Opinions on portable stands

[mrjigger]

I will be bow hunting for the first time this season. Mostly I will be hunting in a wildlife refuge where I am supposed to remove my stand at the end of each day. In your opinion what type of stand would be my best option? I am debating between a climber stand and a ladder stand. Kind of leaning towards the climber stand. what are the advantages/disadvantages between the two.

[DomW]

You'd be best served by a climber. Ladders are great if you can leave them in the same spot for several days, but they take time to set up and weigh quite a bit more than a climber. I bought a Summit Viper climber a couple of years ago because I hunt a few different places and don't want to spend money on several ladders/hanger stands for my various locations. A ladder would be great if hunting the same tree over a period of time beacuse you could bring your bow into the woods, climb quickly and quietly up a ladder, and be hunting in no time.

Look around at a few climbers. Features to consider:

weight, comfort, platform size, ease of setup, qietness, (weight capacity if you are a larger fella).

I'm still very happy with mine and with my decision to get a climber. My next purchase will be a ladder, though.

Good luck this season. Take a picture of your harvest and post it in the pics category.

DomW

[mechanictim]

For most people a ladder stand is too heavy to carry in and out of an area everyday. Most of them take a while to set up and can be dangerous to set up by yourself, even more so in the dark. A climbing stand has the advantage of only needing to keep track of the two pieces of the stand and your safety harness. They are available as light as 15 pounds. Most are fairly quiet to set up and they allow you to pick how high you go. The biggest disadvantage to a climber is you need to have a fairly straight tree that is the right diameter for your stand. If you have a tree that you know before the season that you will be using, a little trimming (If Legal) before the hunt can save some noise and time. Probably the best feature of any climbing stand is that they allow you to have your safety harness on and strapped to the tree from the time you leave the ground until you get back off your stand.

[irvingdog]

Are you debating between a climber and ladder, or a climber and hang-on?

If it is the latter of the two, I'd go with a ultra-light hang on and light weight climbing sticks every time! Climbing treestands radically limit you to the types of trees you can use, are typically no faster to get up into than sticks/lightweight stand, and you don't need to prune your way up the tree.

Something like a Gorilla Silverback and Summit bucksteps, or a Lone Wolf Alpha and Lone wolf Sticks, or Non-Typical Ladder Sticks and the Non-Typical Patriot are all excellent combos.

Climbers are great, but 5 pounds of smoked venison sticks says you can't get up into a mature old oak full of acorns..............

[FL SNIPER]

i'm with you irvingdog. climbers are nice and work awesome in some situations with the right tree and spot...but I'd say the old hanger stand is more versatile and can be placed in good cover in different kinds and shapes of trees. just my 2 cents though.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I'll agree with the 2 posts above.. I have about 5 strap ons and 1 climber.. If I can use the climber I will, as its the most confortable.. but in many cases, its just not going to work for the tree I want to be in.

[mrjigger]

thanks for all the info. I am new to the sport of bow hunting, so this might be a dumb question, but how exactly

do you secure the strap on stand to the tree? how long does it typically take? I would think that it would be quite loud

putting it up. I will have to put the stand up and take it down each time I hunt. So for me noise and time are the biggest factors. thanks again!!

[FL SNIPER]

It does take some time (and noise) to put up a "hanger" type stand with tree pegs (steps). I'm lucky I can leave mine up all season...so I put mine up well before the season opens. It would be considerable work to take down the stand each night...but do-able...perhaps you could leave the tree pegs in over night and just take the stand down each time. I've also locked my stand to the tree with a chain...but that was on private land.

But perhaps a climber stand is your best bet. With that in mind you should scout out your hunting area to find a good tree to use for the climber stand. And do any trimming of branches, etc. well before the time you plan to hunt so to minimize noise, movement, etc. (ideally).

It would be a good idea to have your climber stand adjusted properly for the tree you plan to hunt so when you walk into the woods you know what tree you're headed for and you minimize the adjustments (movement, noise,time)it takes for you to get up into hunting position.

I hope you find a good tree in a good spot! Good luck and please post your results. Bow hunting is an awesome sport, I hope you enjoy it too!

[Gofishleech]

I would also go with a climber, as long as you have a good tree to use. The im portant thing about a climber is get high!!. You will have no limbs to hide behined and the biger the tree the better as to help you blend. I use a climber when ever I can and now days you find a light one for packing in and out.

[Powerstroke]

Hang on stands are secured in many different ways. Some have chains, some have cambuckle straps and some of the newer ones secure on a screw in peg. The climbing system (steps) came in just as many varieties.

I've never used a climber stand, but my buddy has one and just bought a hang on with a climbing system and its lighter and easier to use. His stand and steps weigh 23lbs total.

You just start putting up steps and place your safety harness on. Start climbing your steps and when you're high enough for your liking you hang your stand. Of course, the lighter the better.

The chain on styles are usually noisy but the simplest. You place a chain link over a hook and set your stand. Done

Starp ons use a ratchet style strap. You hook it around the tree to the other side of your stand and tighten the strap. Much quieter and infinitly adjustable.

The peg style is nice cause you can set a few pegs in a few places and then you can hang your stand at any of those spots if need be.

[treeclimber]

The hang on is the best bet in this part of the country. Most situations here you find trees full of branches or they are very crooked. I own 12 hang on stands and wouldn't trade them for anything. There are so many styles and models out there to choose from but the best I have used and owned are the Gorilla. You just hook the strap to the stand tighten it and you are done. As far as what to use for climbing. I use screw in type steps now but am going to start purchasing some climbing sticks. The screw in steps are nice and compact but real tough to put in an oak or frozen tree.If you practice enough putting hang ons up you can get pretty good at being quiet. Just put your screw ins in a fanny pack, spin it to the front and pull the steps out as you go up. I have shot many many deer shortly after I have hung a stand.