Portable stand Question

[Nova]

Which do you prefer and why. Ladder, hang on or climber? I personally have a ladder and a hang on stand and have used a climber. Last night I went to pick up another ladder stand, started looking at hang ons, and then found myself checking out the climbers. I left the store with nothing but this question. Which one?

[PerchJerker]

I use them all.

Ladders stands, I tend to set them up and not move them. I like them better for gun hunting than bow hunting. Since they have a fixed heigth, you don't have the options for positioning them around branches and in 'v's to help hide your silhouette. And sometimes the arms, etc. can get in the way for bowhunting. But on the other hand a nice ladder stand is very comfortable, so they make good gun hunting stands.

Hanging portables, these are my favorite because they are so versatile for height, type of tree, etc. They are the easiest stand to tuck out of the way to hide yourself. Most of my bowhunting is done out of these stands. I use them for gunhunting too, but they are not as comfortable for long sits.

Climbers, I like the comfort and the versatility, but if you're going to hunt in the same spot a lot, a ladder or hanging would be better. Climbers take a little work and make a little noise going up and down the trees, plus you need to get strapped in when you're up there, etc. They're great if you move around a lot and don't hunt the same spot over and over again, and if you have lots of trees that a climber would work in, but if you're going to hunt the same spots a lot it would be better to put a ladder or hanging stand there.

Hope this helps, good luck.

[almostthere!]

You need the climber to complete your collection of stands. I, too, have all three.

Just adding onto Perkjerkers' post:

The ladder stand is great for those "spooky" areas where you need to sneak up into the stand without making a sound. It is also great for those other spooky areas where you are a little affraid of the dark and have to high tail out at the end of dusk.

Hang-on's are great for long term positions where you can not take the ladder stand. Plus, they are great for placing on public land because they are cheap and you couldn't care whether they get stolen or not: just discourage the theives by removing the last several steps.

Climbers allows mobility with a price: not all climbers are built the same. Here is the price:

1) you must find trees that are straight and of sufficient size. You must also bring along a hand saw to remove obstructive branches.

2) you must be extra careful climbing smooth bark trees: the stands could slip, all the way down.

[bigbucks]

I agree with the previous posts. I have all three as well, two ladders, two hangers, & one climber. I also have a buddy ladder, but haven't tried that yet. So far this season I've hunted one of the hangers, one of the ladders, & used the climber in two different spots. I've also hunted three different permanents, versatility is the key. I'd like another light, strap on climber. The one I have works fine, but it's the bolt on metal clamp type, pretty heavy to move where you have to walk real far.

[CC Hurl]

I like the versatility of the hanging stand. This year i have five stands out. I by the $70.00 model at cabelas. I plan to by one a year until i have eight. I do a little modification on them to make a T system for easy hanging. I will use the hanging stands until i can no longer climb into them. I hope it is a long time.

CC HURL

[Powerstroke]

Personally I prefer the hang-ons. I have 2 hangon and 1 ladder stand. The ladder is my portable permanant. Its solid set it and forget it type of stand.

The hang ons are all I use for portables. I carry a stand and a set of starp on steps. The package weighs 25lbs and I can climb any tree that is over 4" (min for my stand) and under whatever the max is on my stand. I don't know the exact measurement but its gotta be around 36". I don't need to cut branches on the way up and I can handle crooked oaks or trees with lots of big branches. Get one with a good seat and large platform and it can be comfortable for all day.

I use the Rivers Edge bigfoot from Fleet Farm and its been great. I plan on buying another one this year, probably the aluminum one to knock off a couple more pounds. I use the Summit Bucksteps. They weigh 10lbs for 4 steps and I can get to 20+ feet.

To be fair I don't own a climber, but my friend has one and its for sale cause he doesn't like it. He found it too restricting for our style of low-impact hunting. Its sucks not being able to hunt the stand placement you want cause there isn't a good tree, but its sucks even more when there is a good tree, but it won't work for a climber.

I'm hunting out of a oak right now that is at least 36" at the base. The limb my stand is on is around 25", but you have to pass through 2 large crotches to get there and thats something you can't bypass with a climber. Plus with steps you can use the tree's crotch or other strong enough branches as a step. CLimber you would just cut it off (you'd need a 24" bar on a chainsaw to get past these) just to hunt the best tree. I don't see the value in cutting off all the branches on the way up. You damage the tree and you remove any cover you would have below you.

I know they have their place and some people love them. I don't see the value...seems like a novelty to me.

[irvingdog]

Climbers are great if you hunt in "lodge-pole pine" country.

Me? I hunt in Minnesota.

Lone Wolf Alpha hang-on (there are other excellent light weight and cheaper options) and Summit Buck steps for me. This gets me into any tree, any where. Darn near as fast or faster than a climber, and all under 20 pounds.

[harvey lee]

I personally own climbers,hang-ons, ladder stands and use my climbers more than any other.I think I have 9 hang-ons and they stay in a tree all fall.The ladder stands stay put also.The climbers I move as I go and would not be without them

Many times I considered buying a climber and always figured I would have no trees to use it.After thinking about it and hunting out of a friends I decided I needed to buy one.That is just about all I will ever use again.Easy to use,more comfortable than others and feels safer.

I hunt mainly in North Dakota with mostly oak,cottonwood and elm trees and a few others.I have vary little problem with finding a tree and if so,then I have a hang-on in that area.I use a hang-on about 2 days out of 30 days a fall.

[fishermn]

Personally I like my Summit climbers for a few reasons, first off they are portable, so if you need to tweak your stand location, its any easy move, you simply find a new tree in a better spot and do a little trimming. Secondly, they are solid as a rock. Yes I have had them slip a little. Never more than a few inches, and then only if I am in a tree that is marginal on the small side for the stand. If you are wearing a harness its not gonna be a problem, as the harness will help stop you anyway. Third, I am a bigger guy who is not all that coordinated, and the propect of climbing up 10 - 15 feet on them tiny little steps is a recipe for disaster

I have a ladder stand too, but the set-up/take down time deters me from using it most of the time unless I really plan to hit one particular location a lot...

[Nova]

thanks for all the info guys and keep it coming. The woods I hunt in has plenty of good trees for climbers. Lots of basswoods that grow in clumps of 3-10 trees with no branches down low and plenty of cover. My ladders and hang on I like to have in place at least 24 hours in advance so that I am not making a lot of noise where I am going to hunt that night/morning. I move them often as I find better travel coridoors and recent feeding patterns. I am leaning toward the summit viper climber right now, but the hang on is a very close second.

[bigbucks]

It depends on the woods you hunt in. Most of the woods I hunt in are full of ash & popples, (along with boxelders, oaks, ironwoods, & basswoods) either of them works equally great for all three types of stands. They're generalaly straight & have very few low branches. The climbers are just more portable in those situations as they're considerable faster to move.

Whoever was talking about putting a climber in a huge oak is right they won't work for that & no you obviously wouldn't cut off all the huge limbs he was talking about.