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Steppladder Platform Prototype

Quick practice in my back yard before I head to the game. Not an ideal tree (little bigger than I normally hunt) but it is what I had.

This time the no cam method did not seem to get it as snug as I would like. When I switched to the normal cam method it was incredibly solid. I actually snugged the strap up pretty good this time, cammed the boat buckle, then cammed the step. Worked beautifully.

For now I've kept the side strap and rubber coated hook on the boat buckle. Thinking I will remove that and just use the metal clip that comes on the Primal step short strap to hook to boat buckle. The hook and strap does give you some more length but like I said, I don't really hunt trees this large.

The real key will be practicing this at height which means my saddle is going to have to get here soon!

Check out those Crocs! And socks!
9abd43c1d676188cbef5dae171bf7177.jpg
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TNSTAAFL said:
Quick practice in my back yard before I head to the game. Not an ideal tree (little bigger than I normally hunt) but it is what I had.

This time the no cam method did not seem to get it as snug as I would like. When I switched to the normal cam method it was incredibly solid. I actually snugged the strap up pretty good this time, cammed the boat buckle, then cammed the step. Worked beautifully.

For now I've kept the side strap and rubber coated hook on the boat buckle. Thinking I will remove that and just use the metal clip that comes on the Primal step short strap to hook to boat buckle. The hook and strap does give you some more length but like I said, I don't really hunt trees this large.

The real key will be practicing this at height which means my saddle is going to have to get here soon!

Check out those Crocs! And socks!
9abd43c1d676188cbef5dae171bf7177.jpg
0a6bbe48162ddb9899dfe6b9b454151b.jpg
8c7d15b784c1e333f4a5b7ea8e369f50.jpg
3ef7db7db2724f54afa3e70fa2e8eb63.jpg


Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Looking good! How thick of plywood is that?
 
Jgetch said:
Looking good! How thick of plywood is that?
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It's 3/4" and a more expensive grade of wood (hard wood). Left over from a project building a kids train table years ago (the one playing football tonight).

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Loo
TNSTAAFL said:
Quick practice in my back yard before I head to the game. Not an ideal tree (little bigger than I normally hunt) but it is what I had.

This time the no cam method did not seem to get it as snug as I would like. When I switched to the normal cam method it was incredibly solid. I actually snugged the strap up pretty good this time, cammed the boat buckle, then cammed the step. Worked beautifully.

For now I've kept the side strap and rubber coated hook on the boat buckle. Thinking I will remove that and just use the metal clip that comes on the Primal step short strap to hook to boat buckle. The hook and strap does give you some more length but like I said, I don't really hunt trees this large.

The real key will be practicing this at height which means my saddle is going to have to get here soon!

Check out those Crocs! And socks!
9abd43c1d676188cbef5dae171bf7177.jpg
0a6bbe48162ddb9899dfe6b9b454151b.jpg
8c7d15b784c1e333f4a5b7ea8e369f50.jpg
3ef7db7db2724f54afa3e70fa2e8eb63.jpg


Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk[/QUOTE
Looks really tight! Think the boat buckle is definitely the way to go! Awesome
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Not sure what happened there! I think it looks really great and I think you really got it right with the boat buckle
 
That looks great.

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Got a little more practice in this morning on a more normal tree.

No cam (step) method was definitely a no go.

Normal step cam method worked but required several re-dos to get it right. Mostly involving loosening the strap some. There is a balancing act between tight enough for a solid platform that doesn't flex or move and so tight you can't cam the step over. Might have been tree bark variation. This was an oak with thick and uneven bark. Yesterday's was a medium bark (don't know the tree type).

If I can get Kn/Sw to work right this is somewhat how I envision this looking at height. 4th WE step with platform to its right (a little more spaced than in the photo). Will have to figure out the setup process but that will have to wait for my saddle to arrive to know what works for certain.
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If you zoom in on the boat buckle you can see how I used the Primal clip on the short strap top connect directly to the buckle (just let the hook strap dangle). I like this better than using the hook but I will wait to cut off that strap until I'm 100% sure about this method. Could always use this buckle on my boat if this whole thing ends up a bust.

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TNSTAAFL said:
If you zoom in on the boat buckle you can see how I used the Primal clip on the short strap top connect directly to the buckle (just let the hook strap dangle). I like this better than using the hook but I will wait to cut off that strap until I'm 100% sure about this method. Could always use this buckle on my boat if this whole thing ends up a bust.

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With the buckle, do you think it will be noisy? I’m thinking the inner tube trick would still be an option while in transit
 
fbwguy said:
With the buckle, do you think it will be noisy? I’m thinking the inner tube trick would still be an option while in transit
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It's definitely something to consider. So far I haven't been paying much attention to it, but I will need to for sure.

The mechanism itself doesn't make much noise but it can bang into things like the cinch buckle. It is lighter so a little less clunky.

I did notice somewhat of a pop sound when I cammed the buckle on really tight. This was too tight to get the step to cam over anyway so it may not be an issue. I'll have to experiment some more and report back noise levels. I suspect it's something that can be managed.

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Finally found some time. Primal step and 5/8” plywood. Bounced on it aggressively and it will flex a little but once in the saddle it was very stable. Side loading wasn’t too bad but it could use some improvements to get better. I’m thinking a rail on the bottom to catch the cross bar on the step like the groove in a previous post had does . However as is I would be able to hunt after painting and non slip tape applied. The “tongue” part needs to be tight to the outside edges of the step. I was able to slide this in at height without issue and it comes out easily as well. I tried uploading a video but I can’t get the file size small enough. E9302B29-A07C-4E5D-ABD8-42917B6E70A3.png
 

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Jgetch said:
Finally found some time. Primal step and 5/8” plywood. Bounced on it aggressively and it will flex a little but once in the saddle it was very stable. Side loading wasn’t too bad but it could use some improvements to get better. I’m thinking a rail on the bottom to catch the cross bar on the step like the groove in a previous post had does . However as is I would be able to hunt after painting and non slip tape applied. The “tongue” part needs to be tight to the outside edges of the step. I was able to slide this in at height without issue and it comes out easily as well. I tried uploading a video but I can’t get the file size small enough. View attachment 6007
Click to expand...
that would be awesome for a present stepp.... ten stepps = 10 trees
 
Jgetch said:
Finally found some time. Primal step and 5/8” plywood. Bounced on it aggressively and it will flex a little but once in the saddle it was very stable. Side loading wasn’t too bad but it could use some improvements to get better. I’m thinking a rail on the bottom to catch the cross bar on the step like the groove in a previous post had does . However as is I would be able to hunt after painting and non slip tape applied. The “tongue” part needs to be tight to the outside edges of the step. I was able to slide this in at height without issue and it comes out easily as well. I tried uploading a video but I can’t get the file size small enough. View attachment 6007
Click to expand...
I like the idea of not “threading” the step thru the holes in the plywood. My only concern is it trying to slide back out. Maybe the groove that you mentioned might help prevent that issue
 
Finally had a scale to weigh my Primal Plywood Platform (with Boat Buckle mod to strap). I was surprised that it came in at just over 3 pounds. Thought it would be 2 or less.

Oh well. Still light and easy to pack. Primal step goes in bottom of 5-step WE bag with 4 WEs on top. Plywood slides easily into back of backpack. So 7 lbs plus saddle & ropes (all inside a backpack) gets me 24ish feet up a tree with a platform to stand on. Probably 10 lbs, plus whatever else I "need" to bring in the woods. Not bad.

Hand Climber (I have one) method will be lighter (7 lbs becomes 4.5), go higher, and be a little more straightforward to climb with, but limits tree selection. Those will be my options for this year. I'll try to do some of each to get a feel for what I prefer.

Spurs & bolts are a dream. As is the ability to hunt on private land.

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fbwguy said:
I like the idea of not “threading” the step thru the holes in the plywood. My only concern is it trying to slide back out. Maybe the groove that you mentioned might help prevent that issue
Click to expand...
Once it’s in and you have your weight on it it isn’t sliding back out. With the dimensions the way I have it you have to tilt the board so that it comes up to the widest part of the step (at the curve) and then pull it out at that angle. Same with putting it in, angle down, slide in then lock down. However I do think that a rail on the bottom will improve side loading a lot although when I side loaded it I couldn’t get it to move with my weight on it. If I wasn’t on it and pushed it to the side with my hand or kicked it then it will move out of place but because it fits snug it isn’t going to be able to come off the step that way either because the angles don’t allow it. Honestly the more I tried to make it move, or not work how we need it to, the more frustrated I got because it looks like it should move and when you go out to side load it your head is saying “this thing is gonna move” but so long as there was a bit of my weight pressing down and not just sideways it just didn’t move. Even so a rail is an incredibly easy addition for peace of mind.
 
When anyone finds any, please post it here (after you get yours at least). I bought four from Northwoods Outlet and think I'll be purchasing a few more if I can find them.

Re: the platforms. Is there any application for magnets with these things to hold them in place? That was my first thought to prevent it from kicking up, etc. when pressure is off of it.
 
I have been following this thread trying to figure out a way to make a diy strap on the wildedge stepp to perform in the same manner. i like the platform if it had some kind of traction on it
 
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