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Wild Edge Steps - what am I doing wrong?

MacNobody

MacNobody

New Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2020
Messages
7
Hi all, total newb saddle hunter here. I’m trying to work on my technique and confidence and having an issue with my steps.

I have them cammed tight but when I step onto them they roll off to the side. It makes me very nervous.

Do I need to tighten them more? Only stand on the step bar and not on the curved legs?
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From the look of that one the left leg seems to be in a depression on the tree which would give it less grip, they can be a bit of a pain to get in the right spot sometimes and the tighter they are the better. Also someone on this forum said something about putting them on as large of a tree as possible and leaving them there for a day or so to stretch out the ropes. I haven't done that myself but mine have gotten easier to use over time so it makes sense I guess, take your time and practice a bunch they take a bit to get used to but do work quite well in my opinion
 
Have you watched some videos about how to put them on the tree? I can't see how it would possibly do that unless it was really loose or you weigh 800#.

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Henryvd88 said:
From the look of that one the left leg seems to be in a depression on the tree which would give it less grip, they can be a bit of a pain to get in the right spot sometimes and the tighter they are the better. Also someone on this forum said something about putting them on as large of a tree as possible and leaving them there for a day or so to stretch out the ropes. I haven't done that myself but mine have gotten easier to use over time so it makes sense I guess, take your time and practice a bunch they take a bit to get used to but do work quite well in my opinion
Click to expand...

^this. Stretching the ropes out made a huge difference for me and now they work great. Use the Perch if you have it to get the steps even tighter on a fat tree. And before you lift up on the step (after tying the loop) to cam it over, make sure the cross bar is level. May be why yours in the pic came down slanted like that.


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I will work on getting them tighter and yes that one was in a depression so I’ll watch for that.


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I agree that it's not tight enough. If you haven't stretched the ropes, do that. Then just keep practicing with them. You'll develop a feel for how you need to get everything set up so that you can cam them over tight almost every time. Occasionally you'll need to tighten one but it just takes practice.
 
One of your standoffs is not making contact.
( top posts) You should almost get a click when properly cammed down. That bark looks pretty good for climbing. Id avoid soft bark or gnarly bark until you really feel comfortable.
I try to put almost all my weight on step before attaching aider or attaching next step. ( like im going to do a pull up)
Just practice what those above suggested and watch videos until you feel like you could help coach someone else...
 
I have found that one of the things practice helps with is to get the rope as level and even around the tree as possible. Then take as much of the slack out of it as possible while looping it around the step. Then when you cam it over, it will tighten up much better. I sometimes actually have to give back a tiny bit of rope to enable camming. If the rope is crooked to start with, the step has no chance of being level and tight. I am on second season and still getting a little better at it all the time. Can be frustrating at first but don't give up! When you "get it", you'll be glad you stuck with it.
 
Stretching ropes is absolutely required. Sam with what was said about the standoffs all being in contact and relatively even surface on the trunk.

One thing that helps me is not putting a bunch of side pressure or excessive pressure on either side of the step. I try to center all my weight as best I can right in the middle of the step on the cross bar there. They’re always dead rock solid for me the better I can do that, as long as they’re right to the tree too (with stretched ropes).


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+1 on stretching the ropes. You can tell yours are new because of how shiny they are. Notice how wide the new ropes are? I found repeatedly setting the steps (that is, just practicing with them at ground level) helps best with stretching. I tried putting them on a tree for a day but that only did so much. Repeatedly cranking on the ropes really helped.
 
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I have them on the biggest tree in the yard and it’s wet yesterday and today. I will leave them there until my next day off and then spend some time practicing the knot.

Thanks all!


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