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Man that's like $500 worth of sticks. I ordered 4 and about cried.
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Hunting Beast Sticks
- Thread starter Bhatcher
- Start date
Man that's like $500 worth of sticks. I ordered 4 and about cried.
I have LWCG compacts on order. Tried to get some fools on here to sell me a set but, no one is selling them. I've seen about 3 set's for sale. People must like them.
east_of_90
Member
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2019
- Messages
- 40
They are slick! Yeah I’d have to agree you don’t see anyone selling any LWCG. The rubbery coating is awesome and they go together and come apart dead silently and the height is perfect. I was worried about only having one side of the step at each step height but haven’t had an issue yet. Weight, size and overall function is hard to beat they def got these right. I’m now awaiting some other items from them!
- Joined
- May 16, 2018
- Messages
- 1,834
Tradeoffs abound when picking climbing systems, and specifically when picking sticks. These tradeoffs have been well and thoroughly discussed on this great forum. As usual it comes down to personal preferences and circumstances when it comes to deciding which way to go.
That said, I want to share my thinking as of last night's hunt after several years of trying many different public land legal climbing systems. My somewhat imitation Beast styled DIY sticks are the "greatest thing since sliced bread"!
After another hunt not seeing any deer (crazy tough year so far), I began packing up for my climb down. I threw my LB around the tree, looked down to find my top stick to step to and saw a runway of glowing dots staring up at me (Gun Glow) saying "Step here for safety!". It is a small thing but it was so reassuring and satisfying. I got all my kit stowed and proceeded to climb down, enjoying every move of the incredibly simple flip line LB and every step onto my glowing @DanO double steps all the way to the ground. No aiders to fiddle with. No significant risk of slipping, kicking out, or falling. I just climb down the tree. Simple and safe.
Popping each stick off the tree was a breeze and wrapping the uber light @DanO woven daisy chain straps with elastic cord keepers was so simple and so awesome. Yes, there is a bit of a "wind chime" effect to my top two sticks dangling from my saddle, but their paracord loops go in and out of @DanO's Kydex hooks so beautifully easy it is worth the extra effort to be a little more careful with sudden movements on this phase of the climb.
At the base of the tree there are a few extra moments required to properly organize and stack the 4 sticks. The LW standoffs invariably need some adjusting in order for the sticks to fit together. I remind myself how nice it is that they pivot to fit the infinitely variable tree surfaces out there as I am forced to fiddle getting them stacked tightly. I also revel in satisfaction with each sticks slightly over 1.5 lb weight as I "mess with them". Handling these glowing sub 2 lb beauties in the dark is like working anti-gravitational pixie sticks!
I bungee ball the 4 together and strap them to my pack and I'm off. My small pack with my 4 sticks, my Podium, and the minimal stuff I take hunting weighs about 13 lbs which feels like nothing as I head off on my moonlit walk back to the truck with just my bow in my hand. I don't think I've ever felt better about the overall performance of my system than last night.
So, I've never handled a Beast stick, as the price scared me away last year, and by the time I came around to it they were out of stock. I thoroughly enjoyed sourcing all the parts of my DIYs (@DanO certainly made this easier), and I enjoyed fiddling with them as I built them. And I'm seriously not a very handy DIY guy. As I understand it my sticks are slightly lighter than the Beasts, and weight matters to me wherever it makes sense for it to matter. My standoffs perform differently but overall neither better nor worse. My sticks do not stack in a straight line which is a definite cool feature of the Beasts. My total "investment" per stick was roughly the same as the price of a Beast stick. You simply can't get into this light and this nice of a climbing system without paying for it. This is where Heliums shine. I have a set, and when properly modded they are not far behind the premium sticks in weight and performance, and the $100 price for 3 is remarkable. But my heliums have yet to make it to a hunting tree, as the DIYs are just too awesome to leave at home.
Sorry for the long treatise on my climbing and stick building adventures. I just bumped a group of deer off my food plot by stupidly trying a morning food plot hunt so now I'm awake with nothing to do! Figured I'd share my journey and feelings in case it helps others with their decisions with these tradeoffs. I've tried lots of systems. I've been on this wonderful forum touting the benefits of each. I really think I've found what works and speaks to me the best.
If so, what will I tinker with now?
That said, I want to share my thinking as of last night's hunt after several years of trying many different public land legal climbing systems. My somewhat imitation Beast styled DIY sticks are the "greatest thing since sliced bread"!
After another hunt not seeing any deer (crazy tough year so far), I began packing up for my climb down. I threw my LB around the tree, looked down to find my top stick to step to and saw a runway of glowing dots staring up at me (Gun Glow) saying "Step here for safety!". It is a small thing but it was so reassuring and satisfying. I got all my kit stowed and proceeded to climb down, enjoying every move of the incredibly simple flip line LB and every step onto my glowing @DanO double steps all the way to the ground. No aiders to fiddle with. No significant risk of slipping, kicking out, or falling. I just climb down the tree. Simple and safe.
Popping each stick off the tree was a breeze and wrapping the uber light @DanO woven daisy chain straps with elastic cord keepers was so simple and so awesome. Yes, there is a bit of a "wind chime" effect to my top two sticks dangling from my saddle, but their paracord loops go in and out of @DanO's Kydex hooks so beautifully easy it is worth the extra effort to be a little more careful with sudden movements on this phase of the climb.
At the base of the tree there are a few extra moments required to properly organize and stack the 4 sticks. The LW standoffs invariably need some adjusting in order for the sticks to fit together. I remind myself how nice it is that they pivot to fit the infinitely variable tree surfaces out there as I am forced to fiddle getting them stacked tightly. I also revel in satisfaction with each sticks slightly over 1.5 lb weight as I "mess with them". Handling these glowing sub 2 lb beauties in the dark is like working anti-gravitational pixie sticks!
I bungee ball the 4 together and strap them to my pack and I'm off. My small pack with my 4 sticks, my Podium, and the minimal stuff I take hunting weighs about 13 lbs which feels like nothing as I head off on my moonlit walk back to the truck with just my bow in my hand. I don't think I've ever felt better about the overall performance of my system than last night.
So, I've never handled a Beast stick, as the price scared me away last year, and by the time I came around to it they were out of stock. I thoroughly enjoyed sourcing all the parts of my DIYs (@DanO certainly made this easier), and I enjoyed fiddling with them as I built them. And I'm seriously not a very handy DIY guy. As I understand it my sticks are slightly lighter than the Beasts, and weight matters to me wherever it makes sense for it to matter. My standoffs perform differently but overall neither better nor worse. My sticks do not stack in a straight line which is a definite cool feature of the Beasts. My total "investment" per stick was roughly the same as the price of a Beast stick. You simply can't get into this light and this nice of a climbing system without paying for it. This is where Heliums shine. I have a set, and when properly modded they are not far behind the premium sticks in weight and performance, and the $100 price for 3 is remarkable. But my heliums have yet to make it to a hunting tree, as the DIYs are just too awesome to leave at home.
Sorry for the long treatise on my climbing and stick building adventures. I just bumped a group of deer off my food plot by stupidly trying a morning food plot hunt so now I'm awake with nothing to do! Figured I'd share my journey and feelings in case it helps others with their decisions with these tradeoffs. I've tried lots of systems. I've been on this wonderful forum touting the benefits of each. I really think I've found what works and speaks to me the best.
If so, what will I tinker with now?
Noonan61
Well-Known Member
Well said, I totally agree with your system.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Double D's
Member
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2017
- Messages
- 58
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It’s kind of the way I’m heading as well. I have a combo of modded api’s with DanO stand offs and now building another one with left over api steps.
After reading your write up I went to the work bench and applied glow powder paint to the top end of each step. Not sure why I missed that detail by Dan but boy is it sweet!
Time to hunt.
After reading your write up I went to the work bench and applied glow powder paint to the top end of each step. Not sure why I missed that detail by Dan but boy is it sweet!
Time to hunt.