Sissy Stix Setup and Packing: A Field Guide
By PEAX - Backcountry Hunting Equipment | Published: 2026-10-15
Category: How-to Guides
Learn how to set up, adjust, and pack Sissy Stix for hunting. A step-by-step field guide covering stance, height, tip protection, and pack placement.
Quick answer
Set up Sissy Stix by extending the legs to your seated or kneeling height, locking each section firmly, and planting the tips on solid ground before you glass. Pack them last so they're the first thing you grab. Protect the tips with rubber feet or baskets depending on terrain, and always test the lock before you rely on them.
Set the height before you leave the truck
Adjusting Sissy Stix in the field while an animal is moving is a losing game. Set the height at home or at the trailhead based on how you'll glass: seated, kneeling, or prone. Sit on the ground or a pad, extend the legs until the cradle sits just below your chin, then lock each section. Kneeling setups usually need one section shorter than seated setups. Mark the leg sections with tape or a paint pen so you can repeat the height fast if a lock slips or you swap between positions.
Plant the tips and load the legs
Sissy Stix only work if the tips bite. On hard ground, rock, or truck-bed surfaces, the metal tips can skate. That's where rubber feet earn their place. On softer dirt or grass, the bare tips dig in and hold better. Once planted, push down slightly on the cradle to load the legs before you rest binoculars on top. This pre-load removes wobble and keeps the setup from shifting when you pan. If the ground is uneven, reposition the legs rather than fighting the wobble with your hands.
Pack them where you can reach them
Sissy Stix are not trekking poles. They don't belong strapped to the side of your pack where you need two hands and a stop to retrieve them. Pack them vertically in a side pocket or between your pack and your back, with the cradle up and the tips down. If your pack has a rifle or bow carrier, run the Sissy Stix alongside it so the legs sit outside the main bag. The goal is a one-pull draw: grab, plant, glass. If you have to unbuckle anything to get them out, you packed them wrong.
Match the tip to the terrain and season
The tip you run changes with the ground under you. Rubber feet protect the tips and the surface when you're on rock, hard ground, or indoors, and they keep the tips from chewing through a storage bag. Baskets help on soft spring, summer, and fall ground, and on hard-packed or groomed snow in winter. If you hunt a mix of rock and snow, carry both and swap at the truck. The swap takes seconds and costs less than replacing a worn tip or a torn bag.
Sissy Stix setup and packing steps
- Set height at the trailhead: Sit or kneel in your glassing position and extend the legs until the cradle sits just below your chin. Lock every section and mark the height with tape. Checkpoint: the cradle should meet your brow line without you hunching.
- Choose and install the right tip: Run rubber feet on rock, hard ground, or indoors. Switch to baskets for soft dirt or groomed snow. Push them on until they seat fully. Mistake to avoid: running bare metal tips on rock, which skates and wears the tip.
- Plant and pre-load the legs: Set the tips on solid ground, spread the legs to a stable base, and press down gently on the cradle to load the legs before you rest optics on top. Checkpoint: no wobble when you pan. If it moves, reposition the legs.
- Pack for a one-pull draw: Slide the Sissy Stix vertically in a side pocket or between pack and back, cradle up, tips down. Keep them outside the main bag and clear of buckles. Mistake to avoid: strapping them flat to the pack, which costs time and noise when an animal appears.
- Do a dry run before the hunt: At home, pull the Stix from your pack, plant them, and glass for 30 seconds. Repeat with gloves on. If you fumble the draw or the height is off, fix it before you're in the field.
Gear that supports the setup
- Rubber Feet: Rubber Feet are a pair of rubber tips that protect trekking pole tips from damage on rocky or hard ground, and can be used indoors or during storage to protect flooring and storage bags. If you glass from rock, gravel, or a truck bed, rubber feet stop the tips from skating and keep them from wearing out or tearing your pack.
- Trekker 2 Baskets: Trekker 2 Baskets are a pair of trekking baskets suited to hiking in spring, summer, and fall, or skiing on hard-packed or groomed snow. On soft dirt or groomed snow, baskets keep the legs from sinking so your Sissy Stix stay at the height you set.
- TEAM MULEYS: TEAM MULEYS is a soft t-shirt with the message 'SLOW DOWN. GLASS HARD. HUNT MULEYS.' and is available in sizes. A quiet, patient glassing setup fits the mule deer grind, and a soft tee keeps you comfortable through long sits behind the glass.
