Got mine in today. Was headed to a tree with them under my arm before the UPS man had even pulled out of the driveway. Did a climb with all three just in stock configuration, no aiders, so got to maybe 11 or 12 ft.
I like them. They performed exactly as I was expecting, to be honest. I had no wiggle of the steps, but the tube did flex a tad when I shifted my weight back and forth on the top step. To me, this would be expected and I do not consider it to be a fault. My concern is the step staying firmly attached to the tube, and only time will tell if they will hold up over many climbs and my 230lbs. But so far, so good.
I've been spoiled the past month or two by mostly using EWO and Beast sticks exclusively, so these One sticks had a tough act to follow. They do not grip quite as well as EWO or Beast, but the grip is adequate, at least after they were fully set by my weight stepping on them. The initial set by hand left a little to be desired, and I actually had two occasions where the stick released on me (didn't kick out, just released from the grip) when I used the upper step to grab onto with my hands to climb up onto that stick (yes, I pull the bottom step out when I set any sticks). I found this happened when I pulled outward too much when using the top step as a handle to climb up, and it got better when I pulled downwards more for the climb. Two reasons, IMO, that they don't set as well as the others I mentioned: 1. The standoffs are not nearly as sharp. They have the bevel now like the Beast sticks, but the teeth are surprisingly dull. 2. The steps themselves are quite sharp (for boot grip, so not a bad thing), so I found that I was not able to apply as much force to seat the sticks by hand as I can with other sticks. Trying to really wrench down on them to set them was a little painful. Perhaps gloves would make this a bit better.
As others have mentioned, they have less foot room on the steps than most other sticks. I knew this going into it, so it is what it is. I was on a basketball-sized tree, so to get comfortable I just kicked me feet to the sides and had the steps closer to my heels. That might not work so well on larger trees, but not really a big deal, IMO.
Overall, I'm happy with them. I had planned to just sell them for what I paid if I had an issues, but I will definitely be hanging onto them after getting to experience them. I didn't buy these for everyday-type climbing use. I have other tools for that. I bought them for situations where I wanted a minimalist setup for long treks into public. Super light weight, securely and tightly stack, and can quickly strap them directly onto my pack with no fuss. I think they will perform very well for that purpose.
View attachment 67730
