Guide Gear Quick Tree Climbing Sticks 8’Aider Ladder Steps for Treestands Deer Hunting Gear and Accessories, 3 Pack

When I first purchased these, I was in serious need of sticks, but didn't have a lot of money to spend either. I was a bit skeptical as to how they would perform, but they are pretty solid and once attached to the tree, they aren't going anywhere and no sag once standing on. These sticks were simple to assemble, but my only one argument on these sticks is one of the holes in which you have to slide a bolt through was not allowing me to slide my bolt through and wound up stripping the thread. Easy fix though after purchasing a new bolt and drilling the opening to clean it up so the bolt could slide through. They are a bit loud when they touch each other, but I will be applying some sort of silencing tape to them; as well as some way to keep them together for transport...the attachment straps don't do too good of a job keeping them together for transport.

Finally, a simple solution for mounting my hang on stand. Yes, the little grip stickers slide off. Yes, the fit and finish does not look like a work of art. YES, they work just fine are easy to install and allow for a strong stable stand mounting platform...and I'm 260#'s. I didn't get a deer (from this stand) this year, but I will use these sticks with my Guide Gear hang on stand on public land next year and not worry a bit about someone stealing/messing with it during the season. I purchased (2) sets for extra height. Stop thinking about what label is on year gear and get out there and hunt!

They work just as i expected. They need to be assembled but that is not a big deal. They are a little heavy but these you leave up for an entire season and get some of the lighter weight ones to take down and transport in and out of the woods. Thesde are great and i will be buying them again in the future when i get more stands in the woods.

these are very nice sticks. I had purchased two of these sets and had a chance to try them out last weekend while setting stands. very easy to set up and "roomy" while climbing. the posts come out a significant distance from the tree allowing for real easy climbing with boots on. also, as wide as these posts are, feels very stable when climbing up them. Currently weigh in at 250lb and i felt safe as can be with these and the guide gear 24X29 hangon stand. trust me, if your looking at getting new stands for this year and will last you a while, these are it.One thing to note is the grip tape does not stay on as expected before i purchased it. just an FYI incase this was a big selling point for anyone looking.

I'll start by stating that I wanted to test these Quick Sticks from The Sportsmans Guide just to see what you actually get for this low of a price. Also, I have a few hang-on tree stands that I wanted to purchase some new climbing sticks for in order to move away from screw-in type steps due to the time and pain one goes through screwing each step into a tree. If you've ever climbed trees with screw-in steps then you know what I mean. For starters these steps arrived very quickly from the vendor well before the estimated delivery date that was given. Upon opening the box I found that you'll need to bolt on the brackets that rest against the tree to the main steps and add the attachment strap. No biggie there. Two bolts per stick and your done. These Quick Sticks are actually pretty light weight. I weighed them in around the 5 lb mark per stick once you add the attachment strap. They do provide anti-slip stickers that you also will add to the top of each step to provide better traction with wet, or muddy boots. Nice addition there! The paint job looks a little thin, but that's to be expected for something at this price point. After a year of use I would plan on re-painting with some rustoleum spray paint to help reduce any potential rust issues. I usually repaint all of my stands anyway just to keep them from weathering as bad after each season. So I plan on adding these to the maintenance plan after the 2011 season. The straps seem to be pretty good. There's a metal clip on one end to aid in hooking the climbing stick to the tree. That's a nice touch. As far as how many one should buy in order to get your stand as high as you want. I would plan on 4 Quick Sticks per stand vs. only 3 in order to reach the 16ft with your stand. With 3 steps your limited to the 12ft range. You may also want to consided adding a couple of screw in steps at the top to have something to hold onto when moving over to the stand if you want the bottom of your stand to be located at the 16ft height. All in all, I'm pleased with this purchase. I don't see how you'll get a much better deal on this type of step for this price. You can always go with a full 16ft or 20ft full climbing stick but your limited to a really straight tree at that point. I like the fact that each 32" section can be moved where needed on the tree. Bottom line, I plan to purchase three additional sets of these Quick Sticks from this vendor. This will give me 3 full sets of 4 Quick Sticks. This was my first purchase from The Sportsmans Guide and overall I'm very pleased. It's going to be hard to beat having three sets of climbing sticks for the same price as some higher end climbing stick sets. One last thought... they don't really stack on top of each other all that well, so packing them in and out of the woods everytime will take some creative strapping, but if your like me and have a large number of fixed stands on your property that you may move every few weeks or so... these will work well for you!

Positive:Great Price! $30 for 12' - 14' actual climbing height is fantastic. Sturdy construction with double rungs (rungs on each side instead of alternating rungs). Cam-buckle straps with quick attaching clips. Included grip tape. Dark powder coated finish.Negative:Nothing negative for this product considering the price-point BUT I will list the drawbacks of buying sticks at this price-point. Steel construction = heavy. These are about 5lbs each. Grip tape will come off the first time you use the steps - oh well. (Maybe I just got some bad tape?)Fantastic price makes these sticks well worth it if you are on a budget (like I am). If you're confident in your climbing ability, you can really stretch them out on the tree and maybe with a tree step or two get to 14 or 15 feet.It only took me about three outings to get a system down for packing these to my with a single ratchet strap. With the stand, a few other pieces of gear and these sticks strapped to my back, I'm only hauling about 30lbs into the woods.