You bet !..anytime you're ready.
Riverstick Custom Wading Staffs
- Thread starter Herkileez
- Start date
Good morning Herkileez. Are you still building these staffs? If so, how can i purchase one?
You bet....pm sent
Exactly that !...thanks Lwhen I received mine, first thought was 'damn, this thing is beefy".
then the first time I used it to cross the river in fairly fast water, I thought 'hell yes, this thing is beefy'
I thought I didn’t need a wading staff, until I learned I did fishing an S river solo in Jan/Feb. Filled my waders right above a log jam—it was a whole thing.
So I got a name-brand one. I’m above-average height, so it was too short. It also broke under normal use.
Got one of the Riversticks custom-sized for me, and I'm pretty sure if I met an angry grizzly in the wilds, wel… the next person to come along would find it in perfect condition. It's extremely durable and for me a great balance between size and portability.
So I got a name-brand one. I’m above-average height, so it was too short. It also broke under normal use.
Got one of the Riversticks custom-sized for me, and I'm pretty sure if I met an angry grizzly in the wilds, wel… the next person to come along would find it in perfect condition. It's extremely durable and for me a great balance between size and portability.
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The cheapo one I am using right now likes to stretch out on me when I get it just right in between rocks.
OK well, likely the newest member of the club as mine landed today. Haven’t used it yet of course, but I will. This is an insanely well designed and executed staff. I have a tendency (obsession) to over think things and science it out. Herkileeze, it’s obvious you pondered over this a long time and refined it to perfection. Well done! Very happy to have it. Could save me some day.
Thanks!
David
Thanks!
David
My epiphany was nearly 20 years back. January 1 on the Methow, not a soul around, feet of snow, and I stuck on a sand bar in strong water. Obviously I made it out but it was touch and go, literally dancing on my toes quartering downstream, water at wader top. That stays with you. My mistake, yes. But a good staff would have helped.
Many thanks David!...and yes, I will say that simplicity and function were a higher priority than cosmetics in designing the staff. ..Glad to hear you're happy with it.
Rick
I had always used lightweight aluminum telescoping & collapsing trekking poles for a wading staff but the harmonic wobble they got in any real current didn't inspire a lot of confidence. I do admit though that the wobble served as an alarm bell that made me start looking early for alternative routes and probably did help me avoid wading beyond my ability.
I got my Riverstick in the Spring of 2023 and love the strong-solid-stable and durable feel it has. Rick was very helpful in getting the correct length for my height. Due to many years of realizing the benefit of a wrist strap on ice axes and ski poles that allowed me to get the full support from the axe-staff without having to keep a "kung-fu grip" on it, I wanted a wrist strap that I use often while wading. However the grip is too high to comfortably use the staff for support when scrambling up a bank and to reduce the repetitive shock of hiking on my artificial hip, so I added a woven paracord handle, also with a simple integrated adjustable wrist strap . I used a few wraps of Gorilla Tape on the shaft that keeps it from slipping down. I also wrapped electrical tape at knee and mid-thigh levels as a visual aid for water depth.
All-in-all it's a fine tool and I'm really very happy to have it.
Question: have any other users found a retractor with enough tension that can hold the weight of a Riverstick up tight against the retractor housing, but isn't so hard to pull that it's still easy to use the pole with either hand?
I got my Riverstick in the Spring of 2023 and love the strong-solid-stable and durable feel it has. Rick was very helpful in getting the correct length for my height. Due to many years of realizing the benefit of a wrist strap on ice axes and ski poles that allowed me to get the full support from the axe-staff without having to keep a "kung-fu grip" on it, I wanted a wrist strap that I use often while wading. However the grip is too high to comfortably use the staff for support when scrambling up a bank and to reduce the repetitive shock of hiking on my artificial hip, so I added a woven paracord handle, also with a simple integrated adjustable wrist strap
. I used a few wraps of Gorilla Tape on the shaft that keeps it from slipping down. I also wrapped electrical tape at knee and mid-thigh levels as a visual aid for water depth.All-in-all it's a fine tool and I'm really very happy to have it.
Question: have any other users found a retractor with enough tension that can hold the weight of a Riverstick up tight against the retractor housing, but isn't so hard to pull that it's still easy to use the pole with either hand?
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I love my Riversticks (I have two, one with a steel tip and the other with a rubber tip). I use this retractor. Looks like you may have something similar based on the attachments that you show. Doesn’t hold the staff tight to the retractor, but it allows the staff to hang in the current where it is easily accessible and out of the way when taking the next step. Neither of my staffs have the strap on the top of the handle. That would be an advantage so I could run the retractor attachment off the strap. Maybe it’s time for a new staff or could mine be retrofitted with that handle design?
Cool-looking add-ons to the staff Brian.I had always used lightweight aluminum telescoping & collapsing trekking poles for a wading staff but the harmonic wobble they got in any real current didn't inspire a lot of confidence. I do admit though that the wobble served as an alarm bell that made me start looking early for alternative routes and probably did help me avoid wading beyond my ability.
I got my Riverstick in the Spring of 2023 and love the strong-solid-stable and durable feel it has. Rick was very helpful in getting the correct length for my height. Due to many years of realizing the benefit of a wrist strap on ice axes and ski poles that allowed we to get the full support from the axe-staff without having to keep a "kung-fu grip" on it, I wanted a wrist strap that I use often while wading. However the grip is too high to comfortably use the staff for support when scrambling up a bank and to reduce the repetitive shock of hiking on my artificial hip, so I added a woven paracord handle, also with a simple integrated adjustable wrist strap
All-in-all it's a fine tool and I'm really very happy to have it.
Question: have any other users found a retractor with enough tension that can hold the weight of a Riverstick up tight against the retractor housing, but isn't so hard to pull that it's still easy to use the pole with either hand?
View attachment 113343
Boomerang and T-Reign make heavy-duty ( 14 oz tension) retractors, which enable you to keep the grip at your hip while wading.
Here's how I rig mine, clipping the retractor to the hammer loop, with the tether clipped to the ring below the grip.
I use this one, made by Boomerang for Cabelas, at apprx $20 usd. The Boomerang ones can also be found on Amazon.
I think that would make the wrist strap much less useful, or at least much less comfortable to use as a wrist strap, that I currently find very useful. I think it could even make the grip less comfortable to use with the strap under tension creating more leverage under or over the hand on the grip. The tether attachment ring just below the grip would be perfect with a strong(er) retractor (than I currently have) attached to a non-stretch riggers wading belt or the holster to keep the grip out of the way yet at hand level ready to grab without looking or reaching far down for it.
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I ordered the 14oz Boomerang XD retractor with the molle strap attachment to fasten it to my riggers belt. Thanks for the tip!!
