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I Beam platforms?

redsquirrel said:
@bowhunter15, any more thoughts on this?

And just want to pick your brain a minute... would your cnc machine be able to make aluminum steps like these (not at all asking you to do this! Just wondering.)
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Water jet over machining. Water jet can zip that out fast even the slot.

It's interesting I'm dabbling with the same thing. How wide are those steps?

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diff74 said:
Water jet over machining. Water jet can zip that out fast even the slot.

It's interesting I'm dabbling with the same thing. How wide are those steps?

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Send a message to Red. He has used a bunch of those styles as has thoughts on which worked better than others. I also have a couple thoughts I could message you if you're thinking of making a run.

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bowhunter15 said:
Red has been working toward an off the shelf aluminum idea that might be more stable than the I beam, and a bit lighter and easier to cut than the fiberglass.

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I'm pretty excited about these everyone. I have one finsihed and 4 more cut that I just need to put slots in. I am going to give them a field trial and if they work I'll post everything up.
 
bowhunter15 said:
Send a message to Red. He has used a bunch of those styles as has thoughts on which worked better than others. I also have a couple thoughts I could message you if you're thinking of making a run.

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I'm waiting on quotes from suppliers to see if it's worth pursuing. The cost of my last machined from solid version was rediculous.

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diff74 said:
I'm waiting on quotes from suppliers to see if it's worth pursuing. The cost of my last machined from solid version was rediculous.

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Yup. You could probably expect around $150-250 each for something like that machined. A lot of it is setup time for the low volume. That's one of the reasons I bought my own CNC router. Sell a handful of things up front and then you can save a lot of money on one-off ideas.

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bowhunter15 said:
Yup. You could probably expect around $150-250 each for something like that machined. A lot of it is setup time for the low volume. That's one of the reasons I bought my own CNC router. Sell a handful of things up front and then you can save a lot of money on one-off ideas.

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$100-470 each machine from solid. Not worth it. It needs to be die cast.

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Most folks are going for lightest weight steps. Anyone know what one Ameristep weighs without strap? Pretty light I'll bet. Even if you have to pay $15-20 each, I'd guess they are possibly still the best bang for the buck as steps go. The real advantage to the aluminum steps I'm carrying is that they provide a wider step area and thus more foot comfort. For me, that makes the additional weight worthwhile. IMO, a doublewide Ameristep would be very interesting.
 
DaveH said:
Most folks are going for lightest weight steps. Anyone know what one Ameristep weighs without strap? Pretty light I'll bet. Even if you have to pay $15-20 each, I'd guess they are possibly still the best bang for the buck as steps go. The real advantage to the aluminum steps I'm carrying is that they provide a wider step area and thus more foot comfort. For me, that makes the additional weight worthwhile. IMO, a doublewide Ameristep would be very interesting.
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Are you a sitter or leaner? From my observation, leaners have tended towards platforms because more of the weight is on their feet, and platforms spread the load out. But a lot of sitters I've talked to don't seem to care as much about the width because most weight is on the saddle. Narrower steps also pack down to half the packaged length. Just trying to get a feel for what all of the step users ha e liked in a design.

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Comfort depends more on experience and your body being in "Saddle Shape" than anything else. I'm coming up on a decade of Saddle time in the next couple seasons. I was very uncomfortable on strap on steps at the beginning of my Saddle career. Now, I can stand on anything and be comfortable. I hunt on screw in steps, strap on steps, tops of climbing sticks, and a full-on platform. I find the platform to be the most comfortable, however, I can hunt all day on strap-ons and not be any worse for the wear. YMMV.

Focus on getting time in the saddle. Comfort will follow.
 
Yes, YMMV. Whether you're a leaner or a sitter certainly plays into the type of 'platform' you choose. However, in either case, you're likely going to spend some time up on your feet to some degree. I look at comfort rating on a scale of "least" to "best" with steel wire screw-ins at one end of the scale to a nice wide i-beam step to a strap-on platform at the other end of the scale. I am typically in the tree the entire day, so I prefer not to cut corners on foot comfort in the interest of shaving a few ounces of carrying weight. Not convinced being "saddle shape" has much of anything to do with it. Probably more like boot sole stiffness helps foot comfort considerably but most rubber soled boots don't afford much support. We all make choices based upon how we like to hunt.
 
DaveH said:
Not convinced being "saddle shape" has much of anything to do with it. Probably more like boot sole stiffness helps foot comfort considerably but most rubber soled boots don't afford much support. We all make choices based upon how we like to hunt.
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"Saddle Shape" has less to do with a hunters level of fitness, and depends more on how accustomed your body (specifically your hips, lower back, and feet) is to hanging in a tree. At first everything is going to be uncomfortable. After many hours in the saddle, you'll notice your body getting in saddle shape and hurting less.

I hunt in 100% lightweight rubber boots with zero support. I can hunt all day without my feet hurting on steps. But it took a long time to get my feet used to it.

Hopefully that helps!


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I got ameristeps this year and I have left my platform at home every time because they are fast compact and comfortable with muck woody elite boots. IMO

I like the platform but I don’t like to carry it. A platform costs nearly as much as ameristeps anyway.

If an I beam platform can improve on that I am all in. Especially if it is cost comparable
I have noticed that the saddle shape comment is valid. The more time I spend in the saddle the more comfortable it is

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Sorry back to the thread The I beam looks interesting.


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I love my Ameristeps and the LW seat platform equally. I prefer the LW on mobile hunts because it's easier/quiter to install for me. That's probably not true for everyone. On presets I exclusively use Ameristeps.

I say buy both platform styles. You can blame me when your wife complains!

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g2outdoors said:
I love my Ameristeps and the LW seat platform equally. I prefer the LW on mobile hunts because it's easier/quiter to install for me. That's probably not true for everyone. On presets I exclusively use Ameristeps.

I say buy both platform styles. You can blame me when your wife complains!

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I have both. The fiddle factor and bulk are not for me. I guess that is why this 60 year old dinosaur likes simple and light.
My wife does not complain much if I stay in a reasonable budget. That is hard to do with a web site that creates constant coveting


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You know what would make those sweet: if your strap had some stiffness on it (like a pistol duty belt / riggers belt ). Just so your ibeams didn't flop all around during set up.

Another thing...maybe a rubber gasket on the ibeam where the strap rides...so the I beam would slide when you wanted it, but if you picked up the strap with the beams on it they wouldn't move on their own
 
diff74 said:
I can tell you the proof of concept version works awesome. Except it sounds like a wind chime. Gonna have to wrap it in tape or something.
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Those look awesome! Nice work!!


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