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Squeaking Rubber Boots and Screw in Tree Pegs

d_rek

d_rek

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2014
Messages
2,495
Location
SELP Michigan
Ok, let's talk about Rubber Boots and Screw-in Tree Pegs for a minute here. I'm talking about Ameristep or gorilla style tree steps. These are the only ones I have any experience with because they're all I can find at the sporting goods stores around me. Ordering them online and paying for shipping cost prohibitive.

The main issue I have is.. my damn rubber boots squealing like pigs when I use the ameristeps as my platform! I thought about wrapping them in gorilla tape, or maybe some camo cloth tape, but figured that would probably wear pretty quickly. Not to mention make a mess of my boots and the pegs after the adhesive starts to get ground up from standing on them. I thought that maybe stealth strips would be good, but stealth strips aren't exactly cheap...

So... does anyone have any tips on what they do to prevent their platform steps from squeaking?

FYI i have lacrosse aeroheads knee boot and am using mostly ameristep grizzly steps for my platform. I have one tree with gorilla vortex steps as my platform, but that's it. I do have the strap-on ameristeps now but am debating on getting an over-center buckle versus using the ratchet strap that came with them.
 
Hi D rek,

Maybe you could apply plastic dip or if you are looking for a quicker faster solution how about shrink tubing if you can find it in a large enough tube. The other thing you could do it put just enough felt on the bottom of your boot where it contacts the steps, like those scent pads they sell for making a scent trail, you might have to tape or glue them on though. I think the shrink tubing if you can find it might be the easiest but check first and make sure that doesn't squeak as well. There are two types one is plastic based and the other more rubbery one might work better than the other. I hope this helps let us know how this works for you.

Roger
 
I have a bunch of shrink wrap tubing from various car audio installs... you're talking about the kind you use a butane torch to shrink, right?

Wouldn't that stink quite a bit? Smell plastic-y? I could see it working. I could also see it just getting shredded up pretty easily. That stuff is not terribly durable. I could try the plasti-dip. That stuff holds up a little better. I'll tinker a bit.

Thanks for the tips!
 
d_rek said:
Ok, let's talk about Rubber Boots and Screw-in Tree Pegs for a minute here. I'm talking about Ameristep or gorilla style tree steps. These are the only ones I have any experience with because they're all I can find at the sporting goods stores around me. Ordering them online and paying for shipping cost prohibitive.

The main issue I have is.. my damn rubber boots squealing like pigs when I use the ameristeps as my platform! I thought about wrapping them in gorilla tape, or maybe some camo cloth tape, but figured that would probably wear pretty quickly. Not to mention make a mess of my boots and the pegs after the adhesive starts to get ground up from standing on them. I thought that maybe stealth strips would be good, but stealth strips aren't exactly cheap...

So... does anyone have any tips on what they do to prevent their platform steps from squeaking?

FYI i have lacrosse aeroheads knee boot and am using mostly ameristep grizzly steps for my platform. I have one tree with gorilla vortex steps as my platform, but that's it. I do have the strap-on ameristeps now but am debating on getting an over-center buckle versus using the ratchet strap that came with them.
Click to expand...

I think you just have to break in the boots a bit more. I have the exact same setup with no squeaking. Thinking back.. I believe I have squeaking issues whenever I get a new pair of boots until they "break in".
 
redsquirrel said:
I think you just have to break in the boots a bit more. I have the exact same setup with no squeaking. Thinking back.. I believe I have squeaking issues whenever I get a new pair of boots until they "break in".
Click to expand...

I have had them since November of 2013. I wore them for the remainder of hunting season, and then again for ice fishing and light duty winter work (shoveling snow).

I like to think they're pretty broke in by this point. I think that most of the squeaking is a result of the inside of my foot, near the arch, is from rubbing on the bend in the tree step after the threads.

It doesn't happen often, just when I step pr adjust my feet the right way. I might be able to get away just wrapping that part of the steps with some gorilla tape.
 
Even if they are broken in wearing wise, how many times have you worn them so you are standing on the pegs in that spot? When I mean broken in, I mean that spot, which isn't a normal spot to get wear, to be broken in. If you think they are worn in good there, then I'm not sure. Are they wet when they are squeaking?
 
If you could coat them in fur or synthetic like the Climbpaws, you would be in business.

I have LaCrosse AeroHead boots and an Ameristep Strap platform.
Every now and then my boots squeak but it doesn't sound 'foreign' in the woods.
Like a quiet tree branch squeak.

I don't think HeatShrink will be squeak proof
 
redsquirrel said:
Even if they are broken in wearing wise, how many times have you worn them so you are standing on the pegs in that spot? When I mean broken in, I mean that spot, which isn't a normal spot to get wear, to be broken in. If you think they are worn in good there, then I'm not sure. Are they wet when they are squeaking?
Click to expand...

I see what you mean. I have 7 saddle sits with these boots and metal tree steps in. I guess they might not be 'broke in' quite yet.

Yes, more often than not it just sounds like a tree creaking and not a foreign rubbery sound. I'm just worried that it will be louder than is like at the most inopportune of times :D


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I would try really rubbing around on those spots next time you are in the tree at the end of a sit or even set up a tree in your yard and try to wear that spot in. I know exactly what you mean about worrying about it squeaking at the wrong time. I have a new pair of insulated rubber boots in the mail and I'm gonna have to "break them in" before next week!
 
Try a few turns of good ol black electrical tape. Fairly durable, easy to keep an extra roll in your pack for a quick touch up.
 
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