• 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

New saddle hunter sticks question

talktolee

New Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2021
Messages
18
Location
Wisconsin
Hello all,

I have been reading up a ton and the YT trying to educate myself about SH and all the equipment needed...getting into bow hunting to go with my two sons who also want to do it.

I have started to narrow down my selections...I am planning on a Cruzr XC saddle, probably a Predator XL platform and I started looking into the various climbing sticks...and I started getting analysis paralysis with all the options.

I have narrowed my search down to beast sticks after watching a ton of reviews on them. Currently they only have the 20' sticks available so I was thinking on going that route.

As a new hunter who hasn't done SH before...I was thinking of just getting three sticks to start with because of cost primarily and I want to see what others use...I have seen all the way up to 5 sticks.

with a 20' stick is it advised to use an aider? or is it best to just add another stick?

Thanks for any feedback.

Lee
 
I use an aider on my bottom beast mini, this time of year i only need three sticks to get me into cover or back cover i may move up to 4 as leaves fall or in your case add an aider to your second stick
 
You’ll probably need an aider for sure if you’re only going to go with 3 sticks. I’m assuming your not using a knaider/swaider, but just the sticks. I have 3 API sticks similar in length to the 20” beast sticks and I don’t get very high with just 3 sticks.
 
I use a knaider and swaider when one sticking with a 20” beast stick. Other times I’ll use 3 or 4 beast sticks alone or with just the knaider or both depending on weather, distance, etc.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I would put 18” cable aiders (coated wire rope) from EasternWoodsOutdoors.com on all three sticks. The 20” Beast sticks have 18” spacing between steps. If you set the bottom of your first stick’s aider at 18” off the ground, the top step of that stick will be 54” off the ground (4.5’). Placing the next 2 stick/aider combos similarly, you’ll get 162” off the ground (13.5’). If you set your platform another 18” above that, you’ll have your boots 15’ off the ground.

And if you add one more stick/aider combo eventually, you’ll get your boots 19.5’ off the ground.
 
I feel like I’m low with 20” aiders on each 36” XOP stick. I use 3 sticks and get about 21-22 feet max. I’d do 4 20” sticks with aiders.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
4 mini sticks all with cable aiders I can get 22 feet or so. I take my second stick and lean it up against the tree, step on it to get an extra foot or so. Hang my strap from my second stick on my first stick that’s on the tree. I can get my first stick even being a mini stick around 6 or 7 feet off the ground.
 
I have the 24" beasts with cable aiders on each. With 4 sticks I can get 22' comfortably. If I use a two step aider in conjunction, moving the aider as I go up then I can use 3 sticks which gets me around the 20' mark . Add another 1-2ft for the platform. My bow rope that I used for my climber is 25' and I'd always max that out. Now with the saddle I just don't plan on hunting quite that high.
 
I would put 18” cable aiders (coated wire rope) from EasternWoodsOutdoors.com on all three sticks. The 20” Beast sticks have 18” spacing between steps. If you set the bottom of your first stick’s aider at 18” off the ground, the top step of that stick will be 54” off the ground (4.5’). Placing the next 2 stick/aider combos similarly, you’ll get 162” off the ground (13.5’). If you set your platform another 18” above that, you’ll have your boots 15’ off the ground.

And if you add one more stick/aider combo eventually, you’ll get your boots 19.5’ off the ground.

Going to the site and reviewing...

do you mean these aiders?



If your new to aiders my advice would be an aider on bottom stick & would vote for 4 20”sticks….

I would agree with you...I really don't know what to expect my first handful of times...it will be all new. I think 4 sticks is probably the best route...I will probably start with three until I get the hang of it and add a 4th probably down the road...

Does anyone have any criticisms of the beast sticks?

I guess I was sold after watching the video from the creators YT page about how they designed them...
 
Going to the site and reviewing...

do you mean these aiders?





I would agree with you...I really don't know what to expect my first handful of times...it will be all new. I think 4 sticks is probably the best route...I will probably start with three until I get the hang of it and add a 4th probably down the road...

Does anyone have any criticisms of the beast sticks?

I guess I was sold after watching the video from the creators YT page about how they designed them...
I was just mentioning a simple approach since you’re gonna have a lot of new pieces ( that’s why I suggested skipping aiders initially) … I’ve tried nearly every stick made & settled in beast sticks & don’t have any complaints ( besides cost I guess) but worth the price.
 
One option I use when I’m not 1 sticking is a 5 step aider on the bottoms stick. That gets my first stick mounted as high as I can possibly reach. Then I use a one step aider on stick 2 and no aider for stick 3. Not sure how high I get exactly, but it’s plenty high enough for me.

Also, if you’re new to aiders, my experience is that rubber boots suck for aiders. They don’t let your toe bite well enough, especially on smaller trees.
 
Srt saddle hunter has a good video covering a lot of good steps.
If I was to buy right now it would be the ewo ultralights. I'm not
sure, but I think you could ask them to install or at least drill holes
to add cam cleats if you wanted the ultimate kind of stick. I'm about
to add cams to my shikars for ease & speed.

 
As @Bigterp recommended, an aider on the bottom stick only (if that). Aiders require practice, this close to season, you won't get enough.
 
Going to the site and reviewing ... do you mean these aiders?

@talktolee - Yes, that's the link to the cable aiders I mentioned. They are nice for someone who is new to using aiders. First, they stay open so you won't have a tough time fishing your boot into the aider. Second, they are a bit stiffer than Amsteel or webbing. That helps new users because if/when your toe doesn't stay planted into the tree, your foot won't slip quite as far to the side. Amsteel and webbing can swing to the side on you very easily if your toe doesn't stay planted into the tree.

@Bigterp and @CZMark gave you good advice above ... aiders aren't for everybody, and it's best to be very cautious when you are first learning to use them. It would be better for newbies to go without aiders and use more sticks, but there's a cost, weight, and packability penalty to do it that way. If you're going to try using aiders, I suggest you start with cable aiders for the reasons mentioned.

One more thing - Multistep aiders can swing way out on you if you have a slip and your toe doesn't stay planted to the tree. That can give you an instant Injury to your foot, ankle, or knee that can ruin your hunting season. I would caution you to avoid multi-step Amsteel and multi-step webbing aiders altogether until you have plenty of practice with one-step aiders to build your skill & experience.
 
I do not have a ton of experience with aiders but if I were buying new I would go with the ewo sticks and sewn aiders. The sewn aiders have 2 points of contact and makes them extremely more stable to climb for me than the single contact point aiders.
 
It may be too close to season to convert with necessary practice time but for next year consider one sticking. I switched to one sticking because I did not like climbing down with aiders, especially if sticks were placed on high side of even slightly leaning tree as the aider lays almost flat against the tree making it difficult to get foot holds in the dark. Plus, rapelling is so much fun and, to me, feels much safer. On my one stick (13" modified Hawk helium) I use the ultimaider which I love and would highly recommend. Good luck this season and welcome to the madness!
 
I have a set of trophyline double steps, 4 sticks and use a movable aider that loops over the versa button. When I get to the top I throw the aider in my side pouch that holds my tether, until desent, nothing dangling with the wind. 6' per stick conservatively, I usually only bring 3... Takes some practice but worth it...
 
Last edited:
As @Bigterp recommended, an aider on the bottom stick only (if that). Aiders require practice, this close to season, you won't get enough.

Thanks for that comment...I do agree with you on that for sure...it will be something I add in the future / next season after I have some time under my belt with just using climbing sticks.


It may be too close to season to convert with necessary practice time but for next year consider one sticking. I switched to one sticking because I did not like climbing down with aiders, especially if sticks were placed on high side of even slightly leaning tree as the aider lays almost flat against the tree making it difficult to get foot holds in the dark. Plus, rapelling is so much fun and, to me, feels much safer. On my one stick (13" modified Hawk helium) I use the ultimaider which I love and would highly recommend. Good luck this season and welcome to the madness!

I had looked into that but like the comment above...that seems a lot more advanced for someone who hasn't done SH before...that being said, the examples I have seen on YT of guys doing it looks super slick!

I will check out some of the other stick recommendations...

Another question on the beast sticks...is the price difference between the 'holes vs no holes' worth it at 20 dollars more per stick for the holes?
 
Back
Top