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Lightweight Climbing Sticks Selection Confusion

I have no idea what you are dealing with there......but I have Amsteel from four different sources. A couple Amsteel aiders from the 'Amsteel Guy' on Etsy; a PSH platform Amsteel attachment from Vital Ground Outdoors; 56' of 1/8" Amsteel Blue from SRE (which I hand crafted into four daisy chains); and the Amsteel cord on my set of four Latitude SS carbon sticks. I got them all out and it is pretty much the same stuff.

I copied and pasted from latitudes website in my previous post, so they are not "lying to me"......that is their product description to the buying public. If you want to contest the genuineness of their stick cords with them, by all means do so. I have no dog in any fight, except owning a set of four SS carbon sticks that worked just fine for me this fall and the attachment cords look and performs like other Amsteel products I've purchased. If you have a beef, take it to the source. However, I'm getting a Tethrd hater vibe here that doesn't lie at my doorstep, eh?
 
Alaska at Heart said:
Ok....let's talk "real world" for a moment. I own a set of four of both the Lattitude SS carbons and the 20" Beast Gear sticks. I just went down and weighed them as they would go out in the woods....no fudging on sticks only vs cam straps and that kind of balogna.

The Lattitudes come with Amsteel attachement cord, a Voile strap to hold them as a unit, plus I added a cord at the top of each to connect to the hook on my saddle, along with Stealth Strips....they weigh 5.6#.

The Beast Gear sticks with DIY Amsteel daisy chain attachment cords, a similar Voile strap, same top cord and Stealth Strips....6.6#

Some would argue in saddle hunting, a pound is considerable.....I feel it depends on what that pound happens to be related to. Ditch something like a Ropeman/Kong for a hitch to save a pound.....maybe worth investigating. A pound difference in a really good dependable platform or sticks vs something else....well not so much....at least for me. My BWMG EDP pack setup, with platform, RF, Beast Sticks and a few necessities is a bit over 13#. Can I teel a difference between that and my Alps backpack that adds 3 more pounds.....yup. Can I tell a difference when the Beast sticks are loaded vs the Latitude SS a pound lighter.....not really.
Click to expand...

Ok, real world.



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Shikar's are really good. Ive been using them with double versa aiders for the last 4 seasons. I weigh 215 without clothes and gear. Folding 3 down make them very low profile to transport. I to sometimes get tired of opening and closing them. So sometimes I just keep them deployed. Best of both worlds. I use them with a daisy chain to attach to tree. I sometimes one stick with one of them. I just received some tethrd one sticks...so Ill have to try them out. I did try one on a tree real quick and the short standoff is noticeable compared to the shikars. I dont think it will be a problem though. Time will tell. Not sure if the tethrds will be worth the weight savings or not. Especially if just one sticking.
 
Samcirrus said:
Yay! And this is why cam down platforms will not get much deeper than 12-14". The 300 lb mark becomes very hard to support!
Same goes with lightweight sticks.....the further the standoff from the tree the stronger all your parts and connections have to be.
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Stupid question but I’ve never seen it addressed so I’ll ask. Is the 300 pound mark just the best marketing and best able to capture the largest (no pun intended) share of the market? Or is this some industry requirement I’m not aware of?
 
Samcirrus said:
Yay! And this is why cam down platforms will not get much deeper than 12-14". The 300 lb mark becomes very hard to support!
Same goes with lightweight sticks.....the further the standoff from the tree the stronger all your parts and connections have to be.
Click to expand...

Indeed. Physics.

I think @Alaska at Heart hits the nail on the head: “Some would argue in saddle hunting, a pound is considerable.....I feel it depends on what that pound happens to be related to.”





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enkriss said:
He has to get them to stack inline and they would be best of the best. I hate that stagger stack.
Click to expand...

It’s ok when they’re packed in pairs on the sides of a bag, but I agree a solid stack is awkward. It’s another strike against Tethrd ONE’s as well, but they’re lighter. However, the standoff distance and track record heavily favor one over the other.
 
Personally don't much care for the lattitude plastic sticks but I’ll agree their possibly fake amsteel attachment method feels pretty good to me. I looked at it over the weekend comparing it to the trash on the Tethrd one stick and a more heavily abused legit amsteel cord and it looked about the same as the amsteel, a bit stiffer but I just passed it off as used vs. new amsteel. So a good fake if it is.
 
If you want light tethrd ones. You might also consider 4 wildedge steps with an aider. I did by some latitude sticks and do not like them. They will probably show up for sale here
 
Unsure if I need adderal or a few beers for this thread.

Keep counting ounces and teaching us physics boys. Those deer won’t know what hit them in November!
Go hit the gym and show those ounces who’s boss!
 
Definitely can't go wrong with the beast sticks, for the minimal weight savings of some of the other sticks I don't think it's really worth it
 
yoda4x4 said:
I'm at the point where I want to get a set of lightweight sticks to be paired up with my Beast Gear stand. As of today I'm really struggling with figuring out what to go with. Trophyline, Beast Gear, Latitude, and Tree Styx... What to do? Each one has their pros and cons.

Beast Sticks
Pros - designed to be used with my stand, typical type of stick, most durable, most proven company
Cons - heaviest of the 4

Tree Styx
Pros - ultra lightweight, aider is incorporated, sticks lock together and make setting sticks easy
Cons - company completely unknown, design unknown with very little information about it, expensive compared to the others

Latitude
Pros - ultra lightweight, connection to tree best among all 4
Cons - durability concerns, limited foot space, no hand grab on top of stick like traditional stick

Trophyline Hyperlite
Pros - ultra lightweight
Cons - connection to tree unknown, could be the loudest when stacking/unstacking sticks, unknown material

So which one do you suggest?

David

Sent from my moto g power (2022) using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Did you make a decision or are you still undecided?
 
I have to reduce some weight. My sticks weighed 7lbs 12oz last year.
I am going with 2 Shikars with aiders and 4 steps. Gets me 11 steps to my platform or about 14 feet. Total weight is 5lbs. If I need to get higher I will pack 2 more steps.Screenshot_20230909_093533_Gallery.jpgScreenshot_20240317_131655_Gallery.jpg
 
yoda4x4 said:
Still undecided.

David

Sent from my moto g power (2022) using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I have two of the four being considered. Set of four Latitude carbon SS w/Stealh Strips, standard Amsteel attachment method and loop of cord for hanging on saddle clips while ascending, plus Voile strap.....5.6#. Set of four 20" Beast Gear sticks w/Stealth Strips, DIY Amsteel daisy chains, loop of cord, plus Voile strap.....6.8#. When attached to my customized BWMG saddle pack, I cannot feel the 1# difference. The Beast Gear sticks are long proven as strong and durable, but they stack taller than the Latitude SS. That is also not an issue on my pack. The additional height of the Beast Gear provide for more boot space, but since I only wear a 10 boot, it really isn't an issue. Both are quality. I used the Latitudes for the last half of the '23 season and got the Beast Gear sticks right at the end of season. I like them both and would have a hard time saying one is "better" than the other for different reasons.
 

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