An alternative would be to purchase the double steps for your Lone Wolf sticks. Eastern Woods Outdoors (EWO) sells replacement double steps for Lone Wolf sticks. There are definitely some mixed reviews on the Hawk Helium's and I wouldn't feel comfortable buying them personally.

 

Hawk Helium sticks are very quiet. I love them.

 

I've got the Heliums (20" version, but I suppose the build quality is the same). I'm new to hunting with sticks, so caveat emptor.

The sticks are quiet, except for the metal part of the strap banging against the stick if you're not careful. You could solve that with a rope mod, of course. The suction cups that hold the sticks together do a pretty good job, and you can put them together/take them apart from those silently if you're careful.

Build quality... up front I should probably mention that I'm asking a lot of these things. I weigh 220 without gear, and I'm typically climbing these things probably around 250 lbs with all gear/clothes. I've already had one of the screws that hold the step to the main part of the stick partially fail (I say partially because it apparently stripped part of the threads of the screw; it still held, but would no longer tighten). Not sure how long I would have trusted it to last, so I just replaced it.

I was considering going the other direction for next season and getting the LW sticks with the same step mods jarlickin12 mentioned. I have amsteel aiders for all the sticks, so I'm probably getting about the same height as I'd get with four LW sticks... but I don't really like the aiders, particularly in the dark.

 

The newer helium’s with the straps with loops on both ends and attachment point a button on the stick are very quiet and the build quality is 100%. The older versions have a hook for attachment and can be clangy.

The bad. It doesn’t seem you can buy replacement straps from hawk. No biggie on the new sticks as all kinds of places sell double loop replacement straps although it is still utter BS the manufacturer doesn’t offer them. Now I will say I haven’t called them about the newer straps but they aren’t on their website. The older ones are on their website but have been “out of stock” for like two years. That means I have to modify my older sticks when I need to replace the straps. Not a huge deal but it literally burns my donkey this is the case and almost makes me hate the sticks and go to lone wolf. If lone wolf would remove head from rectum and make double steps standard I would go to them in a heartbeat.


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Appreciate the responses. I've looked at adding the double steps from EWO, but to purchase the 12 double steps for all 4 sticks is pretty pricey. I could purchase new Helium's and sell my LW's and not be out near as much money as sinking more money into the 12 double steps from EWO. I'll keep mulling it over.

 

I have 4 30” Heliums. The only noise is when you push down to set the stick, same as any other. I put a patch of stealth strip where they stack and I put yak grips or neoprene beer koozie’s (cut in half and sewn into a smaller tube) around the strap buckle. I find they stack really nicely and compactly against my Lone Wolf.

 

I have 6 sets of 3 Hawk helium sticks and they stack nice and they are fairly light to carry ! I find they really go up quick and quiet, then they also set in place very nicely.

 

very quite. Great sticks

 

How quiet a stick is all depends on the person setting it. Im dead quiet with my Heliums but I've practiced with them. I'm also running daisy chains which helps a ton. The double steps from EWO would be an excellent mod but like you said they are pricey. But in my mind the Hawks are the best budget deal on the market factoring weight, having double steps yet remaining compact and all the mods you can do with them. Yes Shikars, Beast, Catalyst sticks etc are better but are the same price for one stick as Heliums are.

 

I run 4 30” helium’s with Amsteel rope aiders and tethrd versastraps.

Super lightweight, easy to stack together with suction cups and very quiet with a different attachment strap besides the buckle. These suckers bite something fierce and are hard to get off the tree once set properly - rope aiders magnify this greatly...

I couldn’t be happier - on year two with this setup and have no intention of changing.


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I use 3 full size hawk helium’s with rope mods and an aider and they are very quiet as long as your not banging the sticks together

 

I have both.....an older set of LW that I added a EWO double step to the top of each plus EWO daisy chain straps.....and original Hawk Heliums that I did the DIY versa button and rope mods. Getting rid of the stock straps is HUGE for cutting weight and noise. By putting a double step on just the top allows me to set the next stick and get into my stand with that advantage. Then I use the same L-R pattern from the ground up so I remember in the dark on the way down with the rotating steps.

 

Alaska,

You have a preference on which one you like better?

 

i use the 4 pack of 30" sticks and I am loving them. I moved away from a climber to a lone wolf/stick setup and I bought them at bass pro for $140. They are good quality and are as quiet as I am when setting them up. I put 4 sticks and hung the stand and climbed in with 4 does 60-70 yards away.

 

I run 4 original helium’s that I put a homemade button on and added tethrd versastraps. No complaints from me at all. I stack them in two’s on each side of my xop air raid seat with the stand-offs facing outward, and bungee down with two straps. The only noise I could make is if I bang them on something, which is common. Not stealth stripped. Depending on the bark of the tree when setting in place they can be scratchy like all other stocks I presume.

The foot pegs can be kinda sharp and sometimes painful on the hands when your pulling yourself up if spreading your sticks too far apart.


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I stayed away from the Hawk sticks due to where they were made and the spotty issues. I have Muddy Pros that were a gift years ago, but I wanted lighter, and I wanted American made. The cost for me to sell at a loss, lose 3% to PayPal, and have to pay for shipping still showed me paying a lot. I liked the looks and weight of the Tethrd One (not available yet) and the Timber Ninja C1. All of these would have put me $350-$400 plus depending on added options and shipping. I’m still below $300 with mods to the Lone Wolfs.

I am on my second set of Lone Wolf sticks. The first set I used twice and sold, but I liked the weight and height that 3 sticks would achieve versus my Muddy Pros (I much prefer the size and overall quietness of the Muddy’s versus others, but they do weigh more than the Lone Wolfs when comparing number of sticks it takes to achieve equivalent heights).

The Lone Wolfs are, in my opinion, terrible packing in due to length. They snag every thing it seems like whether horizontal or vertical (I attach to my bag, or when I used my M7, I attached them to the stand).

They are horrendous climbing with the solo steps. That being said, I did go from a dual step to a single. The dual step is amazing when installing or tearing down a set.

The cam buckles were at best, meh. I have since went to daisy chain Amsteel, and I do like the weight and overall silence of them, but I feel the drop quiet a bit before becoming solid. I’m fixing to try the rope mod, which I believe I will prefer more since they will be more like the Muddys in a sense.

Lastly, I don’t feel they hold to the tree no where near as well as the Muddys. I feel like they are constantly pulling away, not biting in, or being cocked at an angle. I noticed that with both the Amsteel and cam buckle straps. I don’t know if has to do with the length or the Lone Wolf tree cleat.

So, I have began my mods to them starting today (11-10-2020). I’ve ordered the parts from EWO, and I’m going to see how this goes. I know I’ve already cut down on the weight (literally...), and I believe helped with them biting in.

Progress until EWO parts arrive.... Friday maybe?

 

I wound up ordering four of the 30" Helium's. I won't be using the buckles. Instead, I'll do the rope mod to hang on the tree (same as I do with Lone Wolf's). I'll give 'em a try to see how well I like 'em compared to the LW's. I'll either be selling the LW's or selling the Helium's. I just despise trying to hang sticks with a single upper step.

Lone Wolf corporate folks: Come on, and offer a double step option.

 

I have the 20” with the rope mod and they are very quiet. With straps I always cover the buckle with adhesive Velcro, the loop side and that makes them silent. I think the quality is very good and the steps aggressive cut really holds your boot. They are also very light weight.
The downside for me is the steps are close to the tree.