This is an honest review of what we think about the Hawk Helium short and full-length climbing sticks. We have used them for two full seasons and have some helpful tips and comments on the sticks.
You can find 4 twenty inch Hawks on MidwayUSA for under $100. I never had an issue with the buttons. I simply pull up on one side of the stick first, pop that out and lift on the other side. They might break off if you try to pop both out at the same time. I’ve had my minis for a few seasons and never had an issue. As far as attachments, I use the daisy chain nylon strap it comes with, but instead of using the holes, I actually tie the stick to the tree with the nylon daisy chain rope. There’re plenty of YT videos that show how to do this. It has never kicked out on me, solid as a rock, and you don’t need to pay more money on amsteel. Just a suggestion. Overall, I’d say the Hawks are a very good value and does the job cleanly. I see other sticks on the market and get confused why anyone is willing to pay hundreds more to climb a stupid tree doing the same function.
I use the daisy chain straps also and camo'd them with a magnum sharpie pen: Here is my camo job on the daisy chain straps: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pSzkd62nAi4.html
ran these for 5 year, still a good budget stick. Upgraded to the Tether Ones and the weight difference is very noticeable. Still use my Hawks for a tree i leave in place for several weeks.
The buttons are suction designed so if you squeeze them a bit it will release the vaccuum. The replacement suction buttons are all over ebay for around 12 bucks. Decent sticks for the price though.
I just got the entire Hawk Helium set up 3 30in stick, platform and saddle About 500. My lower step bent whit in first couple hunts, but over all I'm ok w it. They have seam to improve the quality over all this season then Ive seen reviews of product from past season
Nice review guys. Question about the buttons breaking... do you think it would be possible to sand / lightly grind the male portion of the button so the male would break off / sticks would be easier to get apart?
Looking back, if I were to shave one back, I would have done it to the female end. There was a small ring/bead on the inside that made it more difficult to pull apart. That ring wore out or started to rip out of all of the female ends and the sticks started to become easier to pull apart.
