• 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

Hiking with Wild Edge Steps

P

Peterk1234

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2017
Messages
805
Location
Massachusetts
So today I decided to go scouting in an area that is all swamp with thick growth and just a bitch to walk through. I brought with me my Hooyman 10foot saw, a machete, eight steps in its carrying bag, my aider and harness with linemans belt. I stuffed it all in my hunting backpack. I carried the stuff for almost three hours.

Well, that settled it. Now I know why I bought these things. There is absolutely no way I was getting through there with my climber. Trust me, I have tried. Maybe, just maybe I could have gotten through there with my sticks, but I would have done my share of cursing as I got snagged left and right.

My pack is not the best, and I am due for an upgrade. It is too small, and really has no support system. I already have my sights set on a legit pack that will be much more comfortable. With that said, it was a piece of cake walking through the stuff. Relatively light, and not once was it an issue. I was blown away. I actually forgot that I had everything I needed to set up on a tree. I easily banged out three miles today and all I was missing was my bow (weight of saw offset the other crap that would be stuffed in my pack).

Oh, and bonus points for the Steps. The tree I was working on is almost six feet in diameter at the base, then at 12 feet the limb splits into two separate limbs and continue up. Fortunately, I had my trusty backup whoopie sling linemans belt (great idea guys; thank you). Hooked it in for safety, set a step on one of the limbs and continued on my way up. And the height I am getting with six steps and the aider amazes me.

One more bonus point for the Steps; they are just plain quiet, both up and down. I have been wondering in the back of my mind if I should look into some light 30" sticks..... nope. Pete
 
That’s awesome man. It’s you guys doing the hard work that keep me thinking about the stepps.

What pack are you eyeing up?
 
In the past I climbed with sticks and used Stepps as a platform. That was when I lived in the relatively open hardwoods of VA. Now that I live in Tampa, FL I may get a complete set to climb with too. Cant beat their 'pack-a-bility'.
I am fairly proficient with them so I may go the aider route when I buy a set to help speed things up a little. Lots of great options for this sort of climbing.
Good luck

Sent from my SM-S820L using Tapatalk
 
Babshaft said:
That’s awesome man. It’s you guys doing the hard work that keep me thinking about the stepps.

What pack are you eyeing up?
Click to expand...

I am leaning toward this: ALPS OutdoorZ Falcon Hunting Pack. It is much larger than my current pack, will allow me to strap my bow or gun to it (when I am hauling our a deer) and has plenty of pockets for my stuff. And it is not stupid expensive. Some of the packs I was looking at were over $200. I just can't get myself to do it.

bigjoe said:
What size rope do you have in the steps?
Click to expand...

Six feet. It is plenty. The only downside is that on a tree the size I just climbed, the simplified knot is a no go (not enough extra rope to get around the leg of the Step). But I am so used to setting the Step now that the traditional knot works just fine, even over my head. The only reason I would climb a tree this size is if it splits above. I think climbing too large of a tree limits your mobility around it when on a platform. I purposely have looked for the whackiest trees around my yard to climb with them. I could make the Steps work in every situation so far. I have a really bad leaner that I have yet to tackle. I want to see how hard it will be when using the aider.
 
Scott F said:
In the past I climbed with sticks and used Stepps as a platform. That was when I lived in the relatively open hardwoods of VA. Now that I live in Tampa, FL I may get a complete set to climb with too. Cant beat their 'pack-a-bility'.
I am fairly proficient with them so I may go the aider route when I buy a set to help speed things up a little. Lots of great options for this sort of climbing.
Good luck

Sent from my SM-S820L using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I have tried them as a platform but I find them tedious. My furniture brackets have been working great. I have several hours on them now and they have been out in my backyard strapped to a tree for almost a month. I keep them out there so the bad weather can beat the crap out of them. I can't get them to fail; not yet anyway. They are nice and wide and very, very stable. Easy to set up.
 
Ok so the circumference was almost 6’. That is a big tree. I thought it was even bigger.

I am getting used to the wild Edge steps. I was out getting comfortable with the whole set up in the yard again today.
 
Peterk1234 said:
I have tried them as a platform but I find them tedious. My furniture brackets have been working great. I have several hours on them now and they have been out in my backyard strapped to a tree for almost a month. I keep them out there so the bad weather can beat the crap out of them. I can't get them to fail; not yet anyway. They are nice and wide and very, very stable. Easy to set up.
Click to expand...

What Furniture Brackets are you using for a platform?
 
Adamcincy said:
I got my brackets in the mail yesterday. Going to open up the slots and give them a try. They are really light.

Adam
Click to expand...
Their weight is the reason I am keeping them outside and then jumping on them every few days. I keep telling myself that they have to fail but they continue to hold up. I ordered another 15 of them with the intention of setting up some permanent platforms during the season.
 
Adamcincy said:
I got my brackets in the mail yesterday. Going to open up the slots and give them a try. They are really light.

Adam
Click to expand...
Mine just came Friday, are u opening the slot so strap can go closer to top??


Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
 
Rod Johnson said:
Mine just came Friday, are u opening the slot so strap can go closer to top??


Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Yes. I cut the slot by connecting to the drilled hole on one, but it was not nearly as stable. Expanding the slot toward the top made all the difference.
 
Adamcincy said:
If I use the wild edge aider and Cain’s method I get about 3.5 feet per stepp. So 8 Stepps could have you standing on a stepp 28feet up.
Click to expand...
How do you get your feet on top of the 8th step?

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
bowhunter15 said:
How do you get your feet on top of the 8th step?

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
If I am standing on the Stepp below the top Stepp, I loop my tether around the tree tether is as high as I can reach, which is about 3.5 feet above my top Stepp and right where I would put my next Stepp if I was putting another on. Depending on the tether, it will have a prusik or a ropeman on it. I slide the prusik or ropeman to the top of the tether where it touches the tree. I attach my aider to the ropeman or prusik and step up just like I would if I was doing Cain's method with a redquirrel aider kinda...from a Stepp to a Stepp but it is from the tether to a Stepp. I have my linesman belt on and am usually clipped into the tether as well.

I have been using the top Stepp as a platform and attach one or two other Stepps around the tree before climbing to the top Stepp.

By the way Bowhunter15. I've followed you DYI videos for a long time. I've learned a lot from them. Great content. I wanted to say thanks for all the information you have shared.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top