Anybody use the ones made by Ameristep? Are they safe?
I use them in the Texas Hill Country, they are ok but I would not climb very high using them. I have never had one slip or come loose.
I think the worst thing with em is kickin out from under your foot. Somebody stole my set,haven't missed em!
I have them and really like them. I carry 6 which is high enough for me. They do move around but I've never kicked one out...or falln from them. Never could used to screw ins.... Thought about climbing spikes, they are noisey though (buddy uses them) and being I have no experience in them, I've decided against them.
They are tolerable. If I can, I'd much rather use screw-ins. I have had them slip so I tie a knot after cinching them down. That makes removing them a b-i-t cee ach but it's better than falling.
i watched by buddy almost break his legs with those things!! i tell everyone about them, dont trust them. they move, they slip, dont buy um!!
im just tryin to save ya a trip to the hospital!
gaff
I had a set of those and a set of the screw-in variety. As already mentioned, the strap-on steps had a tendency to move around a little and never felt as secure as the screw-in steps. The down side of the screw-ins is that on most public land they are not allowed, and they required more effort/time to put into a tree.
I finally bought some climbing sticks and have been very well pleased with them, both in ease of put-up and safety.
I had some and i was afraid to climb over 2ft while using them.
I used home made ones for years.Some times I've have a dozzen hang ons up a year.So I'm sure the ameristeps are just fine.
I believe that the Bowhunter Ed program highly recommends NOT using them. A video I saw a while back stated that the use of screw in and strap on steps was the leading cause of tree stand accidents.