I was on AT the other day and came across a post about some tree steps. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ita-L2l4P4
I contacted the original owner and he is sending me a couple sets he has. Comes out to about $100 a set with postage. Due to liability he won't sell them as a set and I have to sign a waiver. I put up one of the lock ons I bought from SG along with their stick ladder but would rather give these a shot. Only weighs 4 1/2 lbs. so will be easier getting out to the tree along with the stand and I believe they can attach to your belt so you have both hands free. :rockon
they look well made, but will only be able to fit 1 shoe in each piece. I've used hang on stands almost exclusively and tried several diff ways. the easiest and most versatile for me is a sectional stick with rungs at the same level on each side. with a lineman's belt you can stand with both feet AT THE SAME LEVEL,lean back into the lineman's belt and have both hands free to attach the stand. you can even alternate the direction of steps of each section to accommodate different tree shapes,bends,branches. second one I've put up in a week and it gets harder the older/fatter you get. I would definitely not want to try and put one up in the dark quietly before hunting from it. but good luck and don't forget to use the tether as well as the lineman's belt. a tree umbrella complements these stands real well keeping the sun from shining directly on you as well as staying cool and dry. They would be easier/quieter if YOU ARE gonna set up right before you hunt.
Interesting set up...but, what if your toe accidentally catches the step and flips it up against the tree? How you gonna get down?
You can notice in the video he used a lot of effort to fold/lock the step down, but it took very little effort to flip it up
How long would it take to install these to +/- 15ft? If they were already hung up, I could imagine using these very easily.
a hunting bud of mine prefered the strap on steps but he was 6'4" and in good shape so could space them far apart and not need as many to get further up. depends on your height and how far you want to stretch to reach them. imo it's safer to have them closer together. some of those pointier metal steps would do some serious damage if you fell on one.
