Since you have been interested in buying climbing sticks for hunting for a while now, I have just the right tips for your purchase. Before we begin, you have to know there are a lot of options for climbing sticks ranging in different prices and different functions. With all that options one can get confusing. So, to sort all the features for your ease of mind here’s the explanation of each one:
1. Weight of the sticks
One of the most important features for buying climbing sticks is their weight. It is important to buy light weighted sticks so that traveling becomes a little easier. Make sure the sticks are not heavy to move around and have a lightweight construction.
2. Stack-ability
While buying the sticks this factor is easily forgettable. So, write it in your checklist now. Stacking sticks make t easy to carry around and even store. If the sticks don’t stack properly, they take a lot of space, and you are left with almost no space for your other gear.
3. Loud
This may not sound a lot, but the loudness of climbing sticks defeats the whole purpose of keeping things quiet for hunting. Usually, the climbing sticks make a lot of sounds while rattling them together or when you climb. So, make sure you buy the sticks that minimize the sound effect.
Pro tip: if you happen to find the loud sticks you can minimize the sound by taping the stealth strip to the whole body. It will minimize the sound.
4. 3 step stick
If you have short legs or are a beginner at climbing trees, it is better for you to buy three steps sticks. The 3 step climbing sticks will give you more confidence and stability while stepping up. But if you are an advanced climber you don’t need to look for a 3-step stick.
5. No additional bolts/moving parts
Try to find the climbing sticks with minimum bolts or moving parts. First, they might look fancy and full of features, but they diminish the lasting quality of sticks. You might need to get them repaired or replace over and over again. So, buy the sticks with the least bolts and moving parts
6. Lasts forever
Speaking in terms of lasting quality sticks you need to find some good quality sustainable sticks. Sticks that have plastic steps attached to them are not sustainable so surely avoid them and prefer the ones where steps are welded into the sticks instead of attached with bolts.
7. Versatile
Versatility is not the most important thing for buying climbing sticks. But it can help you a lot if you have the right budget to do so. More functions can make the sticks more accessible and convenient. For instance, sticks can bring the feature of each step able to pivot 180 degrees to the left or the right as needed, or the reversible steps make it easy to climb up and down.
8. Width of the foot stand
Make sure you are buying the sticks with enough width of the foot so you get a good foothold for my stability and composure, if you think there is not enough space between rod and tree place your feet at a 45 degree which will help.
9. Sturdy construction
Make sure the sticks and all of their parts have sturdy construction because with time the parts may start to bend a bit and lose their shape.
10. Mounts on trees directly
There are some sticks available in the market which can mount on a tree on itself. The sticks that attach trees directly are more preferred as there is no extra baggage to carry around and much less set-up time
11. Doesn’t cause any wobble
Make sure there is not any wobble in the climbing sticks in both conditions; straight and leaning. This will cause you to stumble and may cause an injury. So, to prevent all that check if it is wobbly or not.
12. Extension straps.
It is good to have an extension strap on the climbing sticks as it provides more support and stability.
13. Blend in the jungle
Usually, sticks in the market have jungle colour (i.e. blending colours). But they are sometimes available in pure black or grey too. So it is better to have something that can blend but not necessary as you can always customize them to make them more neutral.
14. Easy to assemble
If you don’t want any hassle and time wastage, it’s better to invest in some user-friendly and easy to assemble sticks.
15. Easy cleaning
If you buy sticks that easily get dirty the cleanup will be a nightmare after hunting. Invest in something that is an easy clean-up and doesn’t get mad and ice stuck on its steps.
16. Comes with an instruction guide
If you are a beginner, it would be really helpful if you buy something with an instruction guide. It helps a lot while starting hunting with a guide to follow step by step.
17. Comes with safety features
The more safety features the better. There are never enough precautions to take doing anything. So, buy the sticks that have more safety features.
18. Cheap or expensive
There is a lot of prince ranges when it comes to buying climbing sticks. Don’t fall for the high the prices high the prestige and quality of sticks will be. Or the fact that goes for the cheapest version because it is not worth spending that much money. Because the priciest product might not be the best fit for you. Look at the features that best suit you. Alternatively, don’t choose the cheapest version too because of this alike time investment and worth all your saving and thought process.
19. Noisy assembly
The manufactures don’t usually pay attention to the fact that setting up climbing sticks can be quite noisy and time taking. The noise can scare the prey off. So, give a second to note about the noise of the whole gear
Conclusion
You should consider all the factors given above the perfect climbing sticks. But also note that not all manufacturers don’t provide everything in one package. And you might not have the budget for the ‘perfect’ sticks. So you need to prioritize your needs and requirements and consider all other factors and choose the perfect ones.
