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I have a Summit Viper, and I've been a little disappointed. It's heavy, awkward and (frankly) kind of painful to carry in and out, at least, over any kind of distance at all. I had assumed I would be able to "run and gun" with it, but it really seems to be the sort of thing that you need to position ahead of the season and remove afterwards. I don't know how I would design a better one, but I'm not sure it fits with the sort of hunting I'm trying to do.
Climber or hang-on?
most of the time if your BT hunting you know where you are going to put one up either because its a specific peice of property, or because you have lots of camera shots. I normally scout and or find/limb trees this time of year for my hunting spots.
Quote from: Special T on February 21, 2019, 03:07:13 PMmost of the time if your BT hunting you know where you are going to put one up either because its a specific peice of property, or because you have lots of camera shots. I normally scout and or find/limb trees this time of year for my hunting spots.very true! I'm more worried about leaving it out and have it get stolen. That's why I was hoping for lightweight.
I'm a climber guy. If you have a patch of timber to hunt, it would be a good idea to have multiple trees ready to climb into depending on the conditions (primarily wind). With a fixed/ladder stand your comitted.One thing to consider on the climbers... If you haven't spent time in a tree stand, having a rail versus open is something to consider. I tried the open one for bowhunting, but I'm not much of a fan of heights and it gave me the willy's at the height I was climbing to elevate my scent. Now I use a railed upper, which can be a problem on a steep angled shot. I usually hang 20-30 yards from the trail I'm anticipating action on so it isn't an issue. It's also an attempt to keep scent further away, both while I'm in the stand and also the scent I'm leaving on the ground hiking in.
Hands down the Lone Wolf Hand Assault climber for me!! It is sooo light weight, packs in VERY flat, very quiet and very solid.
Im leading towards hang on style tree stands after some advice and research. Anyone know places to get good used ones?
Quote from: JasonG on February 27, 2019, 05:24:27 PMIm leading towards hang on style tree stands after some advice and research. Anyone know places to get good used ones?Hang ons are great... for your the back 40 at grandmas, parents, brothers or other places that you will hunt often and on private land. Id only use a hang on if it was really close to my house on public land on an overlooked piece with difficult access.
You'd be surprised at how quick you can setup a hang-on mobile system these days.Quote from: Special T on February 28, 2019, 01:39:53 PMQuote from: JasonG on February 27, 2019, 05:24:27 PMIm leading towards hang on style tree stands after some advice and research. Anyone know places to get good used ones?Hang ons are great... for your the back 40 at grandmas, parents, brothers or other places that you will hunt often and on private land. Id only use a hang on if it was really close to my house on public land on an overlooked piece with difficult access.
I have 2 Lone Wolf hang ons and the ladder step sections. Same thing, I can find a spot and be sitting in my stand in probably 15 or 20 minutes and most of the time I will be a lot quieter with my hang ons than my climber....but I must say the lone Wolf Climber is pretty quiet compared to the early climbers I used. I felt the same way as huntnnw, the early climbers...I would not go up in one for nothing!
biggest issues with climbers is the fact you gotta take them down everytime you hunt. Mature animals are very keen on human presence. Alot of my stand sites are scouted long before hand and hung in the summer so they are ready come hunting season to slip in and out when hunting. Another huge issue for me and is not acceptable is with a climber there are no limbs going up which basically leaves you naked sitting in a tree. I look for firs first then pines to tuck myself in bigger the limbs and deeper into the tree u become almost invisible to deer with the heavy shadowing the limbs create . Some of my best stands are in fir trees and I can almost stand up and down with deer 30 yards away thet cannot see me
Quote from: Machias on March 13, 2019, 02:53:04 PMI have 2 Lone Wolf hang ons and the ladder step sections. Same thing, I can find a spot and be sitting in my stand in probably 15 or 20 minutes and most of the time I will be a lot quieter with my hang ons than my climber....but I must say the lone Wolf Climber is pretty quiet compared to the early climbers I used. I felt the same way as huntnnw, the early climbers...I would not go up in one for nothing!Hopefully you have the safety rope linking the top and bottom parts of the climber connected? Ideal length of that rope should be about the distance of each “climbing step.” Without it, one could find themselves in serious trouble. Tip #10: https://www.summitstands.com/summit-journal/10-tree-stand-safety-tips/Even my Summit Viper climber, which is supposedly one of the better ones, is a bit weird to climb in. My 10-year-old son dropped the bottom part while trying it out, and I had to bring out a ladder to help him down: he was only about 8 feet up, and had a harness on, of course, but still a weird feeling. And I've had mine slip on me while climbing: just a bit, but enough that it doesn't exactly leave me with that feeling of "Yeah, I'm 20 feet up, but I'm safe". I don't think I would ever let my kids use it, and if I'm on it, I want somebody to know exactly where I am. Don't wanna end up like this guy.https://www.foxnews.com/great-outdoors/oregon-hunter-in-critical-condition-after-hanging-upside-down-from-tree-stand-for-two-days
