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An easier harness hook up

nybuckboy

By nybuckboy,
in Deer Hunting

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nybuckboy Enthusiast

nybuckboy

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I have been working on a way to make it easier to hook up my tree stand harness.

I’ll admit I never used a tree stand harness at all until 2009 when I went on an Illinois bow hunt and it was mandatory or no hunting.  After I got back I used it now and then but because I use a lot of ladder stands I just never felt the need.  I also never liked bear hugging a tree in the dark and trying to slide the belt through loop and the buckle did make noise some times as well.

 

Then I did another Illinois hunt with my 18 yo son and a friend and once again (same outfitter) no harness, no hunt. It was the first day of this hunt that I happened upon an easier solution to harness hook ups. 

 

I had forgot to bring the belt for around the tree to attach the harness too and after climbing up into this hang on stand I was like “Ok this great I’m 16 ft up and no way to tie my harness.”

After dawn and it was light enough the thought came to me. I had a screw in step with me in my pack. I screwed in the step at eye level and left it upside down and just looped my harness loop over it.  From that day on all my stands, even the ladder stands that I have were outfitted with this screw in upside down step.  The only drag about this whole thing is it really difficult to get the step in all the way without a hammer. It hurts my hand trying to bang it.

 

Then recently I began to think of a modification to the screw step. I used a torch and bent the step 90 degrees and now I use a 12” long,  ½” ID pipe as a handle to turn the screw in all the way and it’s way easier.  I taped the pipe with duct tape as well and use it as a hammer to start the screw in. Works like a charm.  I have 11 stands and every stand has this set up now. I climb up and immediately slip the loop over the device.

 

Also for those that wonder if they will support a 200 pound man if he fell… I screwed them both into a maple tree… the original step and the modified one into a tree the opposite of the way they would be above the tree stand.  I then hooked on with a chain attached to front end loader bucket of my New Holland tractor (The bucket can lift 800 pounds) and lifted up and the only thing that happened was the back of the tractor lifted slightly but the bucket could not pull either of the screw ins out, not even a little bit. Below are a few pics and a video.

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Big John Newbie

Big John

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This is an interesting situation for me in that I never used a harness for a long time either, then while building a house in horseheads I welded up some harness loops for my crew to tie off to (under orders by the boss me) and I was on the roof helping pull plywood into play and the sheet slipped out of my hand and I fell off the peak into a fresh pile of topsoil. I broke 2 ribs and punctured a lung, which got me double pneumonia in both. Cost me one day on the job (much to my doctor's dismay) I am a bit stubborn. Anyway from then on I harnessed up and tied off (under orders of the crew) lol. My treestand is a climber so hooking it to a loop or hook is not possible.

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fasteddie Grand Master

fasteddie

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I will stick with the belt around the tree . I carry an extra one in my backpack .

The screw in step would no doubt when first installed but I would move it the next season . You can never be sure how the wood around the screw-ins react over time . Had a friend get a few stitches after one of his steps pulled out while climbing to a stand . 

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Culvercreek hunt club Enthusiast

Culvercreek hunt club

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I wouldn't use that in any situation. Heating and bending metal will change the properties of it and you are using a step outside it's intended purpose. I am not saying it won't work and keep you from hitting the ground but the products that are designed and manufactured for the purpose of fall arrest have calculations and safety factor that are ASSURED to work. I appreciate the testing you did but I suggest you look into how fall arrest systems are tested. The "shock" of a fall is much different loading than what you tested. In my mind having an anchor point that MAY work  is almost worse than no anchor point at all. With a false sense of security we may do what we wouldn't when not tied in. 

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Culvercreek hunt club Enthusiast

Culvercreek hunt club

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I just looked up the strap and carabiner system and they are $26 for a 3 pack. Doesn't seem that expensive to get them and place them at each stand location for the season. I can't imagine that the buckle would be more noisy that tapping the step with a duct tape covered pipe. Don't take this the wrong way, but we have a lot of new folks on this site and we need to be careful with suggestions like these. 

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Lawdwaz Grand Master

Lawdwaz

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I'm not sure why everybody isn't using a "life line" with a prusik hitch on all their tree stands.

Do they work with climbing sticks or screw in steps? Yup......

Gee, how about climbing stands? Absolutely they do......

Well good golly, they CAN'T work with ladder stands too, can they? 

Does Howdy Doody have wooden balls?  You're darn right he does AND that a "life line" and prusik hitch WILL work with any and all types of elevated hunting.

Sorry for the passion................carry on.

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Buckmaster7600 Mentor

Buckmaster7600

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I'm not sure why everybody isn't using a "life line" with a prusik hitch on all their tree stands.

Do they work with climbing sticks or screw in steps? Yup......

Gee, how about climbing stands? Absolutely they do......

Well good golly, they CAN'T work with ladder stands too, can they? 

Does Howdy Doody have wooden balls?  You're darn right he does AND that a "life line" and prusik hitch WILL work with any and all types of elevated hunting.

Sorry for the passion................carry on.




I don't use them but I'm sure they are a good idea but at 30$ a pop times 45+ stands I'm not ready for that kind of an investment.


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Lawdwaz Grand Master

Lawdwaz

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6 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

 

 


I don't use them but I'm sure they are a good idea but at 30$ a pop times 45+ stands I'm not ready for that kind of an investment.


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Well heck, I don't blame you.  $1350 for life lines is a total ripoff........

Who's going to fall?

Stands/steps NEVER fail?

I don't ever get sleepy in the saddle.

I don't get excited when I cork a good buck (spike or doe too) and make hasty moves.

I won't fall, impossible..................................

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Buckmaster7600 Mentor

Buckmaster7600

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Well heck, I don't blame you.  $1350 for life lines is a total ripoff........

Who's going to fall?

Stands/steps NEVER fail?

I don't ever get sleepy in the saddle.

I don't get excited when I cork a good buck (spike or doe too) and make hasty moves.

I won't fall, impossible..................................



And I could get T boned on my way to get my ice cream cone tonight.

I strap my waste belt to the tree before I step into the stand.

I not going to have a rope hanging from every stand I have. They are a great idea that I am glad someone came up with.


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zeus1gdsm Newbie

zeus1gdsm

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I don't use them but I'm sure they are a good idea but at 30$ a pop times 45+ stands I'm not ready for that kind of an investment.


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80 for 3 on amazon. Regular 40 a piece. So u get 3 for 2.

Could make them cheaper if you were so inclined. Definitely piece of mind going up and down.

Hss says in packaging ropes are replaced every 2 years. Not sure if they are replacing them. Or suggesting you too.

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nybuckboy Enthusiast

nybuckboy

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All good points here. I never intended this to used the morning you climb into the stand and start hammering in the screw in as per my post. Also never intended to leave them in years after year. This was intended for folks that have stands they put up for the season or who have their own land that they can leave a stand up and check before season. I can assure you this method has had much testing between my son and I. There is no way that a 250 pound man who were to fall would have more force than my loader lifting with a chain attached but to each his own. It works for me. 

And to Culver - if you feel heating and bend it changes things just used the step upside down as is w/o heating and bending This is the way I have used it for a few years now. I've had a fellow engineer approve this.

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Culvercreek hunt club Enthusiast

Culvercreek hunt club

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9 hours ago, nybuckboy said:

And to Culver - if you feel heating and bend it changes things just used the step upside down as is w/o heating and bending This is the way I have used it for a few years now. I've had a fellow engineer approve this.

Do what works for you. Was just cautioning new people so they weren't caught unaware. Based on the OSHA standards that I deal with an attachment point needs to hold 5,000 pounds or be part of a fully designed system. Their basis is a 220# person falling 6' without the aid of a deceleration device. That has a safety factor of 2 becasue the force placed on the anchor point is about 2,250# during such a fall. 

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nybuckboy Enthusiast

nybuckboy

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7 minutes ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

Do what works for you. Was just cautioning new people so they weren't caught unaware. Based on the OSHA standards that I deal with an attachment point needs to hold 5,000 pounds or be part of a fully designed system. Their basis is a 220# person falling 6' without the aid of a deceleration device. That has a safety factor of 2 becasue the force placed on the anchor point is about 2,250# during such a fall. 

Thanks for the info

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fasteddie Grand Master

fasteddie

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2 hours ago, growalot said:

Climbing I am hooked to the rungs above me. Climb then move above me again. Works on my wooden stands too...no ropes for squirrels to chew...before you ask..stands are chained as well as strapped.

I do the same thing . I hunt mostly from 15 foot stands but you don;t have to fall very far to get injured . 

 

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