flat hook sewed on. The problem is, cam buckles can't get nearly as tight as an OCB. I find that - for me - squirrel steps have no forgiveness, they have to be very tight to be safe and functional. Cranford rope steps can be looser and still safe, because the step portion is at an upward angle, so even if the top pulls away from the tree a bit, they are still safe. The angle on the squirrels is much less so there is less leeway. I also found that tightening the cam buckle on the tree was annoying - it was difficult to hold the strap in place while pulling on the tag end because the whole setup is so light and doesn't bite into the tree like a climbing stick does. Just my observations.
This is what I was looking for. Thanks
 
Ameristeps used to come like that - flat hook that hooked onto a cam buckle. They worked, but there was also the danger of noise from metal on metal and they didn’t get super tight like other methods.
 
Ameristeps used to come like that - flat hook that hooked onto a cam buckle. They worked, but there was also the danger of noise from metal on metal and they didn’t get super tight like other methods.
You can run into metal on metal a million ways. Even an ocb can rattle a little bit.

I’m more concerned with how tight it is
 
That won’t get tight enough. Takes some effort to even get an OCB tight enough.
 
Why not try the tourniquet method? :) no metal, and no rattle whatsoever! Tight as a ratchet!
 
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My OCB gets plenty tight enough to hold my platform and 3 monkey bars. I’ve used a ratchet which gets tightest IMHO, BUT camming over 2x with an OCB is the best method I’ve found. The first time, I cam it over snug. Now I can move my bars in place(2 on the left, one on the right) as well as the platform. A quick opening of the buckle to retighten and it’s rock solid! It’s one of few things I’ll change
 
That won’t get tight enough. Takes some effort to even get an OCB tight enough.
I’ve never had an issue getting the ocb tight to climb with squirrel steps. I’ve honestly never felt the need to get the ocb so tight that it takes that much effort.

Im going to give this a shot and see if the cam is fine. It works for ameristeps.
 
Little while ago I had a very similar idea. Contacted EWO about it to see which cam buckle they suggest. DanO replied and said they don’t recommend cam buckles for a ROS… it won’t get tight enough. They suggest a ratchet or OCB. I’m sure they’ve tested many setups.
 
Little while ago I had a very similar idea. Contacted EWO about it to see which cam buckle they suggest. DanO replied and said they don’t recommend cam buckles for a ROS… it won’t get tight enough. They suggest a ratchet or OCB. I’m sure they’ve tested many setups.
I’m talking about climbing with them, which I’ve done for an entire season in 2020 with ocb. Not talking about ROS
 
Keep us posted …
I had a similar idea during the long dark days of winter.
I found some but they were cost and/ or weight prohibitive, or a perceived lack of safety.
EWO OCB is right there with cost and weight of most quality cam straps.
 

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@JSEXTON23 did you try the cam buckles with the squirrel steps? What did you think?
I tried it with a couple of different cam buckle with no success. I could certainly climb with them but they do want to pull away from the tree. The real issue I ran into was getting the strap not to spin when I was tightening it. Oh well. OCB it is
 
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