I am, that's who. Yesterday I set up a stand in a good staging area. I had one there last year but tree choices are limited and I got picked off a few times. I decided I would go on the same tree, only higher. I borrowed one of my son-in-law's Lone Wolf sticks to place above my standard climbing sticks to get me higher in the tree. I know there are alot of LW fans here but that thing scares me. It almost seems a little unstable and the plastic steps kinda freaked me out. I've owned a few LW stands but this is my first experience with the sticks. Am I doing something wrong or am I just freaked out for no reason? Blessings......... Pastorjim
I understand what your saying about being unstable, you need to step down on the and secure them before you attempt to make your way up them, there actually pretty stable. The steps are metal, if there plastic then I wouldn't use them but that's just me. You can't fly up them like regular sticks, take your time that was the big difference I found I needed to change
I think your mind is messing with you. They've always seemed stable to me but there the only sticks I've used. I'm sure if you used them more the trust would come.
The steps are/ should be aluminum. (Do you mean the versa buttons?)They hold my fat butt 220 pounds. I'm afraid of heights so I am scared every time I go up. Learning to trust your linemans belt and lifeline will take the fear away eventually. Only thing that scares me still is if my boots are mud covered with the thick paste mud i found in Illinois. My lifeline saved my life last November when my mud covered boot slipped off a step when I was lifting up my other leg, and went straight down, no time to react. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Agree with everything said and can only add a little more. I always cinch the straps then pull/wiggle the stick some more just to make sure it's tight. As I step up on the stick it bites into the tree in most cases. There are a couple of trees I tend to avoid (shagbark hickory and some other super hard woods) where either the bark schluffs off or the teeth don't bite into the trunk. As Joe said the line man's belt is key to setting the sticks.
Well I had my lineman's belt attached but I hadn't yet installed my lifeline so it just felt a bit shaky for me. I'm sure I'll adjust. Blessings..........Pastorjim
Jim, First of off glad you had the lien mans belt on. Need you safe. What was plastic? I have never seen a LW step that is plastic. If the steps are plastic he might have a knock off. But we first tighten the belt around the tree and the pull down hard on the stick to cinch it even tighter on the tree. After that we usually climb on to the bottom step and stand on it to further cinch it down. You definitely want them tight. Last thing you want is t be climbing those in the dark and it come away from the tree slightly.
I'm also using lonewolf Sticks for the first time and they do take some getting used to. Especially while stopping to hang another stick or the platform. I really wish they had peg on both sides but I got used to putting other foot against tree to stabilize
As others have said, the steps should be aluminum. If you're stepping on plastic, it's not a Lone Wolf. Additionally, they do take some getting used to. I remember my dad used to hate climbing up into my stands, primarily because he was used to the traditional ladder sticks that had a little wider step and more to hold onto. Personally, I feel fully confident in climbing up and down my stands without any safety concerns. I've been using LW stuff for more than a decade now without a single issue.
