Well now that I have almost a full season under my belt with this stand I figured I would right up a review. I am sure we have all seen this stand in Wal-Mart and wondered if its worth the $129 price tag. Basically I'm just going to hit on weight, ease of hanging, dimensions, and a few little personal preference extras. Here is a link so you what I am talking about. Ameristep Bone Collector Aluminum Hang On Weight- The box says 10lb carry weight. I would bet this is a pipe dream for this stand. Maybe with no straps or cushion it could break under 11lb. Mine after I put it together with the tree strap, backpack straps and cushion on it was at 12.5lb. I did ad a Big Game bow holder which put it at 13.2lb. While it is heavier than advertised I was just looking to be under 14lb which I did with this stand. Just for reference I carry this stand with 4 lone wolf sticks and it come in at 22.2lb. Hanging-Hangs pretty easy. The tree strap is a beefy 2" strap with a slip buckle like the ones that are on most safety belts. It has double J hooks on either end that have metal clips to keep them from falling off the stand. They can be a pain with gloves on but for the most part if your careful they are quiet and pretty easy to deal with. Not as nice as the LW loop system though. To mount you put the strap around the tree and hook the stand to it in the folded position. Pull the strap tight then pull down the platform. This pulls the stand down and away from the tree further tightening the strap. I did add another strap to the bottom just to help hold the platform against the tree. Its just a 1" strap with the slip buckle. This doubles to hold the LW sticks to the stand for carrying. It is solid with this system and I have no worries about it falling for swinging with me. Sound-This stand I am sure isn't the quietist in the world. No matter how I have mounted it always seems have at least 1 pop in there somewhere that comes out without warning. Not sure what is causing this. Have mounted different ways even with double ratchet straps, checked bolt tightness and it still will give a pop without warning. Usually when standing and moving around. My friend that uses one has not experienced this though. There does not feel like there is a slip or anything just a pop. Also the square tube construction gives the familiar ting when anything hits it. Dimensions-The box says the dimensions are 20"x29". I'll give them the 20". Usable platform is 26" long. If you measure all the way to the furthest point that goes against the tree you get 29" so that is a little mis-leading. The seat is huge. 16"x13". It flips up silently out of the way and is actually very comfortable. I can sit in this stand for 5 hour sits easily and not have my butt or legs go to sleep. Really is a pleasure to sit in. I am 6'6" with groin and back problems so finding stands that I actually like to sit in is kind of tough. Most after an hour my lower back and groin are killing me and my butt and upper part of my right leg is asleep so for me to be able to sit that long without issue is definitely saying something. Other- Don't really like the design of the platform. The way its designed you have very large gaps. Its hard to sit any kind of gear on it without it falling through and people with little feet probably would have a hard time with the gaps the way they are. One upside to this though is that it carries nicely. Much better than a Muddy or other tube frame with expanded metal on top. It sits more flat on your back instead of having that middle tube just kind of sticking out there in your back. The back pack straps are nothing to write home about. They do their job though. Also, LW sticks nest pretty nicely with this stand. I was surprised how nice they laid. Maybe a little tall but all in all I'll take it. Overall if you can get it on clearance I would pick it. I got this on clearance for $50 last year. With the pop I call it on par for what you get for $50. If I could get rid of that pop I call $50 a steal. Given the tube construction with the smaller than advertised platform and heavier than advertised weight I would say a fair price would be more in the $80-$90 range instead of $129. Probably left something. Bluetooth with my computer isn't cooperating right now so I'll post some pics of my set up with this stand up later.
I hung one this offseason and moved it again a couple weeks ago haven't even hunted out of it yet. Thanks for the review !
Nice review. But I still don't think I could buy something with "bone collector" on it. Well, I guess it depends on how cheap
Just letting everyone know I was at Wal-mart today and they had it marked down to $50. So if you want one get on the ball an pick one up. If your in or near Topeka KS the Wanamaker Wal-mart had 9 left when I was in there this morning.
Just an update on my review . I figured out the cause of the popping. I was adding a second strap down by the foot rest to go around the tree. For the heck of it I took that off and the popping stopped. It was designed for just the single strap anyway I just always doubled it up. Sorry for resurrecting the old review I just like to keep mine updated when things change or I figure something out.
