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Sell me on an alternative climbing stick to my 30” Hawk Heliums

Dhamilton1

Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2020
Messages
56
Location
West Virginia
I’m currently using a set of 30” hawk helium sticks. While they get the job done, they are somewhat of a pain to carry around (carrying by hand, so I probably should invest in a better pack sooner than later). However, I’d like to get some suggestions on a better climbing stick, that doesn’t break the bank (sub $300 if possible).

I do realize I could mod my current sticks and cut them down then add aiders which may be the route I take, once I make up my mind.
 
Grade 8 bolts and a treehopper hand drill if legal in your area (many public land regs prohibit using bolts or otherwise puncturing the tree) is hands down the lightest, cheapest, and easiest.
If you can’t use bolts but you hunt mostly straight trees that aren’t waayyyy back on public, get a decent climbing stand.
Otherwise, check out 2TC.
Just my 2 cents…
 
I bought the 30" sticks last year and used a moveable aider while climbing. Honestly I hated the things. They where cumbersome to carry, locking cups either broke or wouldn't release, and I hated dealing with the straps.

I became intrigued by the one stick option and cut down one of my sticks and added a 2 step aider, cam cleat, and one stick rope. While it's not perfect it's getting the job done for me and is extremely small and fairly lightweight to pack in and out. I still use my predator platform when I get in the tree as I haven't convinced myself to leave my pack in the truck when I go in. I also don't think I'd want to stand on the helium's steps for a long period of time.
 
Shikar mini, 3-5 step aider, reppel gear. When I am at hunting height, I can pack up my stick and aider and have nothing below me on the tree. It takes a moment to switch over to your reppel rope and device if you are using a separate tether. But takes up zero space, super lightweight.

Or bolts, if legal, bolts are great.

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Bolts hands down if legal and a platform.

I cut my hawk down to 15", 2 step aider, cam cleat, and a mission platform. I still like the mission platform for comfort in the tree.
 
Had the original hawk sticks and cut them down and changed to a rope mod. Those were both big improvements for minimal cost. This year I switched to mini beast sticks and made my own daisy chains. This is definitely a noticeably improvement from the cut down hawk sticks, mainly in how well they bite and hold to the tree

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Had the original hawk sticks and cut them down and changed to a rope mod. Those were both big improvements for minimal cost. This year I switched to mini beast sticks and made my own daisy chains. This is definitely a noticeably improvement from the cut down hawk sticks, mainly in how well they bite and hold to the tree

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What length did you cut the hawks to?
 
I have Hawks that I chopped down myself and use a carry as you go aider. If I were to do it again, while keeping it economical, I'd probably go with the Novix mini sticks and as carry as you go aider, which is just a loop of webbing the right length to drape over the top of your stick and hang below your bottom stick enough to give you the step height in the aider that you want. I'd go with a 24" step height on the aider and buy 4 sticks. The full length sticks are horrible.
 
I believe I cut them to 22 inches but don't quote me on that. I did it a few years ago

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Cut 'em and add amsteel aiders.

I agree. Fairly easy to do.
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I bought an ultimate aider from EWO and instead of sliding over the step I fished it through the hole in the step farthest away from the middle. It keeps the steps open and they don't fall off.
 
From what I’ve read and seen videos on, that’s the average mod length.

Be careful....don't let the tail wag the dog.

There are cut outs where the step holes go. Drill your new step hole in one of the areas where the cut outs are spaced furthest and so you have enough metal around the new hole. You'll see that the factory holes do that.

If you instead target a certain length, then where your holes land can put you right next to a cut out with a very small amount of metal supporting the step hole. It is too likely for a catastrophic failure if you hardly have any metal.

Several well known tutorials on this miss this point and it has been brought up here multiple times.

I found a suitably wide spot of metal, centered my step holes, and the cut the end off as appropriate.
 
Where do you suggest buying the aiders from if I don’t want to try and build them myself?


therealamsteelguy or scottschainaiders on Etsy. I've purchased from both. Both are awesome. Remove one step from the bottom and girth hitch to your individual steps on both sides then bolt the step back on.
 
I use cable aiders from eastern woods on two full-length sticks. It's been my favorite setup I have used. Might try that before moving on or cutting them.
 
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