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Leverage Sticks...

Beentown

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Sunbury, OH
Quick review: Leverage Sticks

Before my trip to Strouds I went to the woods to pull my Summit (think they were Summit) stackable ladder sections and someone decided they needed them more than me. So I gave ole Phil at Hank Tucker Outdoors for some sticks. He is carrying these:

http://www.leveragetreestands.com/foundations/store/storepage.asp?page=ClimbingSt

The Leverage sticks are priced well especially once you compare them to other more pricey sets on the market.

- Light weight as mine came in at 8#'s (on a certified scale) just a half pound heavier than Lone Wolfs
- 32" which is the same a Lone Wolf
- Dual Steps
- V shaped bracket REALLY sticks to the tree and doesn't allow them to move
- Excellent fit an finish
- Effective strap system
- Easy to use

The only negative I have is not really a negative but something I would change if I were them. I prefer the Lone Wolfs Versa Buttons and straps. I will probably eventually convert these to the button. The strap the Leverage come with work great but are metal clips so you get just a bit of sound when clipping them on. If they came up with something similar there would be no reason to pay more for the LW's. I weighed that against having a dual step and a lower price and purchased the Leverage Sticks. Another thing the LW's have others may prefer is the swiveling V bracket. I have had no need for it yet but I haven't been using this type of set up as long as others on here.

Overall I am EXTREMELY pleased with these and going to order another set so I can leave two up at a location (public or highly traveled/trespassed woods) and pull the bottom two for theft purposes. Then I will also have 4 available for a completely mobile set. These are available from Hicks (Hank Tucker Outdoors) for $99 where the LW's generally run $140 for the same size step.

Value for dollar these are hard to beat. Light, fast and easy to use.
 

bowhunter1023

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Appalachia
I meant to take a closer look at those when I was at Strouds and plumb forgot. Seemed like well made sticks from what little I saw though...
 

Beentown

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Sunbury, OH
The LW's and Leverages are rated at the same weight but maybe they don't include the straps and I did when weighing the Leverages. If I had to do it all over again I would buy the Leverages again.
 

bthompson1004

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NWOhio!
I own a 3 pack of these leverage sticks as well (haven't used them yet)...last night I put some neoprene Silencing tape on the buckles, cuz they are very loud and shiny too...also put some on the clips on the contact points...once I use them I'll find out if it was worth my time or not...Wish they had some kind of a plastic clip or quiver like device to stack all 3 sticks together...that would help keep them quieter when carrying in and out of the woods also...not a deal breaker though, I think I'm going to really like mine as well.
 

Beentown

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Sunbury, OH
See mine are not "very loud" just a click. I am going to spray them with Plasti dip. Mine have been silent carrying in so far. I use two small quick straps to hold them together. I stack them together like they do on the site...staggered.

I think they should come with the straps to stack them together.
 
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jagermeister

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Ohio
I checked out the set of Leverage sticks that Big H picked up and I was actually rather impressed by them. They were of much better quality than I had imagined. I just don't like the strap system... And believe it or not, the swiveling v-brackets on the LW sticks are a very nice feature. You don't really notice until you climb a tree with knots and curvatures in the truck... then you see those v-brackets pivot as you pull down on the stick... IMO it really locks the stick in much better than it would if the bracket didn't swivel.

All in all, I thought the Leverages were nice... they just need a few redneck upgrades IMO.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
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Appalachia
JB is right on the swiveling V on the LW sticks...

The thing I like about the Leverage Sticks is the double foot peg. That's the cats ass IMO...
 

hickslawns

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One might call me biased since I sell them, but I am not. While I would love to sell you a set, I would rather enjoy the conversation on TOO than pimp product. Personally, I use LW sticks ONLY because I had bought mine prior to becoming a Leverage dealer. The only downside I have seen is the clip to hook the strap on when hanging. I can see where it might be considered loud. I would not recommend altering any product tested for safety already. Sitting around a campfire, I would probably admit to having done so on various safety items in the past though. lol

I think Charles gave a pretty dang accurate review from what I have seen. I have not hunted with a set of these, but have hung many on trees or telephone poles at shows to demonstrate to potential customers. The Vee bracket does seem to grip quite well. In regards to weight? I don't know. 1/2lb? Does it matter? Has anyone actually weighed their LW sticks to see if they are truly 2.5lbs each? Is their weight with or without the straps? I really don't know and have never given it much thought.

Thanks for the review Beener. Hope you continue to enjoy them!
 

Jackalope

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I checked out the set of Leverage sticks that Big H picked up and I was actually rather impressed by them. They were of much better quality than I had imagined. I just don't like the strap system... And believe it or not, the swiveling v-brackets on the LW sticks are a very nice feature. You don't really notice until you climb a tree with knots and curvatures in the truck... then you see those v-brackets pivot as you pull down on the stick... IMO it really locks the stick in much better than it would if the bracket didn't swivel.

All in all, I thought the Leverages were nice... they just need a few redneck upgrades IMO.

Speaking of knots and V feet. I had a bad situation a couple weeks ago with my lone wolf sticks. I was hanging sticks in the dark and Alex was at the bottom of the tree. I was standing on the middle and top of my third stick hanging my fourth and the stick slipped. Nothing new the stick slip sometimes and lock in. But I noticed it was wobbly. I decided to step back down to fix it before Alex had to climb up. I had one foot on the 4th stick and was reaching for the top of the third with my other foot. And it slipped again. This time kicking completely sideways. Luckily I had on my linemans belt and my foot was maybe an inch from landing on the stick below. What happened was I had inadvertently hung the stick where only half a V bracket was on a knot. This made the bottom of the stick poke out more. The first slip was the foot swiveling as far as it could. The second was the bracket swiveling off the knot which led the stick super loose and able to kick out. The stick was completely loose and sideways. If my foot hadn't landed on the stick below It would have been bad. At a minimum my belt would have slammed me in to the tree face first as I fell. If I wasn't wearing my belt I would have hit the ground from about 15 feet.

Guess they don't call them suicide sticks for nothing. They constantly remind you that safety precautions are to be taken EVERY time.
 
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