Climbing stands

[lovebigbluegills]

I'm looking at getting a climbing stand before next archery season--what brand(s) should I stay away from, and which brand(s) would be a good investment?

[BRULEDRIFTER]

You get what you pay for. Buy a Summit or a Lone Wolf... I'm sure everyone else who responds will agree.

I have a Summit Viper and love it! The only thing I dont like about it is it is a little bulky and I am a big guy so I don't have a lot of room to move. Also it has a cross bar that forces me to stand when shoot my bow. But I guess I don't mind any of that because, I don't like shooting my bow sitting down and I have fallen asleep in it, and if it were more comfortable I think that would become a problem. The bulkyness is my biggest issue, but oh well....... I sound like a moose coming through the woods as it is anyway!

[harvey lee]

Lone Wolf if you don't mind spending about $375.00. In my mind they are worth it. I looked at another the other day and just about picked it up. Before fall I will pull the pin. Nice to have numerous stands to play the wind.

[Cooter]

No complaints with the Summit I have.

[kingr]

Harvey, what Lone Wolf model do you have?

[harvey lee]

Alpha hand climber and I would like to try a sit and climb.

[snoozebutton]

I've got a Summit that I'm happy with but if I were to buy another one it would be a Lone Wolf.

[Bear55]

The only two names to know are Summit and Lone Wolf, forget the rest. They are a little spendy but think of it as a long term investment in your safety, easy of use, and comfort. I give a slight edge in comfort to Summit and the Lone Wolf will be a little lighter to haul around.

[lovebigbluegills]

Thanks for all the information--looks like it'll be a Summit or Lone Wolf.

[Code-Man]

I too was wondering about this topic. I am looking at the Summit Galioth (Sp?) supposedly it's for big guys 350 lb weight rating.

[Deitz Dittrich]

another vote for Summit.. been happy with mine for quite a few years.

[Nightcrawler]

The Summit here, a little slick on popples though.

[Bear55]

The Summit here, a little slick on popples though.

I've had the same problem with popples. Also here is a warning to stay away from birch, as soon as the teeth dig into the bark they make that awful fingernails on the chalkbaord sound. Needless to say I let every deer within a mile know I was there.

[mnguy152]

summit forme . The next one I get will be a lonewolf hang on with the lonewolf climbing sticks with the pack lighter and more easy to set up and quitely.

[brassman]

I have both the sit n climb lone wolf and the smaller hang on, definately well worth the money!!! The only gripe I have with the sit n climb is that the seat is a bit narrow even for my 175Lb 5'9" frame. but that hasn't stopped me from using it.

[Random guy]

I have always used Ol' Man climbers with good luck but last year I went to a Summit Viper and love it. Bowhunting run the cushion up for enough clearance to instinctive shoot the recurve (tilt the bow at 45 degrees)and gun season run the cushion way down for a handy rest to shoot off of.

It is slick on the popples but so has every stand I ever owned, I call that black bark on the popple "black death".

[maros91]

I have a Lone Wolf also. No complaints except that it was a little spendy.

[lungdeflator]

There was a company that was based down by the cities somewhere about 7-8 years ago that my dad and I both bought stands from. Best climber Ive ever used and cheap. The stands were around 100-150$ each and are still solid after all these years. Very light weight. I cant recall the name of the company though and I think they went out of business or somthing soon after we bought our stands.

[buckhunter21]

I have a Gorilla i bought for under 200 bucks. Very nice stand easy to use and pretty lightweight compared to my buddies. If you do a lot of hunting from a portable i would strongly recommend a tree saddle. Its not a climber but you can screw in a couple steps and get it set up almost as fast if not faster than a climber. I bought one this year and used it probably 50 times compared with 1 or 2 times i used my climber.

[slopmaster]

hey buckhunter 21, I was looking at saddles and honestly how long does it take to set one up? i need something fast and mobile this year for hunting public land and am debating between.. groundblind, hang on with sticks, saddle with sticks, or a climber. I need some opinions from everyone what should i do? the thing is the girlfriend will be coming with to video so the ground blind would be nice but i dont know about using that with same day set ups and deer being spooky. I cant afford 2 climbers for the two of us and think it may take to long to set up two hang ones but maybe not? any opinions.

[buckhunter21]

Slopmaster, if your looking for something mobile than i dont think you will find anything better than a tree saddle since it weighs less than 5 pounds and you wear it like a safety harness so you dont even notice you have it on. It probably takes under 5 minutes to screw in steps and to get the stand itself up takes less than 30 seconds once you get the hang of it, all you do is wrap the strap around the tree and buckle yourself in and your done. With climbing sticks im sure you could get setup even faster but the only problem i see with the sticks is that you need something at your feet to push yourself away from the tree. The only thing that i can complain about the stand is it is a little akward at first especially with a bow having the strap from the stand in the way but after a few times you dont even know its there. Hope that answers some of your questions!!

[slopmaster]

Thanks that sure did help! Sounds like the best way to stay mobile to me, plus you cant beat 5 pounds. Im guessing i may go that route i just wasnt sure how long set up would take. I heard you have to practice with them to get good but its like everything else. Still curious as to how long you think it would take me to set up to hang on stands? anyone?

[FCspringer]

Well I agree all the stands above are great products, I am one of these whitetail freaks you might say. I have been bow hunting for 30 years and it is just awsome. I have another brand of climber too, a Logy Byou. It works very well. Its light alum. Its a bit cheaper than the summit I have but like it just as much.

[Big Buck]

i havea summit climber and love it i have fallen asleep many times in it. It is a little bulky but i still like itso here is a vote for summit

[FCspringer]

i havea summit climber and love it i have fallen asleep many times in it. It is a little bulky but i still like itso here is a vote for summit

Now thats funny, I can relate to that. I have fallen asleep a few times too but every time I was awakened by a deer below me and I shot one every single time I was sleeping, Go figure.