• 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

DIY strap on steps

redsquirrel

redsquirrel

Administrator
Staff member
SH Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2014
Messages
14,953
Location
NJ
I think I might have finally come up with a pretty easy DIY to create some strap on steps. For starters I have to say that I do not suggest anyone perform these modifications and if you do you do so at your own risk, and that it is up to every individual to test and evaluate any modifications at ground level to ensure their safety.

I had picked up a set of the Hawk Helium sticks to try out a mod similar to Dave's. When I got the sticks I loved the design of the steps. As I was thinking about cutting the sticks down for the mod I thought that the part of the cutoff portion with a step on it might work well for a strap on step, and there was already slots milled in it to thread the strap through.I had been working on a couple other ideas that inspired this thought. So today I finally got around to making it happen. First I cut the stick down. There is a U channel on both sides of the stick so I decided to cut one of them off to bring the entire step closer to the tree. After that I just drilled a hole where the step portion needed to go, installed it and I was done. I did all of this with a miter saw with a carbide blade and my drill press and it probably took me less than 15 minutes of work. I was so excited about it's potential I took it out back and set it up on a few trees in the dark. The first tree I put it on was a tree with gaps in the bark and it wobbled around a bit just like any other strap on step so I moved over to tree with smoother bark, set it up and it was just as solid as any other step I've used. I jumped up and down on it and stood with one foot on it and it held up.

So all of that being said I am very excited about its potential but I will have to evaluate some more how well it will hold up. It came in just a touch heavier than an ameristep (0.28 lb vs 0.24), but it folds up. I will take some more pics when I make another one but here is the finished product:
e6e5032050c3b31a64e9167fe05738a8.jpg
 
Good use of a resource Red. Only down side is you need to buy helium sticks and cut them down to get these. :D You have (6) will you be replacing your ameristeps with them as a platform?
 
kenn1320 said:
Good use of a resource Red. Only down side is you need to buy helium sticks and cut them down to get these. :D You have (6) will you be replacing your ameristeps with them as a platform?
Click to expand...

Thanks Ken. So I'm pretty sure you could get a set of 6 steps out of 1 stick, and I'm also pretty sure I saw single sticks for around $35 somewhere online. Much cheaper and more accessible than ameristeps!

I am going to make a full set and try them all as a platform for a while. I am not using my ameristeps right now because I have some aluminum steps that are small and light that I like for a mobile hunt (and I'm trying to replicate those too, I'm about halfway there...), they were only 0.17 lb per step. If these end up working well, they could replace my current steps. These will fold up pretty nice and that step design is a little larger than the ones I'm using. Small steps don't usually bother my feet but the larger platform won't hurt.
 
Doh, didnt think about cutting up 1 whole stick. Id like to pick up another stick, but havent found them sold individually. Keep us in the loop on well they handle rocking. Looking at my sticks, that channel isnt very wide.
 
Just noticed it says unavailable right now.
 
I am going to try this. I have a set of ameristeps, but never liked the way the don't fold for packing. It also gives me some ideas for modifying a set of folding sky hooks I have. More to come......

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
Erniepower said:
http://hawkhunting.myshopify.com/collections/climbing-sticks/products/helium-1pk-climbing-stick


Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Thanks, just did the math on my way in and I really need (2) more sticks so Im just going to order another (3) pack.
 
Looks awesome! I would love something more compact than the wood steps I am using now.
 
Look awesome. I have been using screw in steps. Refused to pay the high prices for ameristep steps. These looks awesome. More pictures would be great.
 
Thanks guys. I will post more pictures on the next one I make, hopefully later this week.
 
Nicely done, RS. For about $75 you could have 3 platforms with 4 steps each. That's a really good ROI considering Ameristeps are about triple that!
 
redsquirrel said:
Thanks guys. I will post more pictures on the next one I make, hopefully later this week.
Click to expand...


Sounds like demand is growing, might have to step up production as 1 per week doesnt sound like it will cut it. :lol:
 
I agree with Ken - 1 per week doesn't work. Hell, it will take at least 3 full weeks for me to buy the ones that you've already made and that doesn't include shipping time!
 
I wonder if the company would be willing to consider mass producing these?
Maybe someone could push the idea to them?
 
Good idea Red. I use these sticks as well super light and i love how they fold and pack. I have a couple questions for you though.

1. What did you use to cut the sticks, and I assume you sanded the edges as well?
2. Are you going to put anything on the "back" side of the step where it contacts the tree? The middle of these sticks are super slim and I don't see it giving good support or collapsing onto its side.
 
kenn1320 said:
redsquirrel said:
Thanks guys. I will post more pictures on the next one I make, hopefully later this week.
Click to expand...


Sounds like demand is growing, might have to step up production as 1 per week doesnt sound like it will cut it. :lol:
Click to expand...
LOL. Well that first one was a trial. I could probably bang out a full stick's worth in an hour. Heck it took almost as much time taking the hardware off and putting it on to make sure I got straight cuts as it did to actually make them.
 
Scott F said:
I wonder if the company would be willing to consider mass producing these?
Maybe someone could push the idea to them?
Click to expand...

Considering what I did to their sticks, I bet someone there would have a heart attack if they saw :eek:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top