A Better Way To Toe Hook A Tree Stand

[@jaymitchell2594]

I like it, that is much safer! Less stress on the equipment as well. Thanks for sharing Jason!

[@SamkoTradBow]

Glad you enjoyed it. Hope it helps keep people safe and prevents unneeded stress on the gear.

[@markfletcher5457]

Great info on the stand safety. A KZbinr just fell from a stand. He's alive but messed up for a long time. Keep up the great videos.

[@SamkoTradBow]

Thank you. Who was the youtuber? I hate hearing about people falling. It can happen in the blink of an eye.

[@markfletcher5457]

@@SamkoTradBow Jeff Barron. Hannah Barron's dad.

[@SamkoTradBow]

Thank you. Will have to check that out and let them know we will keep him in our prayers.

[@andrewwaldron6012]

Thank you for showing the alternate way to toe hook! I was never a fan of kneeling on the seat. I’ll definitely try this way.

[@SamkoTradBow]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@bowhuntingsoul2149]

100% agree on the risk of kicking out with the toe hook. I never actually felt stable in a mobile tree stand until doing the “Jason Stomp” two years ago. Complete game changer.

[@SamkoTradBow]

That simple stomp set most stands very well. this lwcg stand is the only stand I have used that will lock super tight just by hand caming it before getting in. But yep, if I got a stand that had to be toe hooked Id sell it immediately, or id toe hook it like this. Id never do the knee on the seat thing.

[@kentonward97]

My XOP stand solves that by having 2 straps not just one. One towards the upper portion and one lower. But your method is much safer than the toe hook. I made your linemen belt and I love it! Very safe

[@SamkoTradBow]

Yep 2 straps are always better than one and xop makes great stands. Glad you love the lineman belt, it sure does make hanging stands and sticks much easier and the easy fast adjustment is in a great thing.

[@destindd]

Great content as usual sir. I’m anxious to see how long you continue with your climbing. Your ground hunting game is going to be a whole new chapter and I can’t wait. I’m just starting this stuff trad stuff and can’t wait to learn some more.

[@SamkoTradBow]

I love hunting from a stand. Bit the day is not too far out when I stsy on the ground

[@bradleyhermes304]

I just started hunting from a hang on again after two years in a saddle. I've been camming mine over with a knee on the seat and not only does it feel sketchy, my stand ends up crooked more often than not. I'm definitely trying your method the next time, looks more efficient and safer. Thank you sir!

[@SamkoTradBow]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@kentcostello5286]

Good information and thank you. We hunt out of A.P.I & gorilla stands and a few homemade stands.

[@SamkoTradBow]

Glad you enjoyed it. Loved the api baby grand and the gorilla silver back.

[@david.6040]

I’m going to try this method.

[@SamkoTradBow]

It's much safer and less stress on the stand. I hope you like this method

[@sarafayelawton652]

Great advice! Thanks Jason!😊

[@SamkoTradBow]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@brentbandy3566]

A lot of good points here. I’ve been using a hang on for years and always use a bottom cam strap. Using the bottom strap I never seem to have “kick out” or “dumping” when using a kick out. Wouldn’t taking the extra 30 second to use a bottom strap give the hunter a piece of mind? Just my thoughts. Why don’t you use a bottom strap? Love what you’re doing! Soooooo many good tips in your channel! 👊🏼

[@SamkoTradBow]

Nothing wrong with using a bottom strap. And your right it does help prevent kick out. I don't use the bottom strap and all it does is prevent kick out. If the top strap breaks the stand will still dump you even with the bottom strap. And I can get the stands to lock hard without needing the bottom strap. If I could not get a stand to lock good with one strap and not having to toe hook I'd sell the stand. But again, 2 straps is always better than one!

[@swampbiologist]

I Like It! Looks like my hunting area except 2-3 X the Palmettos in my area!

[@SamkoTradBow]

Yep its this wma is jammed thick

[@jaytownsell5449]

Great video. I will do your method from now on.

[@SamkoTradBow]

Try it and see if it works better for you.

[@dajahvue]

Excellent tip

[@SamkoTradBow]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@CharlesSmith-mf2qe]

Another excellent video

[@SamkoTradBow]

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it

[@celliott8338]

Thank you Jason!

[@SamkoTradBow]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@george2099]

Great video! Definitely looks like a better way.

[@SamkoTradBow]

Glad you enjoyed it. It's worth trying to see if you like it. It sure is safer than the knee on the seat

[@smau990]

Oh this is much better way. Thanks!

[@SamkoTradBow]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@sheerwillsurvival2064]

You have some awesome stands 😱

[@SamkoTradBow]

There are alot of great stands on the Markey today

[@sheerwillsurvival2064]

@@SamkoTradBow a cornucopia of them 😂

[@jonshea1101]

Been toe camming loc ons since I read it in the instruction manual from Loc-on. never had an issue not sure why you're so concerned with this method??? If you set the stand up properly before you get on there's no issue very little drop when camming. Just tightens the batwing to the tree. Love your videos....just chuckle when I hear you rant about this

[@SamkoTradBow]

Many many people toe hook a stand. Try this way and see if you like it better. This method will be much safer and less stress on your gear. And yep remember thebloc on l.e.m. model with the plastic platform. I used to drill a hole in the platform and put a 2 foot rope in there so I could grab the rope to tilt the platform with my knee cradled in the folding cloth seat. But once I started breaking gorilla stands doing it I realized how hard it was on gear and how dangerous it is once those stands started trying to roll out while up on the seat with a knee. Then I went to api stands with the huge cam over buckle and pin to avoid that. Once I bought my first lw assault I realized it like to be toe hooked but swore I'd never do it again so started chamfering the bracket and platform teeth. Never needed to ever toe hook a stand again. Now 25 years later I will never own a stand that has to be toe hooked. It's dangerous especially on leaning trees and it's so much stress on the stand.

[@littlewoody5539]

Very good video. 👍

[@SamkoTradBow]

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it

[@BassBucksOutdoors]

The easiest way I found to do it that works and feels completely safe and comfortable, is to hang my stand, and while standing on my stick secured with my lineman’s belt, fold the platform up. Tighten the straps as much as possible, then punch the seat down a couple times. Then when I go to fold the base down, It is TIGHT. And it locks it down before ever taking a step onto it. I’m way too terrified of heights to hunt as much as I do! Lol.

[@SamkoTradBow]

Thats a great tactic too. Like taking hand camming to the next level

[@mikedee5641]

Awesome advice, thanks jason!!

[@SamkoTradBow]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@mikesharp1475]

Oh Boy. I’m just sitting here with my popcorn reading these comments!

[@SamkoTradBow]

Everyone will have an opinion on it. My job as a content creator is to provide my knowledge of what I know. I know I will never put a knee on a seat to toe hook a stand and I don't believe anyone has to. Hopefully this video helps show people that are dead set on toe hooking a better, safer way.

[@northeastbowhunters6714]

Smart!

[@SamkoTradBow]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@jhuntley575]

Been waiting for video with this thumbnail lol

[@SamkoTradBow]

😂😂 decided to use this thumbnail instead so people knew what I was doing

[@jhuntley575]

@tradbowpodcast ok that makes sense 😆

[@douglasrooney4841]

I recently got a beast stand, and so far I think it’s awesome. I’m starting to actually practice with my gear, and see what’s works and what does not. I decided to make the chamfering on the bottom of the bat wings as well as where the bottom of the stand bites into the tree. Going to test it tomorrow to see if I need a little more or what I have done is fine. My question to you is, you chamfer your lock ons for the past 20 years you said, do you do the same to your climbing sticks or is there not an advantage to doing it for them? Loving the content, this will be my 3rd year deer hunting. I shot 2 does last year with my rifle and am dedicated to getting one with the bow this year. If I’m lucky my first buck. Thank you for the consistent quality content you put out!

[@SamkoTradBow]

i have never needed to do my climbing sticks as they slide already when you step on the bottom step they pull down. You are gonna love the beast stand. You are also going to love bowhunting.

[@douglasrooney4841]

@@SamkoTradBow thanks for the reply. While I was doing it on the stand it made me think. I have XOP X2s and they work great but curiosity hit.

[@gagebrock17]

Did you end up putting Stealth Strips on that seat? If so, did that take the rubbing noise out of it?

[@SamkoTradBow]

Have not done it yet. Will before my last deer hunt next week

[@botchvinik8668]

Hey Jason, it's been a couple years (or maybe more, time flies as one gets older, lol) since i last left a comment but i've watched many of your vids in the meanwhile. I figured it was time to leave another. Excellent tip and technique imo, I can totally see how your suggested method is safer and makes great sense. I remember the first vid of yours i watched about setting a tree stand safely, where i believe (if memory serves) you used the 'reach down with one hand and lift the platform and push down on the seat still in upright position with the other hand'. Then (and again, i'm going from memory without searching out those videos and confirming, so forgive me if i mis-speak) in a future vid you showed us the 'stomp down hard with one foot on the horizontal platform in close to the tree' technique. And now you give us this one. I just want to ask; which of these different methods do you favor? Which do you feel gives the best/safest set stand and with the least risk to the person in the process of doing it? One last thing if i may; you said in this video "from an engineering standpoint". I'm just curious, are you an Engineer, and if so which discipline? Thanks friend, stay safe and all the best to you and your loved ones in this New year.

[@SamkoTradBow]

Great questions! The best way to hang a stand is to do like you said. while on the sticks before getting into the stand tilt the platform up to release the back teeth of the platform and push down on the set then at the while still pushing on the seat cam the platform back down while pushing the back of the platform into the tree. this pulls the stand down and locks it tight. If that doesnt work and doesnt lock it tight I prefer to just reach a foot over the platform and give a quick little stomp right at the platform by the seat post. This little jolt should drop the stand a little more locking it tight to the tree. all this is done before getting into a stand. If a stand will not set with this combination I wont hunt with it. The only stand I have ever seen taht doesnt need that little stomp to set it tight is this lone wolf custom gear. This stands back platform teeth are so aggressive it pulls its self down rock solid when you cam the platform by hand. where as all my other stands often needed that little stomp to set it. I went to college twice and never finished either. First was to be a mechanic and became ase certified in my first year of school and stopped college to work fulltime as a mechanic. then a year later I decided to go back to school for engineering. 2 years in I got hired by a engineering firm for automotive and stopped school to work fulltime. I started out doing datum dimensioning on the drafting board and cutting sections of auto parts. then when autocad came around I did that as well as unigraphics and catia programs to design robotic end effectors and design how the robots would carry and weld all the parts in the different stations. I did that for 10 years while building my photography business on the side. left engineering 19 years ago to do photography fulltime.

[@botchvinik8668]

@@SamkoTradBow Awesome! Thank you kindly for the great and detailed answers Jason! I wasn't at all expecting such an in depth reply re: my "engineering" query, so i thank you very much for sharing all that with me/us!

[@SamkoTradBow]

@@botchvinik8668 any questions any time!

[@bsites9]

Love your videos. Love your input and what you give back to the hunting community . But I have to disagree with the toe cam. I’ve never had a bad experience with toe camming a stand. Hundreds of times. There’s no acrobatics, if you know what you’re doing anyway. What I don’t want to do, is jump or hop on a stand.

[@SamkoTradBow]

You can do anything that works good for you. All I can do is voice my opinion based on my experience. If it works for you and you are comfortable doing it more power to you. And I would never jump on a stand. Like I said in that video, I said I would never do that and if it needed that to set it I would sell it. I will never own a stand that had to jumped on or tow hooked. I've spent 30 years on stands that never needed to be toe hooked to set. And I never will. If a stand has to be toe hooked it's a failed design. Good news is this lw stand doesn't need to be toe hooked at all. Hand camming it works perfect. But in my opinion if it has to be toe hooked it's failed or failed in setting it. I see toe hooking as a bandaid and a bad one. Many will not agree with me and that ok. But as someone that hangs about 100 stands a year I won't risk the danger or the stress on my stands. You will never see me toe hook a stand, ever. You also will never see me jumping on one either.

[@bsites9]

@@SamkoTradBow I definitely get what you’re saying. There’s a process that needs to be done to get a stand to be safe. Camming, stomping, toe camming, or a combination of those. But in your previous video and this one , you do literally jump on the base of the stand to get it to set. And if I had to guess from watching your videos for years, if that’s what you had to do set the stand once in it, you wouldn’t use the stand. Obviously best case scenario is to cam the stand before ever stepping into it. But there’s not a stand on the market that does that without some manipulation. (Stomp, toe cam, etc)

[@SamkoTradBow]

This stand does not need a toe cam or a stomp. But all my other stands with the Chamfers I put on them only required a LIGHT one foot stomp while still standing on the stick before getting into it. That is a much better system that toe hooking to me. Maybe it's the fact that I spent 10 years as a automotive engineer, but anytime you have to put majority of weight above the top strap and releasing the platform teeth is asking for a roll out. It's simple math. And I won't play that game. So if you are gonna toe hook maybe try rhe way I showed here. Might keep you safer and be less stressful on your stand. Heck even me jumping on the stand like I was in the other video is less stressful on the stand. I was jumping at the base of the seat post. So the teeth were bitting the bracket was biting and the nothing moved. But all 3 points of contact (bracket, platform and strap) were equally stressed. A toe hook with the knee on the seat is brutal stressful on the bracket and the strap and the Vera button connection. You will never see me do it. And again, If I bought a stand that required it I would sell it. That's why I left the footage of me jumping on it in the other video. So other knew I was not joking around. If I could not figure out how to hang it with out toe hooking it was gone immediately. Fortunately hand caming works. Otherwise it would of been on fb market place that same day.

[@zachschultz3534]

Is having the antler bracket loose to the tree really that dangerous? Iv hunted many sits where theres a gap there and as long as your strap doesnt break your stand isnt going anywhere. I guess ive never worried about it much

[@SamkoTradBow]

@zachschultz3534 that is a great question. If you are just sitting still on a straight vertical tree you will be OK. But once you start shifting you weight around turning or leaning to shoot. and especially on a tree that is leaning left or right or forward or backwards where gravity will want to swing the standnif the bracket doesn't bit the stand will shift on the tree rolling around the tree. And then there is the noise issue and stress issue with the seat post flexing and twisting as you shift your weight.

[@vernhanna4399]

I have never heard of someone doing that toe hooking thing.

[@SamkoTradBow]

That's good. Pretent you still haven't 😂. In all seriousness it's not a method I recommend but one thats been around for a long time to lock a stand tight to a tree.

[@michigangrownoutdoors7254]

I like the option you posted but I wouldn’t recommend it as an option for those flimsy stands that are bending… because they will still bend like this too. The bend because of the pressure of the strap on the post holding it to the tree as the platform pushes the lower part of the post away from the stand tightening everything up. Your method seems like it would work the majority of the time.. but it was weird hearing you say this is how you do it when you need to… even tho in other videos you say you never do it. But then again, I had no idea you were an engineer? I’m pretty sure the engineers who make these stands design them with the toe hook method as the primary method to lock the stand in. And I’m talking about stands designed my Andrae daquisto. Not these other fakes. The fakes are the ones asking people not to toe hook their stands lmao. 😂

[@SamkoTradBow]

I have not toe hooked a stand in probably 20 years and never plan to again. But when I did this was how we did it. And personally my opinion is if a stand has to be toe hooked it's designed wrong. Very easy to make a stand designed to slide and lock. Simple Chamfers! It's a shame stand makes don't incorporate Chamfers. You can bet you butt that if I designed a stand it would slide to lock and never ever under any circumstance need to be toe hooked. Fortunately the 1.0 that I'm actually sitting in right now, hand cams well. Bit it's time all stand manufacturers get on board with the fact that toe hooking is an outdated bandaid to poor stand design. It it can not be camed by hand or set with a slight one footed stomp to slide it, it failed. Like you said toe camming over stresses stands. It over stresses every stand everytime and the knee on the seat is a bad idea all the way around. But if gonna toe hook this would be the best way in my opinion.

[@michigangrownoutdoors7254]

I get what you’re saying. But it’s my understanding that the stands made by Andrae were designed to take this stress. But I do agree that that doesn’t mean “there isn’t a better way” But would be interesting to do a comparison. Stand to stand. With the changes with stock and see which one holds up best… what difference does it make? With the extra tension, does it actually make the stand safer? I wonder if there’s a way to test this theory.

[@SamkoTradBow]

@michigangrownoutdoors7254 not sure if a way to test it. I'm honestly not that worried about the difference because I don't toe hook. Bit if I did, I'd want to know that info.

[@MWoodslore]

After 32 years of hanging stands, I don't see what's so complicated about being on your top step while being harnessed in and reaching over and pushing down on the seat while levering in the Platform. One should NEVER step into the Stand until it's SECURELY SET. The knee and Toe thing was invented by the same gang that coined, TRAD, AGG, TRAD BOW, .

[@SamkoTradBow]

I agree 100% I would never own a stand that had to be toe hooked. Id simply refuse it and sell it immediately. If a stand has to be toe hooked to be set it failed in design. I also wish tree stand companies (all of them) realized the bracket behind the seat needs to be chamfered so that it can slide down the tree. Someday, someone, somewere will realize that. I know dan with the best sticks now has a chamfer on the offset brackets to let them slide. Hopefullly stands will start coming that way soon.

[@MWoodslore]

@@SamkoTradBow you have a Great Channel Jason. 👍

[@SamkoTradBow]

thank you@@MWoodslore

[@jonah-n8l]

😂 this is not how to set a stand! The only stand that the instructions is to toe hook is xop period!

[@jalton9416]

Always good advice. Thanks Jason.

[@SamkoTradBow]

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.