Tree saddles

[ontario farmer]

X2 what's being said. With my DIY sticks and aiders, I can either use 3 sticks or 6 steps to get to 21', amd the weight difference is minor. The main difference is that 3 sticks are just crazy, lightning fast, whereas the steps are slower but more packable. For guys using standard weight sticks, the WE steps then win on the packability and weight but still take longer to climb with.

3x what he said...

Sticks like his are light but not easy to pack
Stepps are slower and easier to pack. They are also harder to attach above your head if you have any shoulder problems. For that reason I prefer light sticks with aiders.

[Swelch]

I'm going to try the muddy pro sticks because of the installation ease and no chains so lack of noise is great.

[Jonny]

The wild edge steps with the aiders looks slicker than slick.

Once I get dans stuff I might have to see if I can dump my xop cinder blocks and get a set of the steps to play with. Would be really nice to throw on my assault and not have anything sticking out on longer walks in the marsh.

Watching some of the videos now. Wishing I had an extra couple hundred bucks around to try them out

[ontario farmer]

I'm going to try the muddy pro sticks because of the installation ease and no chains so lack of noise is great.

I have used muddy pros. They are super easy to attach with a double step but weigh 3 pounds each. You can put a cam cleat on any stick.

[Swelch]

I'm going to try the muddy pro sticks because of the installation ease and no chains so lack of noise is great.

I have used muddy pros. They are super easy to attach with a double step but weigh 3 pounds each. You can put a cam cleat on any stick.

Touche good point there

[Babshaft]

The wild edge steps with the aiders looks slicker than slick.

Once I get dans stuff I might have to see if I can dump my xop cinder blocks and get a set of the steps to play with. Would be really nice to throw on my assault and not have anything sticking out on longer walks in the marsh.

Watching some of the videos now. Wishing I had an extra couple hundred bucks around to try them out

I wish you had've said that last week. I would've brought 3 with me to Milwaukee last weekend and left them with you.

I too am excited for dan's sticks. They're the nicest sticks I've ever held. I don't know if I'm sold on the fixed double step though. My itty bitty brain is so used to the folding steps on the heliums I'm wondering if I'm just over thinking it.

His stand is also next level. It'd be the only thing I'd consider other than a saddle. It's ridiculously light, perfectly sized, and is engineered to solve any of the typical tree stand issues. I was impressed with both Dan's sticks and stand. Guys can say they're expensive, but for the quality and design, they're beyond affordable.

[ontario farmer]

The wild edge steps with the aiders looks slicker than slick.

Once I get dans stuff I might have to see if I can dump my xop cinder blocks and get a set of the steps to play with. Would be really nice to throw on my assault and not have anything sticking out on longer walks in the marsh.

Watching some of the videos now. Wishing I had an extra couple hundred bucks around to try them out

I wish you had've said that last week. I would've brought 3 with me to Milwaukee last weekend and left them with you.

I too am excited for dan's sticks. They're the nicest sticks I've ever held. I don't know if I'm sold on the fixed double step though. My itty bitty brain is so used to the folding steps on the heliums I'm wondering if I'm just over thinking it.

His stand is also next level. It'd be the only thing I'd consider other than a saddle. It's ridiculously light, perfectly sized, and is engineered to solve any of the typical tree stand issues. I was impressed with both Dan's sticks and stand. Guys can say they're expensive, but for the quality and design, they're beyond affordable.

I sold you those three. I guess you do not like the WE steps. What is your reason. Too big of a pain to get attached??? Too many attachment points. Too slow??? I guess that is why I do not like them as much as a light stick. Packablilty is great with wild edge steps and is the main advantage. Aiders can be used with sticks too. I get can get 24 feet with three sticks and aiders.

[DaveT1963]

Another easy and very comfortable way to get into saddle hunting is with a DIY fleece saddle and RCH combo. Sam potter shared it over on the Saddle Hunter site and I tried it and was blown away how dang comfortable these things are. I have used a saddle off an on since Green put them out way back when. The systems we are using today have evolved and there is a plethora of info out there to get you started. A fleece saddle can be made at home, with NO sewing, and all materials can be found locally (with exception of amsteel which is not a must have but I think works best). The total weight of my saddle, ropes, and RCH is about 3-4# total. Add in 3 sticks and one climbing aider and you can literally climb and hunt any tree, anywhere with a combined weight of right at 10 pounds (less then an original LW with belt and back pack straps (and this does include weight of harness and stick needed to hunt out of a LW safely). As far as comfort - no comparison IMO a fleece saddle can be adjusted to give back support, leg support, etc...... I could sleep in a fleece saddle easily.

[wolverinebuckman]

X2 what's being said. With my DIY sticks and aiders, I can either use 3 sticks or 6 steps to get to 21', amd the weight difference is minor. The main difference is that 3 sticks are just crazy, lightning fast, whereas the steps are slower but more packable. For guys using standard weight sticks, the WE steps then win on the packability and weight but still take longer to climb with.

3x what he said...

Sticks like his are light but not easy to pack
Stepps are slower and easier to pack. They are also harder to attach above your head if you have any shoulder problems. For that reason I prefer light sticks with aiders.

I am 99.9% sold on the WE Steps, but this shoulder comment has me a little nervous now. I have a torn labrum in my right shoulder, what kind of difficulty is there with attachment? And what kind of time difference is there in set up steps to sticks, 30 minutes to 10, or what? Thanks

[ontario farmer]

X2 what's being said. With my DIY sticks and aiders, I can either use 3 sticks or 6 steps to get to 21', amd the weight difference is minor. The main difference is that 3 sticks are just crazy, lightning fast, whereas the steps are slower but more packable. For guys using standard weight sticks, the WE steps then win on the packability and weight but still take longer to climb with.

3x what he said...

Sticks like his are light but not easy to pack
Stepps are slower and easier to pack. They are also harder to attach above your head if you have any shoulder problems. For that reason I prefer light sticks with aiders.

I am 99.9% sold on the WE Steps, but this shoulder comment has me a little nervous now. I have a torn labrum in my right shoulder, what kind of difficulty is there with attachment? And what kind of time difference is there in set up steps to sticks, 30 minutes to 10, or what? Thanks

Ask Bass Boys.... he has more experience with both. If you have trouble reaching over your head and making twisting motions with your hand like I do in one shoulder because of hockey then forget the WE steps. Get light sticks.
I cannot comment on time difference in time because I never perfected WE steps. Sticks with a cam cleat (the fastest) or sticks with a rope modification ( the second fastest) attachments do not take long... I have not timed it. Boswell on saddlehunter has climbed with muddy pros in I think 6 minutes to a height of 18 feet and no aiders. The guy that owns WE steps - Andrew climbs with WE steps almost as fast.

[BassBoysLLP]

The wild edge steps with the aiders looks slicker than slick.

Once I get dans stuff I might have to see if I can dump my xop cinder blocks and get a set of the steps to play with. Would be really nice to throw on my assault and not have anything sticking out on longer walks in the marsh.

Watching some of the videos now. Wishing I had an extra couple hundred bucks around to try them out

The aiders really make the WE stepps a viable solution. I can climb 40 feet with 6 wild edge stepps weighing in at 6 lbs. I could pack 3-4 stepps as I usually just climb to 20-25 feet but the extra stepps come in handy with odd ball trees.

Sticks and aiders are nice though. It all comes down to preference and packability. If you are already carrying a treestand the sticks make sense.

[bowhunter15]

In Boswell's video, from the time he starts picking off his first Muddy stick from the bunch to the time the 4th one is installed, it's almost exactly 2 minutes. I think with my 3 sticks and aiders, I could be at 21-24' in under a minute and a half if I was going quickly. I haven't timed my WE steps yet. But if you think about it this way, it's 2x as many attachments and each attachment takes a little longer. A guy who's good at WE steps can still climb pretty quickly, relatively speaking. It's all about what you're prioritizing with your climbing system.

[BassBoysLLP]

In Boswell's video, from the time he starts picking off his first Muddy stick from the bunch to the time the 4th one is installed, it's almost exactly 2 minutes. I think with my 3 sticks and aiders, I could be at 21-24' in under a minute and a half if I was going quickly. I haven't timed my WE steps yet. But if you think about it this way, it's 2x as many attachments and each attachment takes a little longer. A guy who's good at WE steps can still climb pretty quickly, relatively speaking. It's all about what you're prioritizing with your climbing system.

If you climb with a larger aider and WE stepps, the attachments are approximately the same. 20 feet with 3 stepps vs. 22.5 feet with 3 sticks...at least for me. The sticks do go on a few seconds faster.

Another thing to conaider in these speed trials are limbs. The linemans belt dance around limbs always chews up a bunch of time. You can eliminate the this by varying your technique with the stepps.

[bowhunter15]

In Boswell's video, from the time he starts picking off his first Muddy stick from the bunch to the time the 4th one is installed, it's almost exactly 2 minutes. I think with my 3 sticks and aiders, I could be at 21-24' in under a minute and a half if I was going quickly. I haven't timed my WE steps yet. But if you think about it this way, it's 2x as many attachments and each attachment takes a little longer. A guy who's good at WE steps can still climb pretty quickly, relatively speaking. It's all about what you're prioritizing with your climbing system.

If you climb with a larger aider and WE stepps, the attachments are approximately the same. 20 feet with 3 stepps vs. 22.5 feet with 3 sticks...at least for me. The sticks do go on a few seconds faster.

Another thing to conaider in these speed trials are limbs. The linemans belt dance around limbs always chews up a bunch of time. You can eliminate the this by varying your technique with the stepps.

That's true. I still haven't gotten completely comfortable with aiders that long. I'll continue to play around with it. With a riggers belt I can skip the lineman's belt dance but I've only been able to do it with steps spaced so I'm always standing on one with another at waist level. If you needed to move a LB around a limb while having both feet in an aider, for me it ends up burning a lot of energy for stability.

[BassBoysLLP]

Agreed.