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Close call

SomthingOriginal

SomthingOriginal

Active Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2019
Messages
161
Location
Omaha Ne
I hate to make a post like this because it hurts my pride more than anything but I figured you guys might help me figure out what happened or it might help someone else.

So I'm out all day Sunday checking cameras and scouting. I haven't checked the camera in my best spot for 3 months but yesterday the wind was right and we had rain in the AM so I was going in for an evening sit. It's 11 acres of oaks a .5 mile into the middle of a standing corn field. By the time I make it back there I'm pretty muddy from the knee down. I check my camera and find a tree I want to sit in...

I'm running WE with knaider/swaider. I hook up my step. Step up into swaider. Hook in my knaider and this is where things go south in a hurry. I remember disconnecting my swaider but I don't know if I lost it stepping on to the step or adjusting my lineman's up. But I lost control, ended up upside down hanging from my knee. I had a hell of a time getting free. I'm just thankful I was only 4' of the ground. Sprained my wrist, tweaked my knee and severely damaged my ego.

This is my first year with this setup, first year in a saddle. But I've been working on my setup since the end of last season. I've been practicing and before today I was pretty confident in what I was doing. I was not in a hurry, had my toes up and I try to stay leaning back in my lineman's belt. This has me doubting the knaider/swaider pretty hard. When I got up I could see a huge streak of mud on the tree. I wanted to use this system because of how mobile it could make me. But maybe it's not the best system for somebody dealing with mud, snow and bitter cold temps.
 
Glad your ok, I can’t help you with what went wrong.

Main thing is you didn’t get injured bad.
 
Glad you're ok. Thanks for sharing even though it hurts the ego a bit. These are posts that may help others as it brings to light some the potential difficulties associated with climbing methods that we may not have considered. Unfortunately we don't always get out and practice in less than ideal conditions. I can say I had a similar experience, not with a Knaider/Swaider combination but with a WE stepp/5 step aider combination. I also ended up inverted with my foot captured in the adier after it slipped off the tree. Luckily, like you I was only on my first step and up only 4 feet or so. That was enough to dissuade me personally from long aiders.
 
I stopped using the swaider after a similar incident on a wet tree last year. I was 16 feet up, and my lineman belt caught on my 3 wild edge step platform, so I didn't slide very far. No problems getting upright, but scary.

Knaider only from here on out. No problems since.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for sharing, it helps the community. Glad you were not seriously injured.

It sounds like you have learned something from your experience. Learn and grow and find a better way. It is not a wasted experience if you learned something from it. And definitely not wasted when you share with the community. It helps us all.
 
Glad your ok, I’m sure it happened lightning quick. @boyne bowhunter is correct we usually practice in pretty stabilized environments. Sounds like it was a combination of issues all at once. It can happen to any of us. Thnxs for sharing
 
If I hear you right, it sounds like you may have slipped off the step with your swaider foot. Do you think that's right?
 
Or did you kick out with the knaider foot? where was the smear of mud in relation to the step?
 
This sort of story is why one of my primary criteria in climbing methods is how easy /simple they are to execute (especially at hunt's end) as well as how serious a screwup is likely to be.

I've definitely considered getting a 5 step aider to play with...but with stories like these i keep reconsidering.
 
I'm glad you weren't severely hurt. I run the K/S so I'm interested in as many details as you can possibly recall.
 
No I definitely kicked out from the knaider before I got a foot on the step. I'm just not sure if I was stepping up to the step or adjusting my lineman's when it happened. It happened really fast.
 
I wanted very badly for the Knaider/swaider and wild edge steps to work for me also. Like you said it’s so compact and makes you very mobile. But I decided it wasn’t worth the risk for me after a few close calls.
I’m sorry to hear you got hurt and I hope you recover quickly. Thank you for sharing your experience and I hope others learn from this moving forward.
Nothing wrong with wild edge steps and Knaider but when combined with both of these aiders it’s likely to hurt someone badly In time.
Some guys are real pro’s at this method and I envy you guys but most should not consider this method imo.
 
Sounds very similar to what happened to me.

I've since taken the stance that the knaider/swaider is a TOP HEAVY aider system that, lacking a solid handhold or tether connection higher on the tree, is a bad accident waiting to happen.

Thanks for sharing.
 
With how the WE steps nest - how much space do you gain w/swaider vs just knaider? Or mostly just bulk. I've always kind of thought of small quantities of stepps as packing bulky and awkward. I guess either way you have enough to pack well?
 
Thanks for posting. I am glad you weren't hurt more seriously. I went to RADS since I feel it is the safest method. I tried steps and sticks. One sticking (or more sticks) is the only other method I felt OK with.
 
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