• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Anyone else not fond of aiders?

I have a short stick with a mini platform on top and a 3 step aider I dislike tremendously. I wrapped the bottom 2 together and still don’t like it. I have a single aider on a full length 36” helium stick, separate platform. I love it and it’s my go to.
 
Agree that aiders can be a hindrance sometimes. They also add to the risk when climbing. This is why a single set of aiders is not my only solution. I keep aiders on hand that are 1, 2, 3, and even 4 step to use in the appropriate situation. Some are 14" steps, and some are 20". But all of those aiders can become irrelevant when the spot I want to hunt just doesn't support aiders (or even sticks) at all, as you alluded to. In these situations I have many other options to choose from: One sticking, long regular sticks with no aiders, ultra light sticks, stick ladders, screw in steps, ground blind (natural or pop-up or built from lumber), ghillie suit, or the spectrum of traditional tree stands.

My point is, there is no good one-size-fits-all solution for a hunt setup, yet so many people try to force there to be one. I find a spot that I want to hunt and then choose the setup from there based on that spot. Can't imagine trying to do that the other way around.
 
I’m a super mobile guy and over the past few years have been hitting quite a few new pieces of public that I had never set foot on as well as finally starting to make some out of state trips. This type of stuff has been helping get closer and closer to dialing in what I want my primary setup to be since it’s usually on my back for the scout/hunt process. I do agree that having a multitude of setups is optimal if you know what you are getting into, but if it’s all new you’ve got to try and optimize a single setup as best as you can.
 
I personally only use a one step aider on my bottom/first stick. I don’t like the idea of using aiders high up in the tree.
 
I do not like webbing aiders etc. Only use the metal "rope" aiders. They are solid and never have issue with them. However, i'm new to them and only been using two weeks. But climbed every other day. My old rope and webbing aiders were sketchy feeling at best.
 
I keep it gangsta with my 4 full-size LW sticks and cam buckles. You can keep your aiders, cutoff mini sticks, and rope mods. I may be toting an extra 10” and 5# of gear, but I feel safe and I can get to 20’ easily with literally zero fuss.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top