I've been messing around with the hunt arsenal aider lately to see if it actually makes a difference when I'm trying to get up a tree quickly. If you've spent any amount of time hauling gear through the thick brush on public land, you know that every ounce feels like a pound by the time you reach your spot. For a long time, I was a "four-stick" guy, carrying a bundle of heavy climbing sticks that clanked together and caught on every briar in the woods. But lately, I've been trying to streamline everything, and that's where this little piece of gear comes into play.
The whole idea behind an aider is pretty simple: it's an extension for your climbing stick. Instead of needing four sticks to get to 15 or 18 feet, you can use two or three sticks with aiders and reach the same height. It sounds great on paper, but in practice, aiders can be a total pain if they aren't built right. I've tried the floppy webbing versions before, and honestly, they usually frustrated me more than they helped.
Why Weight and Bulk Actually Matter
When you're mobile hunting, your biggest enemies are sweat and noise. If I can cut my stick count down from four to two by using a hunt arsenal aider on each one, I'm not just saving weight; I'm saving space. My pack feels tighter, I'm less likely to bang a stick against a limb, and I'm just more agile.
I've noticed that when I'm carrying fewer sticks, I'm also faster at the tree. There's less fiddling with straps and less time spent climbing up and down to grab the next section. It's about efficiency. You want to get up, get set, and get quiet before the woods even realize you're there. If a piece of gear helps me do that without adding a bunch of complexity, I'm usually interested.
The Design of the Hunt Arsenal Aider
What sets this specific aider apart from the DIY stuff or the cheap nylon straps is the construction. It's built with a coated cable that has a certain amount of "memory" or stiffness. This is a massive deal when you're hanging off the side of a tree at 4:00 AM.
Why the Wire Step Wins
If you've ever used a webbing aider, you know the struggle: you lift your foot to find the step, and the webbing has collapsed against the tree or folded in on itself. You end up dancing around, trying to hook your boot into a loop you can't see. It's sketchy and annoying.
The hunt arsenal aider stays open. Because it's a cable, it holds its shape. When you reach down with your boot, the "hole" for your foot is right where you left it. It stays off the tree just enough that you can get a solid plant without kicking the bark and making a bunch of noise. That stiffness gives me a lot more confidence when I'm transitioning from the aider to the actual step of the stick.
Durability in the Cold
Another thing I like is how it handles the elements. Nylon webbing gets wet, freezes, and turns into a stiff, icy mess. The coated cable on this aider doesn't really care about the rain or the snow. I've used it on mornings where everything was covered in a layer of frost, and it performed exactly the same as it did in September. It's rugged, and I don't feel like I have to baby it.
Setting Up Your Sticks
Installing the hunt arsenal aider isn't exactly rocket science, which I appreciate. It's designed to fit most of the popular sticks on the market—whether you're running Tethrd Skeletors, Beast Sticks, or even the old-school Lone Wolfs.
Usually, you just loop it over the stand-offs or the bottom step bolts. I spent about ten minutes in my garage getting mine dialed in. You want to make sure it's centered so that when you put weight on it, the stick doesn't want to twist away from the tree. Once you find that sweet spot, you just tighten everything down, and it stays put.
Pro tip: If you're worried about metal-on-metal noise, a little bit of stealth strip or hockey tape on the contact points goes a long way. It's not strictly necessary with this design, but I'm a bit paranoid about noise.
The Learning Curve and Safety
I'll be honest: climbing with an aider for the first time feels a little weird. You're putting your weight on something that isn't bolted to the tree. There's a psychological hurdle you have to get over.
The biggest thing is the "kick-out." If you don't keep your weight tucked in close to the tree, the bottom of the stick can kick away from the trunk. However, because the hunt arsenal aider is so stable, I found that I felt secure much faster than I did with rope aiders.
Foot Placement is Everything
When I'm using it, I make sure to bury my boot deep into the step. I want my mid-foot or the heel-stop of my boot to be firmly on that cable. The fact that the step stays open means I'm not hunting for it, which allows me to keep my eyes up and focus on my balance and my lineman's belt.
Speaking of which, never climb with an aider without a lineman's belt. That's just common sense, but it's worth repeating. The belt keeps you pulled into the tree, which actually helps prevent the stick from kicking out. It's a system, and when you use it correctly, it feels rock solid.
Real World Performance
I took the hunt arsenal aider out for a few mid-season hangs in some pretty gnarly terrain. One spot required a mile-long hike through a swamp and then up a steep ridge. Normally, I'd be gasping for air with a full set of sticks on my back. This time, I had two sticks with aiders, and it was a night-and-day difference.
Getting up the tree was smooth. I didn't feel like I was reaching too far, and the spacing felt natural. I'm about 6 feet tall, and with a single-step aider on each stick, I was hitting roughly 12 to 14 feet with just two sticks. If I added a third stick, I'd be way up there—probably higher than I'd ever actually need to be.
Quiet and Concealed
One thing I didn't expect was how much quieter I was. Not just because I had less metal gear, but because I was making fewer movements. Every time you have to set a stick, you're making noise—ratcheting a strap, clinking the metal, scuffing the bark. By cutting the number of sticks in half, I halved the amount of "commotion" I was making at the base of the tree.
The low-profile look of the cable is also nice. It's black, it's thin, and it doesn't stand out. If you're worried about other hunters (or the deer) spotting your setup from a distance, this is about as "ghost" as it gets.
Is It Worth the Switch?
Look, I know some guys are die-hard "four sticks and no aiders" hunters. They like the stability of solid steps all the way up. I get it. But if you're looking to lighten the load or if you're getting into saddle hunting where mobility is the whole point, the hunt arsenal aider is a top-tier choice.
It's one of those rare pieces of gear that actually solves a problem without creating three new ones. It's light, it stays open, and it's built like a tank. It's not the cheapest thing in the world, but considering it can replace the need for an entire extra climbing stick (which usually costs $100 or more), it's actually a pretty solid investment.
Final Thoughts
After using it for a while, I don't think I'm going back to my old setup. The convenience of having a permanent, rigid step at the bottom of my sticks is just too good to pass up. It has made my transitions smoother and my pack lighter, which is exactly what I was looking for.
If you're on the fence, just try one. Put it on your bottom stick and see how it feels. You might find that you don't need that fourth (or even third) stick anymore. Just take it slow, practice at ground level first, and enjoy the fact that your shoulders won't be screaming at you on the hike back to the truck.
Hunting is hard enough as it is. There's no reason to make it harder by carrying more weight than you have to. The hunt arsenal aider is a simple, effective way to get higher, stay lighter, and hopefully, put more meat in the freezer this winter. It's definitely earned a permanent spot in my mobile kit.