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"The official saddle hunting backpack thread"

seadonist said:
It’s a tough pill to swallow but 4 of the LWCG doubles stack super thin. Also light weight for 4 sticks


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I know. I bought my Hawks before the mini stick craze. I should just bite the bullet and order some shorter sticks but at some point, the wife will mention all of the boxes I've been getting. Very tempted to just get the Hawk minis...
 
Bdwilliams said:
I know. I bought my Hawks before the mini stick craze. I should just bite the bullet and order some shorter sticks but at some point, the wife will mention all of the boxes I've been getting. Very tempted to just get the Hawk minis...
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Not to try and dissuade you but you might not be in love with the quality of the Hawk minis. If you look around the forum here you’ll find quite a few threads about it. Sad to say because the full length ones didn’t have problems like the minis, in my experience anyway.


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Bdwilliams said:
I know. I bought my Hawks before the mini stick craze. I should just bite the bullet and order some shorter sticks but at some point, the wife will mention all of the boxes I've been getting. Very tempted to just get the Hawk minis...
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I cut my full length and made minis. It wasn't too bad. Just an option for you.
 
Bdwilliams said:
I know. I bought my Hawks before the mini stick craze. I should just bite the bullet and order some shorter sticks but at some point, the wife will mention all of the boxes I've been getting. Very tempted to just get the Hawk minis...
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Do not buy the hawks! If there's one stick I'd have to take completely off the market it would be them. They don't even come close to any other stick in my opinion.
 
HuntNorthEast said:
Do not buy the hawks! If there's one stick I'd have to take completely off the market it would be them. They don't even come close to any other stick in my opinion.
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Curious, have you used them? I see this narrative growing that Hawks are terrible sticks. Four or five years ago many considered them the best stick on the market and they were usually the first stick recommended. I have only heard of one failure, and that was a guy who drilled his holes too close to the edge when he cut them down.

I have been running a pair of originals cut down for the last 4 years and currently have a set of minis also. Are they perfect? No. But for guys on a budget they are perfectly safe sticks and the most compact double step option out there. I have held and looked at most of the high end sticks on the market and have climbed with several, and personally I just can't justify paying another $200 to $300 to have a stick that's less compact.
 
GCTerpfan said:
Curious, have you used them? I see this narrative growing that Hawks are terrible sticks. Four or five years ago many considered them the best stick on the market and they were usually the first stick recommended. I have only heard of one failure, and that was a guy who drilled his holes too close to the edge when he cut them down.

I have been running a pair of originals cut down for the last 4 years and currently have a set of minis also. Are they perfect? No. But for guys on a budget they are perfectly safe sticks and the most compact double step option out there. I have held and looked at most of the high end sticks on the market and have climbed with several, and personally I just can't justify paying another $200 to $300 to have a stick that's less compact.
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Yes I have, I honestly couldn't find one pro about them. I guess my opinion is biased because I have used higher end sticks prior to trying them and that could've altered my opinion. For the price margin you can definitely get better sticks for a little bit more money. Buy once cry once right?
 
GCTerpfan said:
Curious, have you used them? I see this narrative growing that Hawks are terrible sticks. Four or five years ago many considered them the best stick on the market and they were usually the first stick recommended. I have only heard of one failure, and that was a guy who drilled his holes too close to the edge when he cut them down.

I have been running a pair of originals cut down for the last 4 years and currently have a set of minis also. Are they perfect? No. But for guys on a budget they are perfectly safe sticks and the most compact double step option out there. I have held and looked at most of the high end sticks on the market and have climbed with several, and personally I just can't justify paying another $200 to $300 to have a stick that's less compact.
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Excepting discussion of quality control concerns and pricing, and to relate this to the subject thread, I'm curious how you are packing them that you are finding them the most compact double step option out there. For those of us who haven't tried them, it could shed some light on a quality I haven't and maybe some others haven't associated with the Hawk stick option.
 
Bdwilliams said:
Is everyone using mini sticks now? My full length Hawks suck for packing nicely on my cheap backpack.
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I run the same sticks and I'm trying a Kuiu 1200 this year. I usually go superlight packing out and use my webbing aider from the first stick as a strap to carry the sticks out. I'd like to have hands free but I dont want to add the bulk of a bigger pack or spend the money on lighter sticks. I'm in the same boat, my friend.
 
Plebe said:
Excepting discussion of quality control concerns and pricing, and to relate this to the subject thread, I'm curious how you are packing them that you are finding them the most compact double step option out there. For those of us who haven't tried them, it could shed some light on a quality I haven't and maybe some others haven't associated with the Hawk stick option.
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I pack my cut down sticks in my MR 28 similar to how @elk yinzer shows in this post: https://saddlehunter.com/community/index.php?threads/hawk-helium-or-beast-sticks.10363/post-155402

The mini's pack even better. I moved the suction cups to the inside or belly of the sticks. This allows two sticks to stack belly to belly, I then put both stacks side by side in my pack. I'll try to remember to take a pic this evening.
 
GCTerpfan said:
I pack my cut down sticks in my MR 28 similar to how @elk yinzer shows in this post: https://saddlehunter.com/community/index.php?threads/hawk-helium-or-beast-sticks.10363/post-155402

The mini's pack even better. I moved the suction cups to the inside or belly of the sticks. This allows two sticks to stack belly to belly, I then put both stacks side by side in my pack. I'll try to remember to take a pic this evening.
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I like that. Stealing. Good option if I decide one sticking is not for me after this season. I don't understand the hate for Hawk Helium. They work great anytime I used them. Yes, the higher end sticks are a lot better in term of quality, but I never had the Helium kicked out on me before and they pack really well.
 
GCTerpfan said:
I pack my cut down sticks in my MR 28 similar to how @elk yinzer shows in this post: https://saddlehunter.com/community/index.php?threads/hawk-helium-or-beast-sticks.10363/post-155402

The mini's pack even better. I moved the suction cups to the inside or belly of the sticks. This allows two sticks to stack belly to belly, I then put both stacks side by side in my pack. I'll try to remember to take a pic this evening.
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Good deal. I see how packing them other than designed improves compactness.
 
GCTerpfan said:
I just can't justify paying another $200 to $300 to have a stick that's less compact.
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Same. Novix minis with side stacking mod pack better for about $50 more. I could care less about weight.


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GCTerpfan said:
Additional pics. The original cut down Helium's on the left and the mini's with the suction cups reversed on the right. The second pic is the mini's in my MR 28.

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That’s an awesome idea reversing the cups! I never would have thought to do that. Almost wish I had these sticks again to try it.


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GCTerpfan said:
Additional pics. The original cut down Helium's on the left and the mini's with the suction cups reversed on the right. The second pic is the mini's in my MR 28.

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i like how that looks packed up but i stopped stacking mine like that when the i noticed the cleats digging into my bag... popup28 was like 325...im not having a 115$ set of sticks poking holes it...have u had this issue?
 
Westdesign03 said:
Here’s my current setup. 2 variations: 1- using 8x WE steps, weighs in at 22lbs 8oz total ; 2- using Hawk Helium sticks, weighs almost 24lbs total. I usually don’t go nuts on weight but in this case I nerded out on it just for fun.

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how do you like the hawk heliums?
 
VFL said:
how do you like the hawk heliums?
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I actually don’t have this setup anymore. In hind sight I kind of wished I kept those sticks though. They were very nice sticks for the money I thought. Solid on the tree and quiet if you were careful not to bang them on things. Had some trouble bumping the steps up with my feet as I climbed. But not a big deal cause they have that tip that sticks out so you can fold them back down with the edge of your boot. I would recommend the full length helium’s if you want stick to a lower budget.

I can’t say the same for the mini sticks though unfortunately. They quality of the minis were night and day worse than the full size sticks for me. Steps were angled differently. The suction cup system used very hard rubber and sharp plastic edges that shredded the rubber cups after only a few times pulling them apart. By the way, the sticks were almost impossible to pull apart as they were out of the box.

I ended up taking them completely apart and took an angle grinder to the steps to even them out, redrilled the holes for the cups and put bolts through instead of the wood screws used in the aluminum that they came with. Made them into my project sticks and then painted them and all that. In the end I ended up selling them though. They had the potential to be awesome but the quality issues killed them for me in the end I guess.


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