Bought a set of the full length hawks last season when Midway ran a sale. Replaced the buckles and whent with the rope mod with prussik and tender. For the 100 bucks I gave for the sticks and 30 dollar or so rope and prussicks they're unbeatable IMO. I never had any kickouts while climbing, including several sets using my top stick as a platform (saddle hunting). Like posted above, the longs can hang on brush if they are allowed to stick out above a pack. My simple remedy for that was just allowing them to hang below the pack bottom and dont remember having any real issues afterwards. While the beast sticks and OOAL shikar sticks look nice, I just dont see how they do anything that my hawks aren't already doing, especially at almost three times the cost. I looked hard at the 20's when Hawk announced them and IMO the only thing they will do is help with packing. For some thats an issue, to me its an extra stick to set which means slower climb time and I'm all about getting into a tree as quick as possible. No doubt there's no shortage of demand on the used market for those sticks on Saddlehunter forums, so get a set, try different setups and if they don't work for your style of climbing/hunting sell them. I think Midway has the 20" stick and stand combo for 200 bucks right now with free shipping. Hard to beat that!
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