Hawk helium kick out

[raisins]

I saw on here recently something i wanted to try. A guy was using amsteel daisy chains. One loop on the versa button, then around the tree, wrap around the versa button, take it back and put it through a loop and pull it tight back toward the stick. Almost like a truckers hitch, and loop the tightest loop onto the versa button. Sounds real solid, but i have yet to get to try it.

It is a trucker's hitch as far as function. I'm 90% sure that he wrapped the tag end of the chain several times around the button while holding tight and then maybe tied an overhand (but watch the video again). If you just looped the closest loop then the trucker hitch would lose tension and defeat the purpose. I use the same exact technique but on strap on steps.

 

[Shakeandbake]

I currently have hawk minis and beast sticks. You have to get every bit of slack out of the hawk sticks when setting them and you have to pull the bottom bracket off the tree and slam them down. If you don’t pull it off the tree and push down hard they will kick out every time.

 

[bj139]

I had a 20” Stick kickout hard this weekend. Lineman’s belt saved my life. I was standing on top of stick setting the next. As I was stepping up it was as if someone pulled a trap door. I fell, raked down the stick I was setting. I quickly put my tether on the tree and tried to recover. Took some time but I was able to salvage the hunt. The bottom standoff on these sticks don’t leverage well into the tree. I have experimented in the yard. I will be modifying another strap on the bottom of each stick. Especially my top stick View attachment 40295
that I had a custom platform made. The stick makes a clunk noise when I shift on it. It’s the bottom stand off!


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Glad to hear you are OK.
When I started climbing Hawk Helium sticks I made sure to keep my weight over the center of the stick and don't pull sideways on the top step excessively or push sideways with my feet. I have seen several videos of people doing just that and they were lucky the stick didn't come loose. Your accident sounds different. Another person recently reported bark coming loose under the stick and it sliding down. I never felt completely at ease climbing sticks like I do now that I climb SRT.

 

[Acts 11:7]

Your accident sounds different. Another person recently reported bark coming loose under the stick and it sliding down. I never felt completely at ease climbing sticks like I do now that I climb SRT.

Please excuse my newbie ignorance. SRT?


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[DroptineKrazy]

Glad to hear you are OK.
When I started climbing Hawk Helium sticks I made sure to keep my weight over the center of the stick and don't pull sideways on the top step excessively or push sideways with my feet. I have seen several videos of people doing just that and they were lucky the stick didn't come loose. Your accident sounds different. Another person recently reported bark coming loose under the stick and it sliding down. I never felt completely at ease climbing sticks like I do now that I climb SRT.

Hey @bj139 I'm just curious. How come you are so much more comfortable climbing srt than with sticks? When I'm climbing with my sticks I can evaluate the tree to make sure it is not dead and is safe to climb but when you throw that line up over a limb in a tree 20 feet up you can't really tell if it is solid or not especially after the leaves are down.

 

[bj139]

Please excuse my newbie ignorance. SRT?


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Single Rope Technique. I put a rope up the tree and climb the rope. The rope is manufactured to strict tolerances, unlike trees. If the tree does not fall, my chances of falling are very low. That gives me confidence. Here are all the videos I made, many about SRT, FYI.

billj139

I am just an old guy having fun tree climbing and playing with sewing machines. Both these things grew out of an interest in saddle hunting from a tree saddl...

www.youtube.com

 

[bj139]

Hey @bj139 I'm just curious. How come you are so much more comfortable climbing srt than with sticks? When I'm climbing with my sticks I can evaluate the tree to make sure it is not dead and is safe to climb but when you throw that line up over a limb in a tree 20 feet up you can't really tell if it is solid or not especially after the leaves are down.

I was hunting the other day thinking that same thing. How do I know which tree is dead if all the leaves are off all the trees? I don't really know. Maybe I could drill a bore hole to determine if dead or alive. My last post above explains why I think SRT is safer. The system is manufactured to work together, hardware and rope. Trees grow with many different variations in many different factors and are out in the weather 24:7 and are untested in their current state.

 

[BuckTown]

Glad to hear you are OK.
When I started climbing Hawk Helium sticks I made sure to keep my weight over the center of the stick and don't pull sideways on the top step excessively or push sideways with my feet.

This! Definitely found keeping my weight towards the center of the stick when on the top step helps from the stick trying to kick. Never had one of my 20” kick out with daisy chains, but I’ve felt uneasy about some of its movement when I get too far out on the edge of those top steps. I also have found my cable aider seems to help seat the sticks. Only running aiders on bottom 2 sticks and they seem to be more secure than my top sticks.

 

[DroptineKrazy]

But don't you have to go over a limb in said tree? How do you know the limb is good? Excuse my ignorance as I know nothing about srt.

 

[bj139]

But don't you have to go over a limb in said tree? How do you know the limb is good? Excuse my ignorance as I know nothing about srt.

If I go over a limb, I try to get the rope around the trunk as well so the girth hitch will cinch around the trunk. When I said, more confidence, I didn't mean 100% confidence in SRT. Maybe 99% with SRT but 70% with sticks, IMHO. Photo showing girth around the larger limb (trunk).

I don't have to go over a limb.

 

[DroptineKrazy]

Makes sense to me now. Thanks.

 

[Acts 11:7]

I was able to resolve my kickout issues!!! After reading a few posts in this thread, I found I could get the buckle amazingly tight. I put it on the tree per usual. Then wrap tag line around my hand, rotate the stick 90* counter clockwise while pushing away on the tag line of the strap. I gain 1-2” tighter. Then pry the stick back clockwise into its original spot and push down. These things are rock solid now!!!

Thanks for the suggestions guys!!!


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[Outdoorsman33]

I was able to resolve my kickout issues!!! After reading a few posts in this thread, I found I could get the buckle amazingly tight. I put it on the tree per usual. Then wrap tag line around my hand, rotate the stick 90* counter clockwise while pushing away on the tag line of the strap. I gain 1-2” tighter. Then pry the stick back clockwise into its original spot and push down. These things are rock solid now!!!

Thanks for the suggestions guys!!!


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Be careful in doing this getting them so tight and then putting all your weight on them may but stress on the tree bracket. On my bottom tree brackets on 2 sticks have stripped/ bent bolts now. Also the bolts that come on the sticks aren’t very good bolts anyways.

 

[Acts 11:7]

Be careful in doing this getting them so tight and then putting all your weight on them may but stress on the tree bracket. On my bottom tree brackets on 2 sticks have stripped/ bent bolts now. Also the bolts that come on the sticks aren’t very good bolts anyways.

Your referring to the bolts on the stand offs?


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[Shakeandbake]

Your referring to the bolts on the stand offs?


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Your going to weaken the buckle applying all that torque to it. Strap it to the tree and work it up and down while pulling right. After the strap is tight, just lift the bottom off the tree and slam it down. They won’t move once you step on it.

 

[raisins]

Hey @bj139 I'm just curious. How come you are so much more comfortable climbing srt than with sticks? When I'm climbing with my sticks I can evaluate the tree to make sure it is not dead and is safe to climb but when you throw that line up over a limb in a tree 20 feet up you can't really tell if it is solid or not especially after the leaves are down.

I’m with you.

I climbed with sticks for years and only had one kickout and it was my fault totally.

I always climbed high side of tree and never did crazy angles like stick at a 45 degree

also avoided very thick trees

 

[thedutchtouch]

I have no actual data to back this up so could be wrong, but from the threads i've seen recently it seems like more people are having an issue with the hawk minis/ 20 inch version kicking out than an unmodified 30 inch/ 3 step stick. Is this true? or are people having kickout issues with the longer sticks as well? I personally hate the stock straps and am 2/4 of the way through making some daisy chains (as an aside I don't see how people can sell them for 15 bucks and make money, they take a while to make. if you're debating perhaps just buy some premade instead of buying a 600 foot spool like I did...)

 

[bj139]

I’m with you.

I climbed with sticks for years and only had one kickout and it was my fault totally.

I always climbed high side of tree and never did crazy angles like stick at a 45 degree

also avoided very thick trees

I can feel more comfortable climbing SRT than sticks without it affecting you. If you feel more comfortable doing the opposite then don't let me talk you out of it. That is why we still have free choice in the USA.

 

[stevethebreeze]

Most of the kickouts I've seen on here were people using amsteel daisy chains if I remember correctly. I use @DanO web daisy's and I've had no issues so far. May happen tomorrow but so far so good.

 

[KYRanger]

I have a set of the Hawk minis, and have climbed with them many times. The proper seating is important, but I am not fond of the stand off design. I think they are too narrow.