• 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

Latitude Carbon Sticks - Saddle Attachment Method?

Guys really ought to do some research. Carbon and carbon fibers can actually be fractured with hard blows. So placing a stick and pushing down hard to set it or giving it a little smack once set can have a bad effect. I just read a ton of stuff on the net and carbon can be crazy strong in certain applications. From what I read climbing sticks may not be one!!
 
Plebe said:
Will or may?

It was said that Skeletor standoffs were bending due to incorrect setting of the sticks.

It's been alleged that Lone Wolf determined snapped climber cables were the result of climbing at angles contrary to their instructions.

Probably we could find some more scenarios like these. Idk.

It is particularly precarious when a connection point for the attachment method is at risk of failure, in the case of the SS sticks. But you'd kind of hope folks would have enough foresight to really want to make that connection correctly.

Still it sounds like their could be bigger problems on the horizon with these sticks. Time will tell.
Click to expand...
Agree. The risk once you leave the ground has been noted on here many times.
Bending is different than falling for sake of argument. So I can't speak to what happens to the SS stick if the tabs break. Does it become loose or fall off the tree? Plenty of guys had hawks break. But just a step. I'm sure go deep enough we can find that every stick has failed for something at one point. Either by operator error, or manufactured improperly.
Put your PPE on and go slow seems to be the best way to minimize falls. I hope they work well for guys. I don't want to see guys reporting they got hurt because of failure or miss use.
 
I also want to know why the Latitude guys have not responded to this anywhere I can find??? They are all over social media so I am sure they are aware of these postd
 
Deerman406 said:
I also want to know why the Latitude guys have not responded to this anywhere I can find??? They are all over social media so I am sure they are aware of these postd
Click to expand...

It was a few days before there was a notice/recall of another brand's stick. I thought at least a public caution could have come quicker.

I'm only aware there is one report on Facebook regarding the SS sticks. It's logical to speculate that Latitude has been contacted by that person. If so, I would also say a public caution should have been issued immediately.

But who knows.
 
MattMan81 said:
Agree. The risk once you leave the ground has been noted on here many times.
Bending is different than falling for sake of argument. So I can't speak to what happens to the SS stick if the tabs break. Does it become loose or fall off the tree? Plenty of guys had hawks break. But just a step. I'm sure go deep enough we can find that every stick has failed for something at one point. Either by operator error, or manufactured improperly.
Put your PPE on and go slow seems to be the best way to minimize falls. I hope they work well for guys. I don't want to see guys reporting they got hurt because of failure or miss use.
Click to expand...

All failures are bad news.

"Just" a broken step could result in catastrophic consequences. Not only during standard climbing, but think of the aider craze. How many sticks include aider use in the product literature?

Some guy had a cam strap release/failure. That'd suck.

I'm pretty comfortable with my sticks, but I've said before I really enjoy cable aiders yet worry that I can't readily inspect them thoroughly.

I never used to worry about this stuff much, but maybe I should be climbing with tether and push pole like @Islandshooter, idk.
 
Deerman406 said:
Guys really ought to do some research. Carbon and carbon fibers can actually be fractured with hard blows. So placing a stick and pushing down hard to set it or giving it a little smack once set can have a bad effect. I just read a ton of stuff on the net and carbon can be crazy strong in certain applications. From what I read climbing sticks may not be one!!
Click to expand...
I don't mean this as a latitude fanboi- but it's a carbon polymer composite. Very different than carbon fiber with a lot of nuance that a materials engineer could explain much better than I can, but the smacking it/setting the stick shouldn't be an issue as that's more of a design thing than a strictly materials thing. One would think/hope that they've done enough testing to know the mechanical limits etc, and there's already a few other cabin/composite sticks and platforms out there.

If they haven't, and the sticks start breaking left and right and get recalled... Then they get the same treatment that other company gets.

game-of-thrones-shame.gif
 
I agree that is carbon fiber and an epoxy mix or something. The fact is the stuff breaks like most any material. My point I guess is that stuff breaks and after looking at the attachment "ears" they obviously look like a weak point.
 
Interesting timing, mine arrived on my porch just as I hit post on that last reply. So... How do you all want to see me test them? I'll do my best to try stuff out, though I'm not going to yeet them out of a tree 20 feet up... Yet.

Edited to add: the sticks have a link/qr code on them that directs you here- interesting to note they say limit exposure and don't leave installed more than 2 weeks. https://www.standsafety.com/l8
 
Check out the "Ears" specifically, just curious if they "feel" rigid or strong or are they a weak point. I like methods that pull the front of the stick into the tree, the sides don't seem like a great point even if you run the amsteel crossed the front of the flat part of the stick
 
Plebe said:
It was a few days before there was a notice/recall of another brand's stick. I thought at least a public caution could have come quicker.

I'm only aware there is one report on Facebook regarding the SS sticks. It's logical to speculate that Latitude has been contacted by that person. If so, I would also say a public caution should have been issued immediately.

But who knows.
Click to expand...

@Plebe - I agree - IMO, the model for how to handle this is exemplified in how DMM handled their carabiner recall in November 2022…

Product Safety Recall - DMM Brand Carabiners with integral swivel

Just released from DMM earlier today (November 2, 2022) there is a PRODUCT SAFETY RECALL on their compact swivel units that are integral to a variety of their carabiners and mini-swivels. Apparently, the swivel assembly can unscrew and disconnect under certain circumstances. DMM is instructing...
saddlehunter.com
 
Deerman406 said:
Check out the "Ears" specifically, just curious if they "feel" rigid or strong or are they a weak point. I like methods that pull the front of the stick into the tree, the sides don't seem like a great point even if you run the amsteel crossed the front of the flat part of the stick
Click to expand...
Just trying to bend them by hand, I can't get any flex or anything, they seem plenty solid to my very unofficial hands on initial fondling . I am going to try them on a tree and yank/stomp on them a bit later this afternoon
 
I wonder if the cleat broke when transitioning on/off the stick or when standing / straight down pressure. I know the standoff is solid but it would create a different torque if you say grab the step and pull yourself up vs stepping on it
 
I don't mean to sound like a hater cause Inreally like what Latitude is doing, but I think the way they're using CF for these sticks is a gimmick. They're not using the CF in a way that truly displays the amazing properties CF has. For example, in the mid-2000's orvis started using military grade resin in its fly rods that gave us featherlite rods but stronger and better performing than normal rods did at the time. With CF, it's all about the resin, or in this case plastic. Whatever they're using now isn't highlighting the properties of CF to its full potential.

For example, I think the actual weight on one of these is 1lb 4oz. That's for a 17" stick. When beast sticks first came out, they were 24" long and the actual weight (minus gear strap) was a smidge over 1lb 8oz.

Add to that, if an aluminum or titanium stick were released today that was the exact size, weight and shape of the latitude sticks, most guys would rip it apart for the step design not giving you enough to grab onto, being to slick, and not far enough out from the tree. We're not really seeing that cause they're CF.

I kind of gotta laugh at the "no metal clink sound" praise, it's still a completely unnatural sound I don't want to be making tight to a bedding area, you still gotta stealth strip em.

I do like the way these attach to the tree, but if that attachment isn't very durable as evidenced by the broken one, maybe it's not so great and needs beefed up.

I think it's gonna be a few years before we see CF sticks and platforms that hit that next level and live up to the hype.

These sticks are printed, right? I was thinking that based on the visible layers on the back of the standoffs, but can't tell if a parting line is present based on pics which would mean they're molded. Either way, CF is adding strength to the plastic, but it's not making them lighter. These aren't CF sticks, they're plastic sticks.
 
Last edited:
deertrout said:
I don't mean to sound like a hater cause Inreally like what Latitude is doing, but I think the way they're using CF for these sticks is a gimmick. They're not using the CF in a way that truly displays the amazing properties CF has. For example, in the mid-2000's orvis started using military grade resin in its fly rods that gave us featherlite rods but stronger and better performing than normal rods did at the time. With CF, it's all about the resin, or in this case plastic. Whatever they're using now isn't highlighting the properties of CF to its full potential.

For example, I think the actual weight on one of these is 1lb 4oz. That's for a 17" stick. When beast sticks first came out, they were 24" long and the actual weight (minus gear strap) was a smidge over 1lb 8oz.

Add to that, if an aluminum or titanium stick were released today that was the exact size, weight and shape of the latitude sticks, most guys would rip it apart for the step design not giving you enough to grab onto, being to slick, and not far enough out from the tree. We're not really seeing that cause they're CF.

I kind of gotta laugh at the "no metal clink sound" praise, it's still a completely unnatural sound I don't want to be making tight to a bedding area, you still gotta stealth strip em.

I do like the way these attach to the tree, but if that attachment isn't very durable as evidenced by the broken one, maybe it's not so great and needs beefed up.

I think it's gonna be a few years before we see CF sticks and platforms that hit that next level and live up to the hype.

These sticks are printed, right? I was thinking that based on the visible layers on the back of the standoffs, but can't tell if a parting line is present ased on pics which would mean they're molded. Either way, CF is adding strength to the plastic, but it's not making them lighter. These aren't CF sticks, they're plastic sticks.
Click to expand...

They are not printed, injection molded.
 
Do these sticks have printed instructions in the box? They are trying to blame incorrect rope routing.

They posted this 4 hours ago for instructions.


Yet their promo video shows them doing this then climbing the stick.

IMG_3303.jpg
 
enkriss said:
Do these sticks have printed instructions in the box? They are trying to blame incorrect rope routing.

They posted this 4 hours ago for instructions.


Yet their promo video shows them doing this then climbing the stick.

View attachment 88565
Click to expand...
Yes there is printed instructions. If you lock them off the way the instructions say it eats up a fair amount of rope. I could see someone skipping one of the wraps if they are on a bigger tree.
 
That is not how I was shown how to do it at the expo, the video. The bottom picture in #297 is
 
enkriss said:
Do these sticks have printed instructions in the box? They are trying to blame incorrect rope routing.

They posted this 4 hours ago for instructions.


Yet their promo video shows them doing this then climbing the stick.

View attachment 88565
Click to expand...

Looks like it's just not finished being tied off yet. Should come back across, loop and cinch, half hitch.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top