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Post Season Gear Inspections

boyne bowhunter

boyne bowhunter

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Quick PSA for everyone to do a thorough post season inspection of your gear.

I had noticed that the bottom standoff on the Hawk Helium I use as a one stick had developed a bit of a cant while hunting this year but I got it out yesterday and inspected it closer. Low and behold, after seven seasons of heavy use, the stick had seen its last days. The supporting structure under the lower standoff has cracked all the way across. I don't feel too bad about it, I've been using this particular stick hard since 2018 (7 seasons, more than 600 climbs, in excess of 2400 loading applications) so the stick doesn't owe me anything. I definitely got my money's worth out of it. :tearsofjoy:

Luckily it didn't fail during season because I advance my tether while I have both feet planted on the lower foot pegs right above the cracks. If it failed while I was advancing my tether, or even when I first stood up on it, I would be taking the 3.5' ride down the tree (don't ask me how I know).

Anyway, its a good reminder to inspect your gear regularly and do the maintenance (or replace it if necessary) now while you're not using or needing it next week.

EDIT: Based on good feedback I would like to point out that you should be doing gear inspections throughout the season as well. Damage can happen anytime and you don't want to have a critical piece of gear failing and ending up in a disaster.

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Great eye and thanks for the reminder. I need to go through everything, particularly my climbing gear and hunting implements. It’s pretty easy to close up shop and go into hibernation when the grind of the season comes to a hard as fast stop.
 
MattMan81 said:
@boyne bowhunter I told you not to let @enkriss use your gear. :rolleyes:

You should send hawk an email. I bet no one has sent them that email.
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Right. It should go something like this . . .

Dear Hawk Outdoors, I am extremely disappointed to report that after climbing with a modified version of your Helium climbing stick for only the equivalent of 30 hard seasons (its placed and weighted 4-5 times on an average tree climb) that the extruded aluminum post has developed some cracking around the lower standoff attachment where I moved it to. This makes me feel unsafe to use it anymore and I would like to get my original $40 purchase price refunded. After all, I only weigh 250-275 lbs with my pack while climbing which is still under your rated load. :tearsofjoy: :tearsofjoy: :tearsofjoy: :tearsofjoy:

Reminds me a friend I once sold a truck to, with the friend discount. When I sold it to him I disclosed the speedometer/odometer wasn't working right which at the time he saw as benefit for him (low mileage) when his time to resell it came. Over a year later he walks into my office and throws a speeding ticket on my desk. "You need to pay this!" he says. "You sold me a truck with a broken speedometer!" He was dead serious too. I'll leave my reply out of here for @redsquirrel's benefit but it doesn't take much imagination to figure it out. :tearsofjoy:
 
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gcr0003 said:
@boyne bowhunter if you could have upgraded to any stick what would it have been?
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I'm not sure I would make a change. Sure, there's lighter options but I want the cam cleat attachment so that kind of rules out the CF options. Besides, the weight difference for a single unit of any of these sticks is negligible in my opinion.

I also prefer the double folding steps. I want the folding steps because I carry my stick in the pouch of the turkey vest I use for a pack along with a bunch of other stuff. Folding steps ease pulling the stick out without dislodging everything else in there. I want the double steps so I can have secure footing for both feet when I'm advancing my tether. I can't think of another stick that fits this bill other than maybe the Skeletor but that has cam cleat mounting issues along with other problems for me.

I don't need or want one of the specialized "One Sticks" with an integral platform. I only use my stick for climbing and I use a separate platform for comfort while hunting. However, I still want the separate stick to leave on the backside of the tree to act as a ring of step to walk around the tree if necessary. For the amount of time I'm intending to stand on it I don't need a platform on it. Use of a single one stick with integral platform would still mean I'd need to substitute something else for the backside step.

Let's also consider the cost, even though its not in the realm of your question, but because new people often find the saddle hunting kit cost prohibitive. The total cost of my climbing method is under $100. Stick: $25 (I just bought a 4pk for $100 shipped yesterday), Cam Cleat: $40, 24" GM Climb sling for an aider: $10, 10 ft of Samson 6mm Accessory Cord: $4. Total cost: $80
 
boyne bowhunter said:
I'm not sure I would make a change. Sure, there's lighter options but I want the cam cleat attachment so that kind of rules out the CF options. Besides, the weight difference for a single unit of any of these sticks is negligible in my opinion.

I also prefer the double folding steps. I want the folding steps because I carry my stick in the pouch of the turkey vest I use for a pack along with a bunch of other stuff. Folding steps ease pulling the stick out without dislodging everything else in there. I want the double steps so I can have secure footing for both feet when I'm advancing my tether. I can't think of another stick that fits this bill other than maybe the Skeletor but that has cam cleat mounting issues along with other problems for me.

I don't need or want one of the specialized "One Sticks" with an integral platform. I only use my stick for climbing and I use a separate platform for comfort while hunting. However, I still want the separate stick to leave on the backside of the tree to act as a ring of step to walk around the tree if necessary. For the amount of time I'm intending to stand on it I don't need a platform on it. Use of a single one stick with integral platform would still mean I'd need to substitute something else for the backside step.

Let's also consider the cost, even though its not in the realm of your question, because new people often find the saddle hunting lit cost prohibitive. The total cost of my climbing method is under $100. Stick: $25 (I just bought a 4pk for $100 shipped yesterday), Cam Cleat: $40, 24" GM Climb sling for an aider: $10, 10 ft of Samson 6mm Accessory Cord: $4. Total cost: $80
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Youre so frugal even in your imagination you’re saving money haha!

What about that collapsible scissor type stick? Those look cool and compact. Can’t remember if they’re two steps or one though.
 
gcr0003 said:
Youre so frugal even in your imagination you’re saving money haha!

What about that collapsible scissor type stick? Those look cool and compact. Can’t remember if they’re two steps or one though.
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Not sure I could buy a single "new light technology stick" for under $100. :tearsofjoy: If the frugal option works why spend more? I mostly stay off the "Support Thread" for a reason! :tearsofjoy:

Also, I want the cam cleat mount and double steps. I saw and climbed on the scissor stick prototype personally at one of the Michigan get togethers. I think its a novel idea and good option for some but I don't recall it being a double step option and the one I saw wouldn't mount a cam cleat. It doesn't get easier than drilling a single hole in the flat surface of the Hawk post adjacent to the existing button hole to mount a cleat.
 
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Great reminder. Super important. Thanks for sharing. I like that you are “sticking” no pun intended, well kind of intended, to the same tried and true system as you’ve been using. My only thought is are you confident that the replacements will have the same durability? That happening to my stick would have made me want to try something different. I get that you’ve pounded the pee pee out of it but was just wondering if my thought about this is too overly concerning?
 
woodsdog2 said:
Great reminder. Super important. Thanks for sharing. I like that you are “sticking” no pun intended, well kind of intended, to the same tried and true system as you’ve been using. My only thought is are you confident that the replacements will have the same durability? That happening to my stick would have made me want to try something different. I get that you’ve pounded the pee pee out of it but was just wondering if my thought about this is too overly concerning?
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I know Hawk has a bad reputation but we'll see. I don't suspect there's been any changes to the extrusion that the Helium's use as a post in the last seven years, at least I hope not. I think it should be at least as reliable as any new stick on the market with an unproven history . . . at least to me anyway.

The stick that broke has about 100 tree climbs a year on it (in and out of season totals) over the last 7 years. Each climb is typically 4 to 5 moves of the stick so if you consider that in terms of traditional stick use that's equivalent to climbing somewhere around 3500 trees. That's pretty reliable in my book. If the newer Heliums don't prove to be as good, well then I may have to make a change. I'll cross that bridge when it comes. In the meantime I'll only be out the $100 I paid for the 4 pack. However, if can get 2 more seasons each out of the next four I'll be 71 by then. I'll be okay with that.
 
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boyne bowhunter said:
Quick PSA for everyone to do a thorough post season inspection of your gear.
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First of all, no judgement for how you operate. I'm sure you're more than qualified as a saddle hunter...

...BUT...

...as far as I operate, I inspect all hardware and software before EVERY climb. My harness as well. I also will inspect my rope for a second time after a climb as I flake it back into my bag, doing a tactile and visual confirmation of its structural integrity.

It might seem like a lot of work, but, as far as I'm concerned, anything that is to be used for life support at height should be regularly inspected. It's one of the best ways to generate an acceptable margin of safety for tree climbing; an activity that is inherently dangerous; where gravity is the antithesis of friendly.

Keep in mind that damage to your equipment can often happen without you being aware of it. If you only inspect once per season then you're potentially putting yourself at risk of survivable failure, catastrophic failure, injury or death.

Even the best of rated climbing equipment has the potential to become degraded or worse. While I recognize that the odds of a failure actually happening are extremely low for proper tree climbing gear, never use this low probability as an excuse to neglect a strict and stringent inspection protocol.

It only takes me roughly 5-10 minutes prior to each climb to inspect all of the items I'll be using for that climb. My life is worth an extra 5-10 minutes of monotony. But it will build your confidence since you will be likely to trust your gear more than ever before. It will give you peace of mind.

Again, no judgement. Just some thoughts from your friendly neighborhood knot, friction hitch and tree climbing connoisseur. =-D
 
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