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New Saddlehunter! I have a question about my Hawk Helium sticks.

P

paul.daniel.stanley

Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2020
Messages
50
Hi, Everyone. All of your forum posts led me down the path of purchasing a Tethrd Phantom and some Hawk Helium climbing sticks to give hunting from a saddle a go

Forgive me for my ignorance, as all of the deer hunting I have ever done is either from a fixed ladder stand or ground blind, so I have 0 experience with climbing sticks or the Tethrd Predator platform I purchased.

I've searched this forum and Google low and high and I cannot find the answer. When I am cinching the sticks or the platform, it's not like a ratchet strap where it sticks. If I yank at the strap by holding onto it, I can pull it out, because the buckle doesn't lock. Is the buckle supposed to actually lock on these straps??

Every time I set a stick, it seems to really yank down the strap before it catches in the tree.

Am I missing something? Does the buckle lock or is there no way to do this to be 100% safe?



Sent from my SM-N976U using Tapatalk
 
Pull the cinch strap tight as you can then set the stick my pulling down on it and your good to go. It’s not going anywhere.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Welcome to the site, yeah there’s a little give with the strap as it settles , but it shouldn’t slip through the cam buckle
 
Also, the type of tree you use makes a big difference in grip. In the first video above it looks like he is on a WHite Oak, the second tree looks like a pine. regardless, the slack will come out of your straps or line when weight is applied.
 
There is a post on here about bad buckles that slip. Not sure how to find it I'm new myself but that could be the culprit.
 
You're apparently not the only one seeing this with new Heliums. The first thing I would do is verify the straps are inserted correctly in the buckle. They should be oriented so that when you pull the loop end it trys to pull the cam teeth back through the buckle frame. Its possible that they could be installed wrong from the factory. They go in much easier incorrectly.

Hawk helium mini sticks straps...defective??

I mostly lurk on this forum and haven't posted a lot but I feel the need to bring this to the attention of other helium stick users. I recently purchased a 4-pack of Helium minis from Mack's. As with some others, the package arrived sloppily taped together with parts rattling inside and sure...
saddlehunter.com

Correct Routing
1594761448890.png

Incorrect Routing:
1594761529866.png
 
Last edited:
boyne bowhunter said:
You're apparently not the only one seeing this with new Heliums. The first thing I would do is verify the straps are inserted correctly in the buckle. They should be oriented so that when you pull the loop end it trys to pull the cam teeth back through the buckle frame. Its possible that they could be installed wrong from the factory. They go in much easier incorrectly.

Hawk helium mini sticks straps...defective??

I mostly lurk on this forum and haven't posted a lot but I feel the need to bring this to the attention of other helium stick users. I recently purchased a 4-pack of Helium minis from Mack's. As with some others, the package arrived sloppily taped together with parts rattling inside and sure...
saddlehunter.com

Correct Routing
View attachment 30189

Incorrect Routing:
View attachment 30190
Click to expand...
Excellent Visual Aid!!! This will help people with this new potential issue
 
For what it's worth, I took the buckles off my heliums. When I do take my set of heliums out into the field (generally for my daughter) I'm using the buckle-less attachment method show here by @Nutterbuster. You sacrifice a little length but you eliminate that potential for a noisy buckle.

DISCLAIMER: Note that this is an out of spec attachment method. Please practice and validate that your knot works for you and you have the technique mastered at ground level before working your way up the tree.

Questions about LWCG minis

So you got the same weight as I did on your scale? Interesting. Maybe we need a new one at work. I tried 2 scales got the same weight.
saddlehunter.com
 
You guys are amazing. I know this was a rookie question and I really appreciate you all taking the time to respond. From what I learned from you, turns out of the four I purchased, the one I was having problems with had the strap looped in backwards. I only tested it at the ground level with the stick. The other 3 were looped properly after I saw the pictures from Boyne and inspected them.

Have a great week and thanks again!

Sent from my SM-N976U using Tapatalk
 
New user here, but I just got the short Hawk Heliums and one of mine slipped really badly as some others have commented. Upon closer inspection I found out that one of the buckles had something binding it inside that was keeping it from closing fully. It appeared closed but I could physically close it further. After working it several times, I appears to have fixed itself. I probably wouldn't run that buckle if I were keeping them, but I am rope modding all of them anyways.
 
DEADBEAR said:
New user here, but I just got the short Hawk Heliums and one of mine slipped really badly as some others have commented. Upon closer inspection I found out that one of the buckles had something binding it inside that was keeping it from closing fully. It appeared closed but I could physically close it further. After working it several times, I appears to have fixed itself. I probably wouldn't run that buckle if I were keeping them, but I am rope modding all of them anyways.
Click to expand...
Sounds to me like Hawk better up their quality control before someone gets hurt:fearful:
 
They will hold fine when you put weight on them but if you're worried about it you can always tie a couple half hitches with the tag end of the strap!!!
 
I like using the the versa straps on my hawk sticks, mainly because there is no metal buckle. I hook the closest loop, pull it away from the tree and down until its tight. The versa straps don't stretch, and the hold pretty tight with this method. Two things I dont like about the combo: they are hard to use with gloves, and the teeth can squeak against the bark of some trees. I noticed squeaking on aspen, birch and red oak.
 
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