The Stick Slider (スティックスライダー) is a Second Stage obstacle from SASUKE 18 to SASUKE 23 that was introduced into the course with the course redesign in SASUKE 18.
This obstacle directly follows the Salmon Ladder. After reaching the final notch of the Salmon Ladder, the competitor must negotiate a final, smaller gap, and land the bar onto two declining tracks in a "V" shape. The competitor must then keep the bar on the two tracks and let go at the right time to reach a mat at the bottom.
It was redesigned into the Slider Drop for SASUKE 25.
SASUKE 20 Issues
An additional hurdle to get over was keeping the bar on the tracks. This became a big issue in SASUKE 20 when the tracks were not evenly slick and the right track would get stuck.
In an interview, Levi Meeuwenberg said that every tester that got to the Stick Slider failed there, because the left side would go to too far, while the right side consistently got stuck.
This became even more evident after Okuyama Yoshiyuki's failure there where, like the testers, the right side got stuck while the left side went perfectly causing the bar to become too uneven and for him to fall into the water.
In the same interview, Levi mentions that the design team spent thirty minutes trying to fix the problem. However, even when Levi was able to beat the Salmon Ladder and attempt the Stick Slider, he had problems. While the right track was still getting stuck, Levi pushed the bar and that evened out the bar enough for him to clear the Stick Slider.
Post-SASUKE 20 Version
After Okuyama Yoshiyuki's failure of the Stick Slider in SASUKE 20, the producers added small stoppers to the ends of the bar to prevent it from happening again. Now, the only ways to fail the Stick Slider is to mistime one's release to the island or lose the grip on the slide.
The tracks still are inconsistent and the pipe tends to go to one side more times than not (even causing Urushihara Yuuji to come to a complete stop in SASUKE 22), but this no longer is a way to fail. In SASUKE 22 a small net similar to the one used to make the Flying Chute safer was added to catch the bar when the competitor completes the obstacle. It was removed after SASUKE 23 with the Unstable Bridge moving to the third obstacle.
Competitors' Success Rate
- All results based on the TBS broadcast and external information found
| SASUKE | Clears | Attempts | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 3 | 3 | 100% |
| 19 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| 20 | 1 | 2 | 50% |
| 21 | 4 | 4 | 100% |
| 22 | 5 | 5 | 100% |
| 23 | 11 | 11 | 100% |
| Total | 24 | 25 | 96% |