Lol. I've paid less for cars...that ran fine.
And for rifles, bows, etc.
It's a stick. This saddle industry has some serious pricing issues that need ironing out. A pound of pure silver is $300. Do the math on what you're paying for those bits of aluminum and webbing.
Go ahead and hate. It's the truth and I stand by it.
you're entitled to your opinion, we all have them, but the thread's asking about aiders, not your opinion on one stick costs. many people on here (myself included to some extent) are gear whores, it's OK and part of the saddle hunter 0 step program. there's a few that resist, but many of us overbuy, its ok.
i got a one stick at the end of last season, used so i didn't choose the aider, in practice ive found that sometimes it's nice having the steps a bit closer together than if i'd have designed it myself, and that when i'm going up the tree sometimes my foot naturally hits any of the bottom 2 (sometimes even 3) steps of the aider depending on how high i've been able to hang it above me. becauseof this, having the adjustable aiders doesn't make sense to me, they'll never be perfectly where i want them anyway and realistically if the steps are within a foot or so of where i'm expecting it, i can usually stewtch or do a half step to compensate.
counterpoint is that adjustability will correct for some of the change in placement, and i'll likely get more consistent with more practice. i guess what i'm trying to say is in reality i can't tell much real world difference between my 24 inch beast sticks with long cable aiders, my 30 inch hawks with 15 inch steps and a 20 inch aider, and my one stick with ~15 inch steps. the shorter steps are easier with late season layers, but 24 inch beats are do-able, even in lots of clothes, they all get me up the tree.
TL: DR: the adjustability of the ultimaider is something i'd play with once or twice and then set and leave, so i like my nonadjustable sewn on version.
