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Out On A Limb - The Podium Review

Thanks
DOMMA said:
Correct - I meant circumference, so 18" circumference = 6" diameter (smallest). The largest, 76" circumference = 24" diameter.

Of course, these are my initial findings, not sure what the factory suggests.
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Are the strap lugs just welded to the corner, on the outside of the C channel or is the the C channel drilled through and the lugs inserted through the channel and welded on the inside and the outside of the C channel?

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Great review, I’m seriously considering one of these now. How long did it take to get yours?
 
@DOMMA great review...

1. As responsive to feedback as the owner of OOAL is, do you feel its worth waiting to purchase until he perhaps beefs up the leveling screws with heavier gauge, more robust/fewer threads, and maybe an eye hook (or similar thumb stud) to accomodate gloved hands?

2. Does the loop in the attached photo concern you or was it a solid enough mount that the overlap isnt a problem?

3. I saw this question earlier but not sure if it was addressed. Based on your test, is the tree diameter limited more by the mount bite, or because of the straps length?

Thanks again for the excellent review.
 

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Hogwild2004 said:
@DOMMA great review...

1. As responsive to feedback as the owner of OOAL is, do you feel its worth waiting to purchase until he perhaps beefs up the leveling screws with heavier gauge, more robust/fewer threads, and maybe an eye hook (or similar thumb stud) to accomodate gloved hands?

2. Does the loop in the attached photo concern you or was it a solid enough mount that the overlap isnt a problem?

3. I saw this question earlier but not sure if it was addressed. Based on your test, is the tree diameter limited more by the mount bite, or because of the straps length?

Thanks again for the excellent review.
Click to expand...

1. The screw size and threading issue is my opinion only. The leveling screws worked as intended and will allow you to level the platform on leaning trees. I think the screws could be improved but it is not a show stopper. I complained to Lone Wolf that the hinge knob on their stands should be improved.......I've been waiting awhile for this change.......

2. The photo you attached was from a 76" circumference (2 ft diameter) tree. I'm 6' tall and could not reach around the tree and had to toss the strap behind the tree. This is the worst case scenario for the bolts and I felt comfortable with the bolt grip. The bolt head is off center providing more surface area where the strap makes contact. I am attaching a pic of the bolt design so you can see why I think bigger trees will not be a problem

3. The smallest tree I felt comfortable in was 6" diameter. The 24" diameter (max) is due to the strap length.

A close-up pic of the bolt:
Picture10.jpg
 
I wonder why he doesn't just put one big lug in the center, similar to a versa button? Then the tree size and/or angle wouldn't matter, right?
 
I put mine on a huge white oak with no problem. Just take you time and tighten it and reset it on tree a couple of times. Didn’t measure tree but barely fit my legs around tree.
 
Thanks for the review. Your review is right on the money. I purchased one and put it up in the back yard, it will work fine for my use. Let me know if you would please when you master the fixed position of the strap to one side, thanks.
 
ChetterB said:
Thanks for the review. Your review is right on the money. I purchased one and put it up in the back yard, it will work fine for my use. Let me know if you would please when you master the fixed position of the strap to one side, thanks.
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I put on a UV resistant cable tie; because the strap compresses around the tie, it holds well. My next task is adding Stealth Strips and/or Paracord to silence the unit when it is in my pack.
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Interesting option. I agree with the comment above about replacing the two-bolt system with one center bolt. Additionally, why not lose the metal grate and replace with some horizontal supports (two on each side of the middle support)? The former would be prone to make more noise than adding in some supporting crossbeams. I like the concept of having uniform contact points on top and bottom of the platform (width wise that is).
 
Navigator said:
Interesting option. I agree with the comment above about replacing the two-bolt system with one center bolt. Additionally, why not lose the metal grate and replace with some horizontal supports (two on each side of the middle support)? The former would be prone to make more noise than adding in some supporting crossbeams. I like the concept of having uniform contact points on top and bottom of the platform (width wise that is).
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Seems to me that the grating would give some traction where just adding horizontal supports would be slippery. You would have to add something else to provide traction. It looks like the builder of the Podium has the grating welded in a lot of points that should eliminate most if not all noise.
 
First off, glad I found this forum. As a newbie to SH (and a Senior hunter 50 yrs+) I appreciate the acceleration it’s giving me to my learning curve. While I’m waiting for my first saddle to arrive I’m saturating my brain with finding a platform that I’d feel safest with. Of course, the first thing that got my attention was the size of the platform for my big feet. In a very early in-the-tree review, which appears to be before all of the mods were done, a couple of folks voiced concerns as to whether the welds on the brackets were safe enough. I don’t even see that mentioned here. Any thoughts on that with the latest podium? Thanks in advance for any comments.
 
RoJoHunter said:
First off, glad I found this forum. As a newbie to SH (and a Senior hunter 50 yrs+) I appreciate the acceleration it’s giving me to my learning curve. While I’m waiting for my first saddle to arrive I’m saturating my brain with finding a platform that I’d feel safest with. Of course, the first thing that got my attention was the size of the platform for my big feet. In a very early in-the-tree review, which appears to be before all of the mods were done, a couple of folks voiced concerns as to whether the welds on the brackets were safe enough. I don’t even see that mentioned here. Any thoughts on that with the latest podium? Thanks in advance for any comments.
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I don't personally have a podium but I have stood on a friends. I wouldn't worry about the welds on it. He's a fairly large guy and he hunted off his all last year without issue. I do personally own and have used both the Out on a Limb Ridge Runner and a Solo Scout platforms and the construction on both of them is very solid. I personally wouldn't worry about the structural integrity of the platforms for OOAL.

I'm not sure yet if either is going to be able to replace the Tethrd Predator as my "go to" platform this fall but that has nothing to do with structural concerns, just more surrounding packability in the case of the Ridge Runner or comfort in the case of the Solo Scout. I'll have to spend some more off-season time on them both to make a final decision.

Edit: By the way, Welcome to the forum from another "old guy" located in the northern end of Michigan's lower peninsula!
 
boyne bowhunter said:
I don't personally have a podium but I have stood on a friends. I wouldn't worry about the welds on it. He's a fairly large guy and he hunted off his all last year without issue. I do personally own and have used both the Out on a Limb Ridge Runner and a Solo Scout platforms and the construction on both of them is very solid. I personally wouldn't worry about the structural integrity of the platforms for OOAL.

I'm not sure yet if either is going to be able to replace the Tethrd Predator as my "go to" platform this fall but that has nothing to do with structural concerns, just more surrounding packability in the case of the Ridge Runner or comfort in the case of the Solo Scout. I'll have to spend some more off-season time on them both to make a final decision.

Edit: By the way, Welcome to the forum from another "old guy" located in the northern end of Michigan's lower peninsula!
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Appreciate the feedback. I suppose finding saddle gear is like any other aspect of deer hunting, you have to Trust your judgement, make a decision, and try it out. If you don’t mind me asking, probably the gear selection giving me fits is choosing sticks/steps. I’m finally somewhere between Hawk Helium sticks or WE steps. I thought I’d made up my mind and favoring the sticks until I saw Chris Cain’s video with demo of his “Cain Method.” Just seemed to be practical and safe. At my age, I don’t see me transitioning to anything like a one-stick ascent with aider/naider or rapid climbing. Jusg wondering what you use and what the “gotcha” moment was.
 
At this point I think I think I've tried it all, much to my wallet's (and my wife's) distress. This is really a hard question to answer since we all are driven by different priorities for our gear choices. For me its primarily about packability and I ended up going with one sticking. I still keep my WE Stepps in the truck during season for instances where I'm heading to known severely leaning trees. The single stick has an uncomfortable tendency for kickout on leaning tress so I go to the stepps for them using a modified Cain's method. I had just recently posted a summary of my climbing method history in another thread so I linked that below rather than try to type it all out again.

Newb Jitters

When I first started to try and mobile hunt, I started with a LWHC. I loved that thing but was always frustrated how hard it actually was to find a tree that worked in a spot that was remotely good. So I started messing around with a lock of stand and sticks at the same time to try and ween...
saddlehunter.com

Also, If you're interested I put video out there of a modified version of Cain's method for OFG's (old fat guys :)) if you're interested.

Modified Cain's Method for WE Stepps

Here I go again copying a Cain innovation but I've been asked by a couple of guys to put together a video of my slight modification to Cain's method for WE Stepps. Full credit to the climbing method to @Cain. Without his original video I would never have considered this but I did find that I...
saddlehunter.com
 
I can attest to the solidness of this platform. I used it for an entire season and killed four deer out of it. I weighed 230lbs at the time and was standing on the side on 3 of the 4 shots I took. There is no wobble in it if you do it correctly. It cams over tight, it takes a few tries to get it right sometimes, but this platform is lightweight and solid. Also easy to put on a tree.
 
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