I have the Hawk Helium climbing sticks and I have tested them and they are great. Just curious how many you guys carry and how high you can get. I have 5 strapped to the stand now but I'm debating going with 4. Just curious, what kind of height are you guys getting with 4 or with 5?
I go with 4. Not sure how anyone does it with 3 however, I'm sure lower setup's it is fine. If I had a fifth, it would come in handy at some setups. I carry a couple extra strap steps to help at both the bottom and top of my setup.
Ever get to the stand and find out you don't need all 4 or 5? I'm new to this whole sticks thing and just curious what you do if you have an extra when you get to the stand height.
I have a LW Assault setup that I use only for run/gun setups. It has 4x LW sticks. I can get to 20-22' setups if needed to with one screw in step in my pocket to close any gaps that are needed. I've never found a run/gun setups needed together to that I couldn't make work with this setup in about 10 years with these. Just my opinion. I do at least half of my sits with this setup. Hope it helps.
I use three muddy 32" sticks with a blank diamond ladder aider on the bottom... Get me into the high teens easy.
I carry 4 with 3 screw-ins. I'll use them at ground level if additional height is desired. They also come in handy in a number of situations when you have a funky tree.
I guess I can try a few more setups and maybe space the steps apart just a bit more to see how high 4 will get me. I had them pretty close and was 20' no problem with the 5. Each stick was pretty close though, I'd say like 8-10 inches apart.
I use 4 LW. I picked up 4 Muddy Pro stick this year in a trade and am wondering how/if I'll use them given they are shorter than the LW sticks, I don't think the 4 Muddy sticks will get me as high as I'd like to be.
I take 4 most of the time. I have setups with both 3 and 4, wolf and muddy. I hang an extra loop made of rope from the bottom of each stick, that gains me at least a foot maybe more. Tie 3 1/2'-4' of rope together at the ends, so it makes a circle. Double it over and put it back through itself, so it forms a choker. Just put around the bottom step of each stick, so the big loop hangs down after its on the tree. It's like having an extra step between sticks. With four L wolf, I can get close to 30'. I do not hunt that high, but it's nice to have plenty of stick going above where I am hanging.
I only carry one 90% of the time. But I hunt a lot of pine and use the stick to get me to the big branches that I can climb. But if you want to limit the weight you have to carry I think in a hardwood setting I could get up 15 feet with only 2 sticks. I put the top of the first stick at or above 6' off the ground. I have to do a little pull up to get on it but that's not a big deal. I do the same with the second stick and at that point your looking at your feet being 12' feet at least. Hang the hang-on a few feet higher and you set up at or above 15' with two sticks.
Same, except I've got 3 sticks and a bunch of Cranford screw-in steps (I love those things). I use them on the bottom when needed. I use my sit and climb most of the time though.
I am not allowed to use screw in steps on the public land I hunt most often. I do use my LW handclimber mostly but sometimes I find a spot not good for a climber and break out the Assault.
I use 4 muddy 20" sticks, I have a rope on the bottom of each step so I get 4 additional steps with minimal added weight. I can hang my stand up to 20ft with this setup.