Ran across this video on silencing a set of sticks and a stand. He is doing these mods to a Lone Wolf set up and it seems like a ton of work but also seems like it could be worth the work especially on the buckles. What do you think?
i have also used the stealth strips for all my stands. it is a pain in the *** but i will take any advantage i can while hunting. i typically leave my stands up during the season but it definitely helped keep it quiet when my boot would rub against the cables
I have an assault that I use for run and gun setups only. I did use the Stealth Strips on that setup along with bike innertubes on the buckles and it makes a big difference. Not sure I'd do it though for the stands that get setup once and taken down once a year, it's a lot of work to apply them correctly. Also - If you use the strips on your sticks, make sure you spend some time nesting and un-nesting them. They will become pretty hard to separate if you don't do this a lot as the tolerances you need to easily slip together gets rather tight after the strips are installed.
When it comes to noise dampening, I don't think there's a such thing as overkill. Whatever it takes to be silent. Heck, I even took the HOURS to tape the platforms on both my LW sit and climb, and my Assault hang-on.
This guys videos are excellent and I have done everything (and more) that he recommends. As stated, you CANNOT be too quiet. T
If you're hunting mobile, you can get away with not silencing the stand, but I would recommend putting stealth strips on the sticks and innertubes over the buckles. Like Rick James said, the nesting gets a little harder once you have the strips on the sticks, but they also nest tighter (no rattling).
One other thing.......the bike innertubes smell like death for some reason when new. After installing I threw the straps in my scent crusher bag for a half hour cycle and now I can't smell anything on them.
On my climber I have used felt pad stickies and placed them anywhere there was metal on metal contact. It made a world of difference.
Now that I am on there looking for it, this guy has a ton a useful little tips and tricks. If you have some time to kill definitely check out his channel.
Did two of my three lone wolf sticks with camo tape. Havn't done buckles. Might do the last stick to after season. With the tape on they don stack has nice.
The only thing I silence is the buckles.I tried all sorts of things before I got Neoprene Yak Grips. Cut them in half and pulled them over the buckles. I've only done this on one set of sticks (5) for my run and gun set.
I actually did several things to help quiet my stand and sticks upon recommendations through this video. I tied paracord along the base of my stand, added stealth strips to my sticks and treestand cables, and used hockey tape on the buckles. I thought about the bike tube but heard it doesn't hold up well over time. I also looked into the neoprene yak grips that Fitz mentions but went with the hockey tape due to cost. Honestly in my opinion if you are a run and gun/mobile hunter this is necessary.
I hockey taped my buckles and a couple of the contact points. I like the paracord idea I might do that for next year if I hit public land as hard as I did this year. If you run and gun set up you need to do something.
I have used rubber on my buckles and will change it up for next season. A. the rubber does not last and B. the strap is always getting stuck under the rubber when it is pulled in or out and at times pulls the rubber into the buckle making for a pain in the *@& especially when up a tree. I have heard of the yak grips before and WILL do this for next year. EVERYTHING you can do to be more quiet is worth it. T
Great idea and worth it for your mobile set up. Stealth strip my LW sticks and stand. Wrap the front of the stand with hockey tape. Yak Grips on all of the buckles.
Due away with the buckles and you can skip the inner tub, rope is quite and fast. Have Stealth strips on my two sets of sticks that I use for mobile sets. I haven't had to make any mods to my stands, wedge loks hanging system is quieter and faster then anything I have used
Saw he had rope on his sticks in another vid. How does that work? As in what type of rope and how do you tie it?
