Just wondered who on here uses the Muddy climbing sticks? I was thinking about getting these for next year to use in a mobile setup with my wife. She doesn't like using a climber, so this could possibly be a good alternative to that for her.
I have both Muddy and Lone Wolfs. You can go higher with the same number of sticks and they are lighter.
Get the 32" muddy's ...double sided steps, which is easier to stand level when hanging a stand ...also no looking to see what side the step is on ... One this either muddy or LW the are both good steps... Also do your self a favor on either of them and a with to a rope attachment
The muddy steps that I'm thinking about are the ones with the steps that fold out. I think that they already have the rope attachement. That definitely looks the easiest and quickest way to set up.
aren't all the muddys double sided? or am I misunderstanding you? OP: I have 2 sets and I really like them, but they do take some muscle to get strapped in good and tight. I prefer them to LWs for sure; as the staggered-sided LWs plain scare the bejezus out of me when descending in the dark. Muddy sticks are well made and useful, but I admit I have moved on to ladders/climbers about 90% of the time. The private land I hunt is easy to set up ladders on early in the season, and if I have to go mobile there's plenty of straight clean trees to slip a climber up into. The public land I hunt is also fairly climber-friendly.
I should have worded it better ...double sided compared to the WF The biggest reason I like double sided is on the top step I can stand level when I am setting up a stand...and I concur I hate idea of needing to look which side..this comes into play for me when I am in trees with branches to climb around ...I don't want to forget that had to switch sides. This is how I modify my steps ...I agree the original straps take too much muscle to use... I carry three and place an aider on the bottom bar ...so three 32" steps and the aider get me up to 20 feet easy.
Arent the muddy sticks a lot shorter than the LW sticks? How high can you get up with 4 muddy sticks?
I hunt pretty much just private ground. My wife likes ladder stands, and I do have some up for her. But, when the rut hits and I need to move somewhere else I want her to be able to have the mobility to move spots without having to break down and move a ladder stand. I would like to be able to sneak close to some bedding areas and be quiet. Plus, the places that I hunt aren't too climber friendly. Even if we could only get 15' up in a tree, that would work for what I want. I don't think that she would be comfortable climbing too high at first with climbing sticks and a lock on. She just needs some time to work up to climbing higher.
You have to compare Apples to apples. Both LW and Muddy make 32" sticks. They will go the same height. The 32 Muddy hunters are 3pounds each. The 32 LW are 2.5 pounds each The weight difference most likely do to the fact the muddy steeps are double sided and the LW are single.
your assessment is exactly right. BTW, it takes four 20" Muddys to get appx 14-17' up; depending on the length of your legs and comfort level. I'm 6-1 with fairly long legs; I think I get about 16' out of 4. Basically I place them a little more than 20" apart.
You also need to actually weigh them as Muddy's advertised weight isn't accurate. That is for the bare stick and not the actual carry weight.