I am considering buying a hang on stand to give me a more concealed stand compared to the ladder stands I am currently using. I have always used ladder stands so this is all new to me. I'd like to get the opinion of people that have had past experience with hang on's instead of reading articles on them. If anyone would care to answer some of these questions I would appreciate it very much. Is it really worth buying the expensive hang on's or can I get away with the 50-70$ stand? Should I get ladder sticks or tree spikes? I have a harness, but do I need anymore equipment for climbing to the stand? Any other tips or suggestions are more than welcome.
I buy the gear guide sticks and lock on for $70 total. I like them and they work perfectly fine for the price. You'll need a tree belt to hang them as you connect the sticks and use a life line once you set up the stand so when you come to hunt you can hook your hardness to it as you climb. I invested in a tree spider desent system also. Never can be to safe!!
You get what you pay for, but that doesn't mean you can't be successful. Cheaper stands are heavier and can be noisier. I bought a Remington brand stand from Wal Mart and a set of climbing sticks for like $79 combined. Been using them for 3 seasons now and have no complaints whatsoever. The stand is fairly quiet, but the sticks creak a bit when climbing, I can live with that trade off. I just bought a lone wolf and sticks but have yet to use them. I want to get more mobile and this seed like the best option. Should last the rest of my hunting days so seen it as an option that will save over time. If this is going to be a stand that you hang and leave there then screw in steps will suffice, but if you may move it a time or two each season some sort of stick set up is probably better. Lifeline would be a good buy if you're going to hang the stand and leave it for multiple hunts. Other than that not much else needed until you're sitting in the stand. One thing I am going to do is probably get a few cheap sticks and put them up along with a hanger for the lone wolf. This will allow me to climb multiple trees and hang a stand quickly without having to set the sticks each time. I'll also have the sticks for the spur of the moment trees if need be.
Same here, sportsmans guide for $70. Now I have 6 stands with ladder sticks instead 1 Lone Wolf. Yes you get what you pay for but these work perfect for me. If I was going to pack them in hunt after hunt I would invest the money in a Lone Wolf or Summit Climber.
It really depends on what you are planning to do. If you are going to be hanging a stand every time you hunt I would suggest Lone Wolf. If you were going to just hang something and leave it for an extended period of time you could get away with something less pricey. If you fear your stand disappearing I would invest in a good set of climbing sticks. Then you can leave the stand and take the sticks with you when you climb down. Also a linemans belt is comes in very handy when hanging stands.
If you are setting it and leaving it, a cheap stand is usually fine. I would strongly suggest staying away from screw in steps. They damage the tree and are just as expensive as a set of ladder sticks. For climbing/setting your stand you will need some type of lineman's belt. Basically it's an adjustable strap or rope that hooks to your harness on both sides and goes around the tree. As you work your way up the tree, you move the belt with you. It keeps you attached to the tree, so if you slip, you won't fall away from the tree. If you are setting a permanent stand locations, I would strongly suggest using a lifeline system. Too many people discount the fact that many tree stand related falls occur when climbing or entering/exiting the stand. It's the best $50 bucks you will ever spend.
I second the guide gear combo. The latter stick is the way to go. I usually add a few screw in steps at the top to get between 25-30 feet up.
I've always used big game with 20' sticks. 60$ stand 40$ sticks. Sticks get me to 20' where I hang stand then use a few screw ins abovery it to help get up and in. Use good ratchet straps to keep everything tight if you will be leaving it up all season. I put one around the top of the sticks and one around the hang on.
I prefer the Lone Wolf stands. Especially when it get real cold out. They don't seem to make the noise the cheaper ones do. I have one of those Remington's also and it seems to be a good stand. It is real noisy when it gets cold with the popping and cracking noise it makes. The biggest problem is I just can't set still. I use both 20' sticks and the Lone Wolf sticks. If the tree is straight or crooked I'm set.
I like the $49 ameristep stands walmart has. I find the cheapest 20 ft ladder sticks I can and buy those. If you have a Menards near you they have cheap stands and sticks on sale all the time and they are not bad either. I believe they are big dog stands. Good for the price. I think they had a stand on sale for $29.
I really like the summit swiftree sticks - your foot can't slip off them like other steps. I have 3 lonewolfs and 2 cheaper Ameristep hang-ons. They all work, but the lone wolf have more comfortable seat that lasts for years rather than months. I also like the add on footrest for lonewolfs as I have a bad back. I plan to replace the 2 cheap ones with Lone wolfs. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Muddy Outfitter Lite stands are a great buy ... Check ****'s Sporting Goods website cause they were on sale a couple weeks ago cause I bought 3 of them. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have used the smaller hang ons for a couple years, but decided.this year, they are just too small, to avoid a treestand accident, i got about 3 lone wolfs, with rapid rails, they are the best thing ever
I have the $29.00 stands from Menards. I just leave them out, and have a lifeline on each one so my boy and I are connected from the ground up. They have served me well for the past five years, and I just bought 2 new ones this year.
Another thing to think of in terms of ease of hanging the stands is receiver brackets. Like the ones millennium and the big game treestands phoenix have. Hang your climbing sticks or whatever. Climb up and hang the receiver. Pull up the stand and slide it in. Makes things a lot easier. Also you can buy extra receivers. I use one stand in 4 different places. I leave the sticks and receivers up all the time. Then I just climb up and slap my stand on whichever one I want to hunt out of. Saves ya some money on stands. The millennium are really nice and comfy but they are pricey too. I have the big game treestands phoenix and I really like it. Walmart sells then for $91. It also can be adjusted to different angles so if your tree is crooked you can still have a level stand.
I love my lone wolf, but you couldn't pay me enough to take away my meliniums. I don't care what people tell you there is no $60 stand that you can sit in for 4 straight hours and not be miserable. I am hyper individual who never likes to sit still, but I could sit in my mellinium for a day with no issue. If you need to put up 15 stands and don't want to move stuff sure go cheap. If you don't mind moving stuff put up 15 tree brackets and move your one mellinium. But I will say one thing, if you don't buy a lifeline your an idiot. I honestly don't say that trying to be mean. I know people for 100s of years haven't used them. But they are cheap as dirt and unless you plan to fall and then cut the line just to see if you get hurt, there is no way you gonna hit the ground. I have 7 lockons and 11 double man ladder stands, wanna guess how many lifelines I have? That's right every stand has its own. Even my 7 year old wears a harness going up and down our ladder stands. There are a ton of dangers in this world we can't protect ourselves from but falling out of a tree ain't one of them.
I'm not getting the whole cheap stands are uncomfortable thing. I will admit that I've never sat in a high dollar stand, summit open shot climber has been my only name brand stand and think I have used it 3 times in 5-6 years. So this Remington(at the time) brand stand from wal-mart compared to the Lone Wolf. What exactly is the difference going to be ergonomically? If I put this into a straight tree or put my lone wolf into this same tree, what is the difference going to be? I think the price comes by weight(packing in and out) and sound(once set up), and in the lone wolfs case manufacturing. Unless you take precautions that cost even more to dampen sounds with the lone wolf during packing/unpacking and setting up/taking down it doesn't have much advantage over other stands. Yes it is lighter and quieter once set up, not going to argue that, but a stand of lesser cost can achieve the same quietness, even creaks, by hunter patience and maybe a few cloth tape or other add on mods. Sure it will be heavier to lug in and out, but for a set and stay for the season stand it would be hard to justify a higher dollar stand. I've sat in the stand in the picture for I don't know how many hundreds of hours now, I won't lie my back aches by both standing and sitting so maybe it could be the stand, or tree. but how do you distinguish the difference?
