Gear announcement: a stick clip that doesn't suck

UPDATE October 2021: Sales have been STRONG and I'm seeing a lot of Skyhooks at my local crag these days! We wrapped up the Kickstarter this spring, shipped something like 250 pre-orders, and we've solved our supply chain issues and have the online store running smoothly (sorry to everyone who had to deal with all of our "Sold Out" dry spells this summer). We're also stocked in several different brick-and-mortar climbing shops across the US!

You can purchase a Skyhook from the following locations:

Online  - https://mountaindrifter.com/

In Person - Mountain Supply (Bend, OR), Redpoint Climber's Supply (Terrebonne, OR), Wild Iris Mountain Sports (Lander, WY), Spire Climbing + Fitness (Bozeman, MT)

Canada - we currently offer shipping to Canada via our web store, but unfortunately the shipping & customs fees associated with sending oversized commercial packages to Canada make it not the best deal. The good news is that Climb On Squamish is planning to start carrying the product in 2022, and will offer competitive pricing and domestic shipping within Canada! To get on the waitlist for this, head over to the Skyhook page at Climb On Squamish.

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Here's the original post:

Wanted to let MP know about a new stick clip design my company is launching today: https://mountaindrifter.com/products/p/the-skyhook-stick-clip

The TL;DR is that we got fed up with all the weird stick clip designs that were out there, and just wanted a simple & stiff extendable pole with a superclip on the end. So we found a manufacturer, called up Superclip USA, and built it. The end result is a stick clip that works for all of those high first clips at my home crag of Smith Rock, but isn't annoyingly long or frustratingly wobbly.

I'd love to hear your feedback and answer any questions about the product. We really do think this is the best option on the market!

Q&A

Does it come with a Superclip?

Yes, it does! We're working directly with Superclip Rescue Tools to include a color-matched Superclip pre-installed with our custom pole design.

How does clipping work?

Here's a great video overview of how clipping works with the Superclip on a traditional painters pole type stick clip: https://vimeo.com/97086877

Our setup functions exactly the same way, it's just a lot lighter and easier to carry!

How does the pre-order work?

We're doing pre-orders through Kickstarter. You can pre-order a Skyhook by clicking the kickstarter link at the top of this post and clicking the big green "Back this project" button - it'll give you the ordering options. The way that Kickstarter works, if you haven't used the platform before, is that you to only pay for the order if we collect enough funding in the next 30 days to meet our manufacturer's minimum order quantity of about $10,000. If we don't get enough interest and don't hit our funding goal, your order gets automatically canceled and your credit card is never charged.

That said, we're about 10 hours into the launch and we've already hit 50% of our funding goal. So it's looking very likely that we'll be able to get these stick clips made, maybe even ahead of schedule!

Do you sell the pole without the Superclip?

Unfortunately, we aren't able to offer a discount on the pole by itself right now.

PHOTOS

Could you post a pic of it being held fully extended parallel to the ground?

Really good idea and design, but 10’ is kind of short. Trango Beta Stick is 12’ and fits luggage. 

Okay you have my interest, I see some really good points about the slick and see the potential for the mechanism. But there is one critical piece missing. How does one actually use the  thing? That is how does a carabiner sit in there and what is keeping it there. There is all of a 2 second preview at 26 seconds into the video. That just barely gives one an idea. I had to slow the video down to see how the mechanism works. But one should not need to do that. The two second bit at 1:00 showing it being inserted by a person gets there but again is too short, and the actual clipping right after that needs to be zoomed so one can actually see the biner being released.

Ya got something good here, just need to pimp it better. Short term, add some pictures of it with a biner in place and when being released after clipping. Then update the video showing it in action.

@schmuck - Yep, we actually considered making it longer but one of the big problems we had with the Beta stick was how wobbly it is. The marketing numbers for the Beta Stick look great, but they’re getting that extra length via a pole segment with a sub-10mm diameter (the red pole segment) which results in a super floppy stick clip that just kind of drives us nuts. Even if you don’t use the red pole segment, the extra weight at the tip of the pole results in significant additional lateral deflection of the rest of the pole during use. By skipping this extra segment, we trade a slight decrease in maximum length for a large increase in stiffness. We believe that this is the right tradeoff to make, since going below a 10mm tubing diameter and adding an extra joint would make things too wobbly for us to consider it as a good product. 

FYI, we've done quite a bit of testing and if you're 5'4" or taller, this thing can clip pretty much all of the notorious bolts at Smith - stuff like Heinous Cling Start, BBQ the Pope, etc.

@noah - See below! Sorry about the crappy backyard photo, you should be able to click it and see it bigger. It's hard to give an exact measurement since my lawn isn't totally level, but I'd estimate about 3-4" of lateral deflection when held completely horizontal at full extension.

Allen Sanderson wrote:

Okay you have my interest, I see some really good points about the slick and see the potential for the mechanism. But there is one critical piece missing. How does one actually use the  thing? That is how does a carabiner sit in there and what is keeping it there. There is all of a 2 second preview at 26 seconds into the video. That just barely gives one an idea. I had to slow the video down to see how the mechanism works. But one should not need to do that. The two second bit at 1:00 showing it being inserted by a person gets there but again is too short, and the actual clipping right after that needs to be zoomed so one can actually see the biner being released.

Ya got something good here, just need to pimp it better. Short term, add some pictures of it with a biner in place and when being released after clipping. Then update the video showing it in action.

You attach a Superclip device to it, sold separately, I assume. Look at the Superclip website for use instructions.

Allen Sanderson wrote:

Okay you have my interest, I see some really good points about the slick and see the potential for the mechanism. But there is one critical piece missing. How does one actually use the  thing? That is how does a carabiner sit in there and what is keeping it there. There is all of a 2 second preview at 26 seconds into the video. That just barely gives one an idea. I had to slow the video down to see how the mechanism works. But one should not need to do that. The two second bit at 1:00 showing it being inserted by a person gets there but again is too short, and the actual clipping right after that needs to be zoomed so one can actually see the biner being released.

Ya got something good here, just need to pimp it better. Short term, add some pictures of it with a biner in place and when being released after clipping. Then update the video showing it in action.

That's good feedback, I think we're all so in love with the Superclip that we assume everybody knows about how awesome it is!

This ancient video does a great job of explaining how the Superclip works: https://vimeo.com/97086877 

I'll see if I can get out and make a quick video of our own that shows off the Superclip, so we can include that info directly on the campaign page.

@FrankPS - we're actually working directly with Superclip to include their clip pre-installed with the product! 

FrankPS wrote:

You attach a Superclip device to it, sold separately, I assume.

Reread the OP: "...and just wanted a simple & stiff extendable pole with a superclip on the end. So we found a manufacturer, called up Superclip USA, and built it."

Quinn Rohlf wrote:

@schmuck - Yep, we actually considered making it longer but one of the big problems we had with the Beta stick was how wobbly it is. The marketing numbers for the Beta Stick look great, but they’re getting that extra length via a pole segment with a sub-10mm diameter (the red pole segment) which results in a super floppy stick clip that just kind of drives us nuts. Even if you don’t use the red pole segment, the extra weight at the tip of the pole results in significant additional lateral deflection of the rest of the pole during use. By skipping this extra segment, we trade a slight decrease in maximum length for a large increase in stiffness. We believe that this is the right tradeoff to make, since going below a 10mm tubing diameter and adding an extra joint would make things too wobbly for us to consider it as a good product.

you are correct about the wobbly nature of the red extension, but the extra 2’ has really come in handy at times, especially since I am 5’6 and my wife is 4’11.”  When not traveling, I actually use a 14’ painter pole. Basically, it is better to have extra 2’ that suck than not to have to have it at all. That said, I do dig your design. 

Frank Stein wrote:

When not traveling, I actually use a 14’ painter pole.

Mine is a 3-segment 20' painter pole from Home Depot with a Superclip.

Marc801 C wrote:

Mine is a 3-segment 20' painter pole from Home Depot with a Superclip.

I have a 15' painter pole with a Superclip, second use is as a trekking pole.  Doesn't travel that well. 

Quinn Rohlf wrote:

That's good feedback, I think we're all so in love with the Superclip that we assume everybody knows about how awesome it is!

This ancient video does a great job of explaining how the Superclip works: https://vimeo.com/97086877 

I'll see if I can get out and make a quick video of our own that shows off the Superclip, so we can include that info directly on the campaign page.

As I rarely have a need to stick clip I had not seen the Superclip before and thought it was all part of the new design. That video is exactly what I needed to see.

So now my question is the following, does the pole come with the Superclip? That is my impression and should be made clear.

Allen Sanderson wrote:

As I rarely have a need to stick clip I had not seen the Superclip before and thought it was all part of the new design. That video is exactly what I needed to see.

So now my question is the following, does the pole come with the Superclip? That is my impression and should be made clear.

It comes with the Superclip, I actually think they made that pretty clear on the kickstarter page.

Do y'all have any intention of ever selling the pole without the super clip? I already have a (homemade) superclip and don't really need a second.

It might be nice to provide an option for larger packages, say 3-5 stick clips, for those who have some friends in need of stick clips. This saves on shipping and reduces cost per stick clip. Maybe you already have this in the works? I've seen some other kickstarters say something like "add $50 to your pledge for each additional stick clip," though I'm not sure how this works on the back end.

This looks like a great product! Can't wait to try it out. I'm sure this will be a lot more convenient than the old painters pole that I currently use.

how is this better than the Kailas one?

https://www.verticallstore.com/KAILAS_ClipUp_III/p4546831_17882446.aspx

Awesome, hope it gets funded, I did my first sport climbing of the year yesterday and need a new stick clip because below. My buddy Tony says he knows Quinn from Ten Sleep last fall and y'all and the product seem legit!

Also @Petzl Logic, seems to be longer than the kailas one, their website says 97.6", while this kickstarter says 125". Also you can change the top attachment on this one i think - brush, new super clip, ect. The top part of the kailas looks un-changeable and also a bit flimsier than the superclip.

I have only used/seen the kailas one once, it was some other dudes, they had just bought it, first time using it. Took us a few minutes to figure out how to extend it, but otherwise it seemed fine too ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Aids.

Daniel Kaye wrote:

Awesome, hope it gets funded, I did my first sport climbing of the year yesterday and need a new stick clip because below. My buddy Tony says he knows Quinn from Ten Sleep last fall and y'all and the product seem legit!

Yeah, mine got dropped and the blue plastic part broke. I wish that was replaceable. I'm going to try repairing it was metal inserts and plastic epoxy.

Daniel Kaye wrote:

Also @Petzl Logic, seems to be longer than the kailas one, their website says 97.6", while this kickstarter says 125". Also you can change the top attachment on this one i think - brush, new super clip, ect. The top part of the kailas looks un-changeable and also a bit flimsier than the superclip.

I have only used/seen the kailas one once, it was some other dudes, they had just bought it, first time using it. Took us a few minutes to figure out how to extend it, but otherwise it seemed fine too ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

the interchangeable head sounds like a cool feature. i have the kailas and think it's pretty great and didn't plan on buying another stick clip this lifetime... but, hey, you never know.