Gear announcement: a stick clip that doesn't suck

Just got my skyhook and noticed the clamps slip a bit when pushing/pulling on the pole to clip or unclip a carabiner. Does anyone else's skyhook also have some play in it due to clamps that aren't really snug?

Tested it out pole extended and holding a pre-clipped quickdraw tight via a rope in order to get the superclip to attach to the biner, then removed it from the bolt. The pole collapsed a bit due to pressure needed to push the superclip to engage...bit disappointing. Works but I'd hoped it would be a bit more bombproof

Mine doesn’t slip. Maybe contact Quinn?

I don’t like the flick-loc style clamps either, nor do I like the wire contraption.  I recently bought one of these - time will tell.

https://pongoose.com/products/pongoose-climber-700

Alex Schmidt wrote:

Just got my skyhook and noticed the clamps slip a bit when pushing/pulling on the pole to clip or unclip a carabiner. Does anyone else's skyhook also have some play in it due to clamps that aren't really snug?

Tested it out pole extended and holding a pre-clipped quickdraw tight via a rope in order to get the superclip to attach to the biner, then removed it from the bolt. The pole collapsed a bit due to pressure needed to push the superclip to engage...bit disappointing. Works but I'd hoped it would be a bit more bombproof

After 5-ish months of heavy use at Smith mine has started to slip out a bit when I don't extend each section completely (as is recommended earlier in the thread for stability). It doesn't affect clipping atm, as it happens when I'm pulling down after clipping the draw to the first bolt.

James W wrote:

I don’t like the flick-loc style clamps either, nor do I like the wire contraption.  I recently bought one of these - time will tell.

https://pongoose.com/products/pongoose-climber-700

According to my English friend that stick sucks, well ... just the stick. The clipping part takes the biscuit, but the rest is heavy, flimsy and easily breakable.

Piotr Sobczak wrote:

According to my English friend that stick sucks, well ... just the stick. The clipping part takes the biscuit, but the rest is heavy, flimsy and easily breakable.

Seems pretty beefy to me so far.  Mine weighs in at 20.5 oz, slightly less than the advertized 21.2 oz (600g).  The Kailas stick at ~13 oz is about the flimsiest and most fragile stick I’ve used.  It’s not alpine climbing, don’t really care about weight.

Piotr Sobczak wrote:

According to my English friend that stick sucks, well ... just the stick. The clipping part takes the biscuit, but the rest is heavy, flimsy and easily breakable.

That's not my experience at all. I've had a Pongoose for four years and it's still completely solid. It lives in the trunk of my car and has had a lot of (ab)use in that time.

I've used the blue and green Betas, the superclip, and numerous home-made versions. Very happy with the Pongoose which is the clear winner for clipping in situ draws, and placing or retrieving draws. I don't use it with a brush or GoPro. The blue Beta was notoriously fragile, the green seems a little more solid but I still prefer the Pongoose head. 

Bump for the utility of the Skyhook. It snowed in Boulder so we had to bunker down under the tarp.

The superclip head seems to hold onto DMM Alpha Sports a little too tightly.

To OP, still going to have more of these made?  Saw the update on the website that Spring 2023 is the projected date, just following up.  

I think they are either shutting down or no longer selling to dealers but will sell direct online in the near-ish future. Not sure!

It sounded like we would no longer be able to get them.

Edit: He is leaving it open ended in case things change and there is a future version, but its a side gig and there have been supplier issues, etc... so for now its no more. No more to dealers, no online direct sales. Just no more... for now.

Desert Rock Sports wrote:

I think they are either shutting down or no longer selling to dealers but will sell direct online in the near-ish future. Not sure!

It sounded like we would no longer be able to get them.

Edit: He is leaving it open ended in case things change and there is a future version, but its a side gig and there have been supplier issues, etc... so for now its no more. No more to dealers, no online direct sales. Just no more... for now.

There are still some online retailers with stock; I got one from Rock and Snow a few weeks ago

J E wrote:

There are still some online retailers with stock; I got one from Rock and Snow a few weeks ago

Thanks just ordered. They had 9, well now 8! 

Brad Johnson wrote:

Thanks just ordered. They had 9, well now 8! 

Make that 7! Have been thinking about snagging one of these for a while, and the pending scarcity pushed me over the edge.

Andrew Krajnik wrote:

Make that 7! Have been thinking about snagging one of these for a while, and the pending scarcity pushed me over the edge.

You won't regret it. Excellent design quality on these things.

Yes, some retailers still have stock. We sold our last ones yesterday.

Yeah I loaned my beta to someone and can't remember who or I lost it who knows.  So we will see how this does as a replacement.  

Hey folks - just a quick update, I do not plan to continue producing the current version of the Skyhook, we will not be restocking it on the website and won't be making any more wholesale shipments to dealers. 

Ultimately it was a combination of having a new 9-5 job that I actually super enjoy, issues with the pole manufacturer promising a certain level of precision/tolerance on the joints but not delivering on that spec, and some uncertainty around availability of the Superclip at wholesale pricing now that the Superclip business/brand got sold to Metolius.

I'll update the website soon with a longer explanation, but the basics are:

- We will continue to honor the warranty for people who have purchased a Skyhook using our back stock from the last production run (warranty is good for 1 year from date of purchase). Just hit me up at hey@mountaindrifter.com and I'll take care of it!

- Any Skyhooks you find in the wild are the last of their kind - when they're gone, they're gone.
- This doesn't rule out the possibility of a future, improved iteration of the Skyhook! If you're a mechanical engineer with small-run production experience and/or factory connections that's interested in chatting, hit me up!

Side note- pongoose makes a FANTASTIC clip stick. Metal, durable, super easy to clip and even unclip, also rigid and ridiculously long. Not sponsored or anything 

I will +1 the Pongoose recommendation as well, if you can spare the cash for it! 

Just be warned that the twist-lock joints like you find on their pole do not tolerate dirt quite as well as flip-lock joints, so try to keep the business end out of the dust for the most longevity