ricky racer
Well-Known Member
I see numerous posts by members of this site complaining about their feet getting sore standing on bolts or screw in steps. The issue is caused by the small contact area on those style of steps concentrating a high amount of pressure on the underside of your foot. Distributing that pressure over a larger area decreases the amount of pressure felt and adds more comfort to your feet.
Many of us use 3/8" grade 8 bolts to stand on. Below are a couple simple ideas for easy to make the bolt platform more comfortable.
The top picture shows steps made from 3" square steel box tubing available everywhere. The second picture shows steps made from 2" ID aluminum pipe. Just a couple of different options depending on what material is available to you.
I cut the material approximately 1" in width and drilled a 25/64" hole through the center while biasing the hole to the upper edge. By biasing the hole towards the top it makes the bottom heavier so the step will tend to self level when pressure is taken off of it.
Another nice thing is whatever angle your feet are at, the steps will match that angle.
Since you only need a couple or a few of these for your platform, they can be easily clipped to a biner attached to your saddle. Just slip your bolt through the step before inserting it in the tree.
I haven't tried them on screw in tree steps but they work there as well. You'll need to experiment with that yourself.
For screw in steps, the Timber Tread steps I've offered for sale in the classifieds might be a better choice.
Many of us use 3/8" grade 8 bolts to stand on. Below are a couple simple ideas for easy to make the bolt platform more comfortable.
The top picture shows steps made from 3" square steel box tubing available everywhere. The second picture shows steps made from 2" ID aluminum pipe. Just a couple of different options depending on what material is available to you.
I cut the material approximately 1" in width and drilled a 25/64" hole through the center while biasing the hole to the upper edge. By biasing the hole towards the top it makes the bottom heavier so the step will tend to self level when pressure is taken off of it.
Another nice thing is whatever angle your feet are at, the steps will match that angle.
Since you only need a couple or a few of these for your platform, they can be easily clipped to a biner attached to your saddle. Just slip your bolt through the step before inserting it in the tree.
I haven't tried them on screw in tree steps but they work there as well. You'll need to experiment with that yourself.
For screw in steps, the Timber Tread steps I've offered for sale in the classifieds might be a better choice.
