Just listened to the wired to hunt podcast with Greg, Ernie, Andy, and John. When they were discussing their preferred climbing methods Ernie said he uses a cut down set of hawk sticks that he cut off just below the second step to make a really short stick, then just uses a 3 step aider. This way he said his sticks are no wider then his pack when strapped on horizontally. I currently use muddy pro sticks with a 2 step aider and liked the idea of having an even shorter stick with longer aider to reduce bulk when strapping them to my pack. Has anyone cut down a muddy stick then just drilled a new hole for the offset bracket and step?
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Anybody cut down muddy pros?
- Thread starter Jeff25
- Start date
You could. But they are already only 20" long and 18" step to step. If you go much shorter than that you'll really take a hit in your climbing efficiency because even if you attach a long aider on it you can only place the stick as high as you can reach the cam cleat anyway. More packable, yes but you won't get quite as high
I made 16'' sticks and have a 3 step aider. I'm 5'10'' and can get to 25ft without stretching it out to much. I also carry my sticks horizontally in the ''bed roll'' position. Works for me getting through the thick stuff. I used to have longer sticks id carry vertical but i slipped on a wet log and took a stand off to the shoulder/neck.... nothing crazy just a good cut that made me rethink the way i was packing them
But regardless if it’s a 20” stick with two aiders or cut down to say 15” stick with 3 aiders the top step should be at the the same height. The cam cleat would stay in the same position on the stick. Right now I can set the top step of my stick about 7’ above the ground with a double aider as that’s as high as i can reach. Wouldn’t I be able to set it at the same height with a shorter stick and 3 aiders?
Correct
Not the case when using a rope cam cleat. Reason being is that you only have to be able to reach the bottom of the muddy pro and you can flip the rope up the tree and get the rope into the cam cleat without ever touching it. So by shortening the stick you are losing height. It wouldn't be the case if using a cam strap or any other attachment method than a cam cleat.
Makes since
Never used muddy pros so im not exactly sure the workings of the cam cleat..... My 16'' sticks get me pretty much the exact same height as 20'' or 24'' but i have vera button and rope attachment. I'm 100% public land and I'll trade lite weight and packability over height any day.