A DIY tip to climb trees higher, faster, and lighter when using climbing sticks. I have now been using this climbing stick modification for three years; I used to have one stirrup on my bottom stick. Now I put them on three sticks, and I’m able to climb 90% of my trees with ~4.5lb carrying weight. This method should work with any brand of climbing stick that you can remove the hardware on, such as Lone Wolf or Muddy.
***Extra Tip*** – On really windy days, the webbing could start to wave around. Youtube user cbigbear1 gave me this tip, ” I leave my boot hooked into the strap as I step onto my stick. Then just reach down & hook the strap onto my versa button.” If you’re not using Lone Wolf, you could just hang the loop on your top step to keep it from dangling. In addition, you should in general try to climb up the backside of the tree from where you expect the deer to be, to reduce the chance of them seeing your sticks, with stirrup or not.
-Update 2015: I now use three mini climbing sticks from Lone Wolf, all with webbing extensions. This allows me to get high enough for 95% of the situations I hunt. Often I find myself leaving one at the base of the tree and only using two.
-Links to Materials
Webbing: Tubular webbing link
Paracord: Paracord Link
**Disclaimer: This obviously isn’t TSA approved, so use at your own risk.
If you liked this tip, check out my other tree stand how-to videos.