Look, I get it, I'm 360 pounds. Lone wolf sticks are rated for 350 pounds. Still, you would think that if they were rated for 350 pounds, they'd be able to handle more weight than that. After all, you wouldn't think a 351 pound man should worry about using sticks rated for 350 pounds. Additionally, I wear a safety harness that weighs at least five pounds and I carry my stand up on my back and that weighs 14 pounds. So is a consumer supposed to take that into account when purchasing this gear? I was utilizing a set of River's Edge square still sticks previous to this that was only rated to 300 lbs and they've held up better than these. I bought this Lone Wolf sticks three weeks ago and I don't think they'll even last the whole season. I emailed the TMA to try to figure out what their testing procedures were for their weight ratings and instead of getting that information, they told me I shouldn't be using the sticks and that I should really reconsider going up in a tree since I weighed so much anyways. They even questioned my ability to recover from a fall. I'll admit that I have a gut, but I climb these trees every time I go in the woods and I walk 1-3 miles each way for every sit I go on. At 6'6" it's not like I'm a blob and for goodness sakes. Being a larger person in general sucks and the hunting industry constantly ignores our needs. Even if I was in great shape, the chances of me being under 300 pounds is pretty slim. I just have too much muscle mass on my body to make it feasible and I haven't lifted to get bigger since college track, so it's not like I'm trying to keep it on. It's a largely untapped market in the industry and it just plain sucks. What the hell do I do now?
So you're 360 pounds and carrying an additional 20-30 pounds of gear, clothing etc up the climbing sticks. You're then 30 to 40 pounds over what your sticks are rated at. They rate them for a reason and you've maxed them out. I dont think you're going to get any help from Lone Wolf or the TMA for that matter because of liability reasons. When you go over a company's parameters for use of their product you've voided all warranty and liability of them. TMA certainly had no right to question you if you should go up a tree or not, thats not their business. Not sure what to tell you on gear. Shedding a few pounds is the best answer I'm afraid.
Not sure what I'm looking at in your picture, but I'd contact Lone Wolf. They are really good about answering questions and they want their customers to be happy ones. See if you can talk to Jared Schlipf I think is his name. Hes the owner. Mention your on BH.coms forums too. It can't hurt as they are one of our sponsors. Good luck.
If I were you I would go with a welded design. Much more stable and should be able to handle the weight.
I'd be willing to bet they will make things right with you. I haven't come across too many companies in the hunting industry that doesn't stand behind their products. That said, technically, you did go over the weight limit on those sticks. That number is on there for a reason. I'm guessing that a lot of companies havea 350 rating on their stands, etc., but the reality is that it would handle more weight than that. To keep yourself within a given weight tolerence, they back it down to 350 instead of say.. 400.
Bigstick, I would contact lone wolf, like John said get ahold of jared he is a great dude and I think he would take care of you!
The issue you're seeing on your sticks is rather common really, and I don't think poses a threat to your safety. I have a bunch of sticks that look identical to that, which I've been using for years. It's caused by the aluminum of the step portion making contact with the head of the allen screw that holds it in place. The aluminum gets a "dent" (for lack of a better term) in it when you climb up and down. This is caused by the weight of your body pushing down on that point over and over again. Contacting LW would be a good idea, but I can pretty much tell you that you'll get a same response from them that you got from the TMA. Their products are rated for weight for a reason - to cover their butts and make sure that people using them are safe. Not harping on you, but IF something were to fail you have to remember that you're knowingly using a product that isn't rated for your size. So you really can't fault the product. IMO if you're concerned about it, I'd look into another product. Safety really isn't anything to mess around with.
Bigstick, PM me, I am currently working with Lone Wolf on issues, and have a background in TMA testing as well. I'd like to know more about this. Email me at [email protected] and I will help you through the potential issue. Thanks, Todd
Thanks for all the great replies, I'll give Lone Wolf customer service a call and give them a chance. I don't expect them to give me any special treatment especially since I am over the weight rating on the sticks. If they were to come back and tell me that there was nothing to do, I wouldn't be angry, I'd just keep using the sticks until they failed and then go back to the welded ones I had. I've used their stands for several seasons and haven't had any problems (and I keep a really close eye on all of the components) so all in all I've been a pretty lucky guy. I'm still in the process of losing weight. I was ten pounds heavier a couple months ago. I'm just worried that by the time I get down another 30+ pounds the season will be over. I own a ground blind and it's way easier to set up, but I'd much rather prefer to be in a tree, especially since I hunt public land and I can't leave it out for the deer to get used to. Justin - I hope this is just normal wear and tear and I'll get to use them for a lot of seasons. I'll just have to keep an eye on it. Todd, PM on the way.
I though I read somewhere that everything TMA is actually rated for more than the stated rating. I think they lower the ratings to be extra sure. No offense but at 6'6' I am sure you have trouble with everthing archery related (clothes, stands,draw lentgh etc)
The clothes can be difficult. Nothing is offered in tall except for some stuff by Cabela's and Carhartt. I have a 30" draw, so that's not too bad. As for the stands, I've never had any problem actually getting up the tree or shooting from the stand, so I don't know that I've had a problem there, besides the weight issue. As an update, Jared actually called me and asked for the pictures of the stands. Lone Wolf earned even more points in my book. I want to be totally clear about this whole situation too. I'm not saying that Lone Wolf makes anything but a quality product and that they are a great company. For everyone that's interested, from what I've gathered, the TMA rating is based on a straight vertical, static weight test. When I read that a product holds 300 lbs or 350 lbs, I think that regardless of the angle of force applied to it, it will sustain an object that weighs that weight. In addition, I had the impression that it would hold that weight if it was moving. Both of these assumptions were wrong. So, keep this in mind when you use your gear. Now, that's just the TMA requirements. Jared said that Lone Wolf tests their stand to failure. That's at least a good piece of news.
Hey Ryan, If you could post some better pictures I may be able to help a little more. I've had to diagnose my fair share of metal breakage, however, Justin sounds like he's seen this before. I'm SURE the sticks will take more than 350 pounds. I would bet that they could take a spike of nearly triple that. The 350 would come from cycle testing. That said, you should be good with 400, but they won't last quite as long as 350. The amount of help you'll get will probably depend on a couple things. 1. How old the sticks are? Obviously the newer the better. 2. Honesty. Straight up tell them everything. 3. Be nice, stay calm. If you start getting upset and crappy, you'll be shut down immediately. 4. Don't give up. If one person won't help, ask to talk to their boss. If they won't, hang up and try again later and get 2 new people all together. 5. You're a salesman in a way. You're trying to sell them the idea of helping you out. I've been working in warranty for many many years (mainly for large automotive companies). I've replaced an engine at 150k miles simply because he did everything I said above.
