Beast sticks -- initial review

[wdog]

Just FYI 95$ for one stick is expensive !

I thought the same thing, until I used a set. It’s worth it and believe me, you won’t know until you try them.

Unfortunately....there is nowhere to try them or even hold one. Its a blind faith $400 leap.

That’s what’s great about the Internet. It’s not really a blind faith ,the consensus over the last few years is these things are incredible. I’ll take that over holding them for a few minutes inside of a store.

[Rob loper]

All this equipment is all personal preference.
What works for one may not work for another

[briar]

Just FYI 95$ for one stick is expensive !

I thought the same thing, until I used a set. It’s worth it and believe me, you won’t know until you try them.

Unfortunately....there is nowhere to try them or even hold one. Its a blind faith $400 leap.

That’s what’s great about the Internet. It’s not really a blind faith ,the consensus over the last few years is these things are incredible. I’ll take that over holding them for a few minutes inside of a store.

....I bet if I go on the Chevy forum, they tell me how great chevy's are....and same with the Ford forum. Whether good or bad when it comes to tree climbing equipment there seems to be a severe lack of objectivity. For whatever reason people are ridiculously emotionally invested.

I appreciate the offer to try them. Very nice of you guys. For me, they just don't have appeal. The original steps are too far apart, I've tried with a bunch set at 22", and I have to carry too many of the shorter guys. I dislike the packing options of the solid double steps, and I feel the pivoting stand off is essential.

I am sure they are great, and I am glad so many are supporting all the hard word of these fellas. Very loyal folks you are.

[wdog]

Just FYI 95$ for one stick is expensive !

I thought the same thing, until I used a set. It’s worth it and believe me, you won’t know until you try them.

Unfortunately....there is nowhere to try them or even hold one. Its a blind faith $400 leap.

That’s what’s great about the Internet. It’s not really a blind faith ,the consensus over the last few years is these things are incredible. I’ll take that over holding them for a few minutes inside of a store.

....I bet if I go on the Chevy forum, they tell me how great chevy's are....and same with the Ford forum. Whether good or bad when it comes to tree climbing equipment there seems to be a severe lack of objectivity. For whatever reason people are ridiculously emotionally invested.

I appreciate the offer to try them. Very nice of you guys. For me, they just don't have appeal. The original steps are too far apart, I've tried with a bunch set at 22", and I have to carry too many of the shorter guys. I dislike the packing options of the solid double steps, and I feel the pivoting stand off is essential.

I am sure they are great, and I am glad so many are supporting all the hard word of these fellas. Very loyal folks you are.

It’s not a loyal thing to me, I owe nothing to nobody. The pivoting stand off makes no difference. I have had buddies that no nothing about the beast, have tried my sticks and were hooked. They truly are a game changer, has nothing to do with brand loyalty.

[briar]

I guess I'd just have to experience it for myself. As long as I can get into the tree I just cant see the advantage. I would think the lack of length allows for the lack of a pivoting bracket. In a 22" section a tree doesn't have much chance to bend that much vs a 32" length.

Maybe someday i will get to use one and see it for myself, but since I can't ill just have to sit and and watch.

[minnesotahunter]

I've had mine two full seasons now, bought em used and believe they are the first generation of stick, 2lbs 1oz each stealth stripped with a buckle strap. All I have to say about the price is, I paid $300 for 4 of them, shipped. Now granted, that was a good price even in the used market at the time. But my point is I could sell them for more than that two years and over 60 hunts later. I bet I could actually sell the four of them for $360 right now- probably in under a day- thats what they cost brand new. Heck, I could put these up for sale a week before the season and ask $400 for them and I guarantee there is a guy out there who would love to give me his money so he doesn't have to wait for them to ship from the factory or stealth strip them himself.

They are a quality piece of equipment, and the way they hold their value is the best proof of that. Its like buying a Toyota truck or a Dewalt drill or a snap on wrench. If you're the type of person who takes his car into a shop to get your brakes fixed, you probably don't need snap on tools. But if you are a mechanic, it makes sense to buy good quality tools like snap on.

If you hunt a small handful of the same stand locations or you only hunt a small number of times a year, you probably are best off picking up a half dozen $80 ladder stands. If you are a serious mobile hunter and you hunt a lot, investing $400 in beast sticks will pay for itself one season in, and you can sell them for about what you paid for them years later when the next big thing comes around.

Nailed it. If you enjoy being mobile and travel a decent distance to hunt the price shouldn't scare you. I pissed away much more money on junk setups before buying these. Mine are gen 1, I've had no issues and I've hunted hard with them. Agreed it's a personal preference. I realized too late in life that buying quality was much more important than quantity.

[KPillinois]

I went out today for the first time with mini Beast sticks that i received just a few days ago. My setup was 4 Cranford steps to start my climb, then 1 Rivers Edge RE718 grip stick (4 pounds + strap) and the 2 mini Beast sticks (2 each at 1.7 pounds each plus straps) using a bottom portion only of a Hawk Ultra Lite climber (terrible climber don't ever buy !!). If weight, size (length) and packability were no issue I'd use the Rivers Edge because of more foot room for size 11 rubber boots and the three steps on each stick. The Rivers Edge can be pulled away from the tree at the bottom when climbing up however. I tried with Beast sticks and could not pull them away using the straps that come with it. The standoffs are no longer sharp and that is a great thing in my opinion because i don't wanna nick my strap on accident. Anyway it was 37 degrees and i was in the tree from noon until 5:20 p.m., and i had already decided days ago i was not packing a Beast stand with 4 or 5 sticks sticking out the back. Coming down i had such a mess of crap, putting it all together on the ground and organizing and gathering bungees, nite-ize ties and everything else i decided that for me the best way is to use the Beast stand along with 4 or 5 mini sticks using the new mount setup. I'm tired of being peed off everytime that i cause myself problems from being dis-organized, and the new stand/sticks combo will force some organization. Also once the sticks are all put up i can go back down and sling the stand over my shoulder with 1 strap like Dan does and go back up. I thought the stand was too long for me at first but it is only 4-4 inches longer than what i am using now and is 3 pounds lighter and safer plus it has a seat. I hate spending this much to climb a tree because it still won't kill a deer for you, but to me it is gonna be worth it. I have a garage full of bulky heavy stuff i can't use unless i hunt the same tree all season.