One stick fear factor

[phatkaw]

I like a two step aider better than a three stepper.
I have one-sticks with both and just don't need the third step except once in a while it helps from the ground after setting the stick the very first time.
After enough climbs you'll reach the point where you don't even think about any of the little things. It all just becomes familiar to you. With the exception of a weird tree that grows funky and you haven't come across that scenario yet..

Practice practice practice...

 

[neonomad]

I know this is a little crazy but I double tether up and my shorter tether has a screamer. Is it a little more logistical effort up? Yes, but I’d guess only a few more minutes per climb, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s easier than adding a linemans. I also use zipties to avoid putting fingers under the tether girths.

 

[STL]

I have an unusual, but slightly slower method for handling slack while one sticking. I use a three-step aider and an 18" or 20" stick. I usually only use the bottom aider loop from the ground. Starting from the ground, I set my stick as high as possible and climb it with my linesman belt.

From the top of the stick, I set my rappel rope as high as I can reach and attach my Safeguard. Then I hang from the rope, remove the linesman and move my stick up to a point a little below my rappel rope. With my stick firmly set, I step into my aider. As I straighten my leg (climb/raise my body), I have one hand on the tag end of my rappel rope, pulling slack. I do this until I am standing on my bottom step with about 1" of rope between my Safeguard and the girth hitch.

Now, the slow part. I attach my linesman belt, remove my rappel girth hitch from the tree, and climb to the top step. At this point, I pull slack into my Rappel rope and reset it as high as I can and repeat until I'm at hunting height.

A longer stick than most guys use is necessary for this or you will have too much slack in your line when standing on your bottom step. I know many of you will reject this method; I hope it helps a few of you out.

PS Don't ask for a video as I have no way of doing it.

I’ve been capturing the progress with each step by pulling the tag end as I step up as well. I find it surprisingly easy and smooth and I feel way more secure.

I use a small stick though and it still works fine. Getting the tether as high as you can reach is key. From there, you just don’t try and get your stick as high as you can under your tether each time. I leave something like 2-3ish feet between my tether and stick so by the time I’m on my bottom step of the stick, the girth hitch is about waist high and, like you, there’s only a couple of inches of rope between my Madrock and the quick link. In a way, it’s vaguely similar to srt-ing up your rope by capturing the progress with each step, using the aider as the footloop, and then the stick as a platform to advance the rope up further.

I’m usually going around some limbs so the time penalty of adding the linemen’s belt and undoing the quick link is a wash on some of the moves anyways.

I only get about 4 feet per move this way but I’m in no rush and it’s worth the extra move or two for me. 7 foot on the first one and 3 moves later, I’m around 20 feet.

 

[CharlieTN]

I love one stick climbing and rappelling back down. I also consider it one of the safest ways to climb and descend, EXCEPT how I see so many do it where they climb up and their tether winds up below their knees. That is a huge NO for me. So, I move my tether with each step up. In order to facilitate that I use my lineman’s rope as that extra set of hands so that I’m secure, stable, and there is never more than a foot of slack in my tether and it is always above my chest. Even a 12” drop on a slack tether can jar you but I haven’t figure out a way to keep the tether 100% tight yet.

Sure, using the lineman’s add a few seconds to each move but I’m not in a race. My goals is to get up the tree with as little effort as possible and no sweat, and most importantly to do it safely. Using the lineman’s for movement and the tether/rappel rope for safety, allows me to do that.

 

[2Sloe]

I know this is a little crazy but I double tether up and my shorter tether has a screamer. Is it a little more logistical effort up? Yes, but I’d guess only a few more minutes per climb, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s easier than adding a linemans. I also use zipties to avoid putting fingers under the tether girths.

Try Nite Ize S Biners to move your tether up. You can hook your thumbs in them and move them back and forth to help move the tether up. I prefer the plastic ones.

 

[Schemeecho]

So I've been one sticking this year. Its been going ok. Ive noticed a few things.

ive never like climbing trees much. I also like using sticks less. The thing i hate most about one sticking is when I'm actually stepping up and all the slack gets in the line. i don't trust myself to not slip off a step or my hand slipping from back of tree while trying to adjust tether and hitch. this move introduces quite a large pucker factor. Still, i haven't slipped or fallen or come close yet. Also, my stick has a two step aider and i really feel like it should've been 3 steps. I don't like taking very high steps in the webbing and what happens is that the height i need to set my stick ends up pushing on my hitch and sliding me down the rope. Either that or bangs against my kong duck.

Any tips on feeling more secure and locked on to the tree while making the actual climbs? Oddly enough i feel safest when im just hanging off the side of the tree.

I haven't been one sticking very long only about 6 months, but I got comfortable really quick. I started out using my lineman's rope even at the base of the tree. Then when I was at the top of my stick I would set my tether. It was a real pain for me to remove and re attach the LB to make my next three moves. So I watched a lot of vids on one sticking and came across one with Carl Kossuth in it by G2 outdoors. He did a great job explaining how to minimize the tether slack when climbing. I'm right handed so I did what he did. as you advance your step up the aider to the top of the stick simply slide your arm under your tether and move the tether up as you take each step. I did this and found that my tether slack is never more than a few inches of slack which was way better than having 6 feet of slack because your girth hitch was at your feet. I have been planning on making a video of how I climb but the rain has made it hard the past few weeks. So, maybe I can do it tomorrow and you might get a better idea of what I'm talking about.

 

[sconnieman]

I haven't been one sticking very long only about 6 months, but I got comfortable really quick. I started out using my lineman's rope even at the base of the tree. Then when I was at the top of my stick I would set my tether. It was a real pain for me to remove and re attach the LB to make my next three moves. So I watched a lot of vids on one sticking and came across one with Carl Kossuth in it by G2 outdoors. He did a great job explaining how to minimize the tether slack when climbing. I'm right handed so I did what he did. as you advance your step up the aider to the top of the stick simply slide your arm under your tether and move the tether up as you take each step. I did this and found that my tether slack is never more than a few inches of slack which was way better than having 6 feet of slack because your girth hitch was at your feet. I have been planning on making a video of how I climb but the rain has made it hard the past few weeks. So, maybe I can do it tomorrow and you might get a better idea of what I'm talking about.

Was that the most recent video Tethrd put out?


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[808sh]

So I've been one sticking this year. Its been going ok. Ive noticed a few things.

ive never like climbing trees much. I also like using sticks less. The thing i hate most about one sticking is when I'm actually stepping up and all the slack gets in the line. i don't trust myself to not slip off a step or my hand slipping from back of tree while trying to adjust tether and hitch. this move introduces quite a large pucker factor. Still, i haven't slipped or fallen or come close yet. Also, my stick has a two step aider and i really feel like it should've been 3 steps. I don't like taking very high steps in the webbing and what happens is that the height i need to set my stick ends up pushing on my hitch and sliding me down the rope. Either that or bangs against my kong duck.

Any tips on feeling more secure and locked on to the tree while making the actual climbs? Oddly enough i feel safest when im just hanging off the side of the tree.

17:45 mark shows lineman being used in conjuction with Tether.

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[TreeCreep]

I’ve been on an off season quest to minimize my slack as I practice.
Settled on 3 step aider and similar to @CZMark , take up slack as I go with tether or my rappel rope. I use a 22” ewo stick as I take the bulk penalty to have the reach and help keeping tether above my waist.
A 8mm linesman does not add much bulk or hassle with a hitch tender.
When experimenting with a cable aider and only stepping to bottom to advance it felt similar to two tether climbing as my slack was limited to the aider distance / slack removed.
Using the top step or two steps on my aider it’s about the same with keeping tension. Although, the cable is still less pucker .
Prefer tether over rappel for climb with one stick all that is lost is I don’t really go to top of stick to advance tether and rapell a bit to bottom step and set stick.

 

[Schemeecho]

Was that the most recent video Tethrd put out?


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I dont think it was put out by tethrd II think Greg and Carl both work for them but I dont think It was released by thertd

 

[sdoyle1]

I’ve always been a scared of the slack introduced during one sticking. I’ve done the same thing as others by advancing my safeguard as I go. When doing this you’re definitely limited by the height of your tether. I’ve been trying to think of a simple way to be able to push my tether farther up the tree. My thoughts are that this is the simplest solution but how to do it is the question. The safest and fastest I’ve one sticked is when I couldn’t get my rappel rope to pull down. It’s amazing how fast and secure I felt when I could climb and just advance my safeguard with each step. I haven’t really tested anything but my thoughts were something along the lines of having two tent pole sections that are maybe two foot long but will fold in half to pack. These would have something on the end of them to clip into the tether on each side of the tree to give you something to help push it up.
I’d love to have presets everywhere and just rope climb as I feel it’s the safest option but I’m fairly new to hunting the public in my area and I’ll never have enough time to cover it all and get presets everywhere I’d want. I need the option to go in blind and pick out a tree and one sticking is what I’ve chosen for these situations.


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[Brocky]

17:45 mark shows lineman being used in conjuction with Tether.

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He doesn’t use the LB effectively, he could have done the same thing with the tether. Both hands should be on the rope and you lean back to keep it tensioned at all times. If you do need to lean in towards tree, bring both rope sections together to squeeze the tree better, bring them together and hold with one hand close to the tree to be able to advance tether, etc. To advance the LB while going up the steps, you lean in putting weight on steps and flip the LB up the backside and then lean back into it. A stiffer, smoother rope works the best for easer flipping. I would advance the tether when I got to it rather than going past the LB, however, not like the video.

 

[philsanchez76]

I feel your pain. I one-sticked last pre season and throughout the season. I’m confident in my gear and my abilities at height. Having said that, and with some long discussions with flcanopystalker. Ive decided to use my linesman rope after the first move. Yeah, its a pain to climb a three step aider with the linesman on. But I’ve tried to move my tether as i climb and, for me, it just doesn’t seem as safe. Still waiting on a video to show the proper technique, but until then-its the linesman for me. Good luck

X2. I’m all about efficiency so this was a hard one to swallow. Oh no! it will take me an extra 3-4 minutes per climb?! Right? Sounds stupid to make a big deal out of it when you say it out loud. Yes linemen’s is worth it.

 

[philsanchez76]

I use a small stick though and it still works fine. Getting the tether as high as you can reach is key. From there, you just don’t try and get your stick as high as you can under your tether each time. I leave something like 2-3ish feet between my tether and stick so by the time I’m on my bottom step of the stick, the girth hitch is about waist high and, like you, there’s only a couple of inches of rope between my Madrock and the quick link.

this is a super smart call out. I always want to get my stick right up under my tether for every move. Max efficiency right?! But leaving a foot or more gives you the opportunity to have solid footing on your stick instead of just the flimsy aider while you advance the girth hitch. Nice call!

 

[2Sloe]

. I haven’t really tested anything but my thoughts were something along the lines of having two tent pole sections that are maybe two foot long but will fold in half to pack. These would have something on the end of them to clip into the tether on each side of the tree to give you something to help push it up.

This setup already exists. I’ve seen it on YouTube videos but unfortunately I don’t have a link. Shouldn’t be too hard to search up. I didn’t dwell on it because it was more about SRT and creating “false crotches” or setting presets, but it’s out there. Not sure how cumbersome it would be going in cold and using it the dark.

 

[sdoyle1]

This setup already exists. I’ve seen it on YouTube videos but unfortunately I don’t have a link. Shouldn’t be too hard to search up. I didn’t dwell on it because it was more about SRT and creating “false crotches” or setting presets, but it’s out there. Not sure how cumbersome it would be going in cold and using it the dark.

I’ve seen it hem using a docapole but I’m thinking just a couple two foot sticks that can clip right in the tether and remain on there while you climb. Just getting the tether two foot higher would be a great benefit. This was just a thought I had and may not work out exactly like I’d want. I guess I need to give it a try with something.


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[CharlieTN]

I see two factors that seem to be driving most one-stick climbers to make compromissing moves.
1. The need to see how few moves they can make
2. The desire to see how quick they can get up the tree.

Both of these are pushing them to do things that introduce dangerous situations, such as lots of slack in the tether. For me safety and ease of climbing are the driving factors. I really don’t relish the idea of severe injury or death so I would rather take the extra 3-4 mins of the total climb to use the lineman’s rope in conjunction with the tether/rappel rope, or make additional moves If needed. I also am overweight and a sweat box so I want to go as smoothly and easily up as I can to try to avoid stinking out the woods with my profuse sweating.

In general with 2-3 moves from the initial stick set I can be at a hunting height of 18-22 feet. If the tree is leaning, bigger than normal, or there are branches it may take more moves or a bit longer but that’s ok. Am I safe the whole time and am I as relaxed as possible? That is what’s important. I’ll gladly allow more time.

To aid in all of this I have incorporated the Safeguard (Less switching of gear, less gear to carry, and I can rappel down at any point on the climb if there is a need) and a couple of tether tenders that I use to help move the rope up without getting my fingers under the rope (they’re just small carabiners with a bit of paracord tied on in a cobra braid for handles).

 

[CZMark]

This setup already exists. I’ve seen it on YouTube videos but unfortunately I don’t have a link. Shouldn’t be too hard to search up. I didn’t dwell on it because it was more about SRT and creating “false crotches” or setting presets, but it’s out there. Not sure how cumbersome it would be going in cold and using it the dark.

@bj139 has a video using, I think, PVC electrical conduit.

 

[predatorhunter]

I haven't been one sticking very long only about 6 months, but I got comfortable really quick. I started out using my lineman's rope even at the base of the tree. Then when I was at the top of my stick I would set my tether. It was a real pain for me to remove and re attach the LB to make my next three moves. So I watched a lot of vids on one sticking and came across one with Carl Kossuth in it by G2 outdoors. He did a great job explaining how to minimize the tether slack when climbing. I'm right handed so I did what he did. as you advance your step up the aider to the top of the stick simply slide your arm under your tether and move the tether up as you take each step. I did this and found that my tether slack is never more than a few inches of slack which was way better than having 6 feet of slack because your girth hitch was at your feet. I have been planning on making a video of how I climb but the rain has made it hard the past few weeks. So, maybe I can do it tomorrow and you might get a better idea of what I'm talking about.

 

[phatkaw]

Practice practice practice...