Packable, Sturdy, But Pricey: Hunt Arsenal ICON X20 Climbing Stick Review

For many modern whitetail hunters, mobility has become the name of the game. Permanent blinds are warm and cozy, and comfortable padded ladder stands are a great place to spend a morning. But those comforts are limited to those with private land access, and they don’t allow you to adjust on the fly with changes in deer behavior.

For those reasons, most whitetail hunters I know pick up a saddle or a lightweight, lock-on treestand. You pack ’em into the woods with you to hunt, and pack ’em out at the end of the day. If you need to go in steep and deep, every ounce matters.

Climbing sticks are a vital part of a mobile whitetail hunter’s setup. I’ve tried a bunch and can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that the devil is in the details. A set like the Hunt Arsenal ICON X20 climbing sticks makes life easier. 

In short: These climbing sticks have a unique telescoping design that allows a pack of three ($400) to collapse into a package that fits into a shoebox. Thanks to the small, interlocking design, they fit securely on my pack, without catching branches and limbs as I move through the woods. When it comes time to get up a tree, they expand for added height and lock on the tree with a simple, secure, minimalist ROPELOCK system. No straps needed. Grippy steps and glow-in-the-dark tabs provide sure footing even when you’re climbing in the dark. Yes, the price is steep, and you may need to add raiders to them to get as high as you’d like, but these are killer sticks for hunters dedicated to mobility.

Telescoping Design: Small When You Need It, Tall When Climbing

Since the main job of a climbing stick is to get you high in a tree, most are inherently long and unwieldy. That may not seem that bad, but once you try sneaking through thick cover on your way to a stand with them strapped to your back, you’ll realize it’s obnoxious. They catch everything.

That’s why it was love at first sight when I saw the ICON X20 climbing sticks. They telescope open and closed, giving you height when you need it without sticking out of your pack like a large antenna. 

When collapsed into the silent, cork-wrapped sleeve, the sticks are just a hair over 13 inches long, and a pack of three interlocks together in a tight, neat package that is small enough to fit in a shoebox. I can tuck them on the bottom of my Badlands hunting backpack completely out of the way.

When you expand them, there’s a full 20 inches between steps. The collapsible design seems obvious, and I’m shocked more companies aren’t doing it.

At 25 ounces each, they’re pretty light in the world of climbing sticks, although not as light as some other premium options made of carbon. However, these ones pack down smaller for transport.

Attaching the Hunt Arsenal ICON X20 Climbing Sticks to the Tree

To further the lightweight, minimalist design, the ICON X20s don’t require additional straps to attach to a tree. Rather than a separate cam or ratchet strap, these sticks use a heavy-duty, 7-foot DURAbraid Rope and a ROPELOCK Cleat to attach to the tree. Both are permanently affixed to the stick, eliminating extra parts to carry or accidentally leaving them at home.

The rope, while long enough to wrap around just about any tree in the woods, wraps around the step and the ROPELOCK cleat for transport. Everything you need to get up the tree is on the stick, ready to go in a streamlined package.

The steps are rated for weights up to 300 pounds. While it may seem sketchy at first glance, you can trust the thin rope and ROPELOCK cleat. The climbing sticks lock hard onto trees, and I’ve experienced minimal slipping when using them, regardless of how slick the bark is of the tree I’m climbing. 

You need to be sure to read the instructions on how to use the system correctly, and it will take a few practice runs to get it nailed. But after a few minutes of practice, I had the cleat system dialed, and the proper use quickly became second nature. 

Not only do the X20 climbing sticks lock onto trees solidly, but they also provide solid footing. Each step has aggressive knobs lining them. Even when climbing with them in the snow, my boots stay glued to the steps, thanks to the aggressive texture.

The top of the steps also has small glow-in-the-dark tabs on each edge. It’s a small touch that makes a world of difference when climbing up a tree in the pre-dawn darkness, or getting down at night after a full day of hunting.

A few times, I’ve felt like I was going to miss my next step down in the dark and fall out of the tree. In fact, that feeling is pretty common, thanks to my habit of placing them further apart than I probably should on the climb up.

But those safety tabs let me look down, and see exactly where I need to step. It’s a great safety feature. Even in the dark, I can descend with confidence. And no, not in the fast way.

What Could Be Better

Lightweight functionality comes at a price. In this case, a pretty darn steep one — $400 for three climbing sticks is a lot. Trust me, I know. Unlike many products I get to test for work, I paid money out of my own pocket for these climbing sticks.

The price is even worse, considering the next negative: On their own, a pack of three likely isn’t going to get you as high up as you’d like in a tree. You can get high enough to hunt, but you’ll be left wanting more.

I solved that by adding very cheap rope-style climbing raiders to each one of mine. I spent about 20 bucks per aider, leaving the total package cost at roughly $460. With that setup, I could reach heights of 15 feet with ease, and up to 20 feet if I really stretched it.

However, on some of my sits, I still wanted to get higher, especially in spots where I was downhill of where I expected deer to come. So I picked up another single stick and aider. The total cost is getting out of hand.

The only other negative is that it can be difficult to collapse the sticks with gloved hands. On each side of the stick, you have to depress a metal button and push the bottom of the stick into the top. Those buttons are very hard to depress with anything but a bare hand.

Final Thoughts on the Hunt Arsenal ICON X20 Sticks

Despite those drawbacks, these are my favorite climbing sticks I own. For whitetail hunters who cover ground and need gear that doesn’t slow them down, the Hunt Arsenal ICON X20 climbing sticks are a contender for the best choice available.

They’re light, convenient, and secure underfoot. Small features like glow tabs and the silent cork finish aren’t just gimmicks. They genuinely make a difference.

That said, the price tempers my enthusiasm a bit. If you’re a casual hunter, it may be too much to overcome, and there are cheaper options that will get the job done, albeit not as well. But if packability and performance matter most on your hunts, these sticks are what you want. After just one hunt with them, the sting at the cash register became a distant memory.