So after catching 2 guys red handed, in the act of stealing our deer stands last weekend, I am seriously considering a light weight climber to bring in and out with me. I have never used a climber, so give me the nitty gritty. Any bit of info you can think about their use. Are they easy to use? I have this fear of it letting go on me and going for a ride. How do you stay tied in to the tree while climbing? Any bit of info on their use is welcome! Pros, cons, sway or disuade me on buying one. Thanks.
There a pain in the butt but are so handy and so much more comfy. I have owned summit lone wolf ol man and tree lounge. I feel my summit is the most comfy for the best price just my thoughts
I haven't used one but from what I've seen, they are pretty cool. I don't think they work as well on trees with a lot of limbs but I could be wrong or there could be a trick to getting them up. Hang on's IMO are a bit more versatile and can be put in more trees than climbers. Youtube has some good videos on how to use both hang on and climber stands. Glad you caught the guys taking your stuff.
Just shy away from trees with slippery bark and you wont have a problem slipping at all. As for climbing, attach your harness before you leave the ground and then just slide it up as you go up; just don't go without using one the entire time you're going up, sitting and coming down. They can be loud if you're not used to climbing so take the time and climb up and down as much as you can to get a hang of it, especially for doing it in the dark. Trees with limbs can be cut as you go up as long as they aren't huge. They are comfortable as all get out so I love using mine but I only use it when I'm not on my own property. I've got a Summit Viper SD fyi.
I've owned several over the years and each have their advantages and disadvantages. For comfort you can't beat a Summit. For packability LW gets the nod. A couple of other things to consider are how easy it is to put together in the dark. I never liked messing with pins or other things that are difficult to deal with when you have cold fingers. Neither LW or Summit have this issue. I also like stands that fold flat for packing. Hope this helps. Blessings...........Pastorjim
they have their place. not ideal for all situations. I would suggest a packable hang on and sticks for the versatility over a climber. I have and use both though. like stated before slick bark trees and also shaggy bark like hickory and silver maples. the bark will snag your cable and can break away when trying to get a bite.....more importantly though, What did you do to those no good SOB's? I would have broken their legs.
they can be useful depends on what kind of trees you have. I sometimes find it easier to take a lock on with climbing sticks because it gives me more trees to choose from. a climber need a straight tree with no branches or very little ones. i wear my safety vest with a rope attached to the tree when i climb. most climbers today have some sort of attachetment so if the base slips it wont fall to the ground. they def take practice to use and get comfortable with but so will a hang on and climbing sticks. i sometimes use my hang on and sticks but take the last few sticks so nobody can get in it. i also understand that if someone really wants it they will take it so maybe a climber is a good option
Great info so far, keep it coming! I have always hunted from a hang on, so no lack of experience with those. The reason I am looking into a climber over a light weight hang on with sticks, is the main reason is I am a women. Not trying to be dramatic with this but I physically struggle to hang a hang on myself. I don't feel safe doing it, I struggle and it takes me a quite a bit of time, more time than I am willing to deal with in the dark, by my self. I am also looking at a climber because it is less to carry in (no sticks to carry with a lock on), I am looking for the lightest possible amount of weight I have to carry in. Is there any other brand, weight wise, that I should be looking into besides Lone Wolf?
Figured I would make a separate post about the guys stealing our gear so my questions and concerns in my previous post don't get skipped over or disregarded in one long post. For those wondering about what happened with the scum trying to steal our stands. My father, brother, and I all met up mid day for an evening hunt...I feel like I got lucky that day as many, many days, I am hunting that land by myself. Anyways, pull up to the parking area and we find 2 trucks there that we have never seen there before. Which is very out of the ordinary for this piece of state forest land. We get close to my brother's stand to find this guy, walking VERY fast from the direction of my deer stand, dressed in street clothes, mind you. My brother catches the guy just starting to climb up to his stand, with my deer stand laying at the base of his tree. While all this is happening, I was headed to my deer stand to see if it was still there or if some one else was working on stealing it. Get back to it and the SOB cut the tree down at my stand...it was locked to the tree, so this was the pukes only way of getting my stand. Head back to my brother to find out it is a local meth head we both know. Him and his other buddy went out to scout and found our stands and felt he needed to help himself. What makes this even more sickening to me, was they had to make the trip all the way back to their vehicles to get their tree climbing equipment and saws to get our stuff! To try and keep this long story kind of short, we recovered all our gear. I won't talk details on what may or may not happen to this piece of crap for trying to steal our stuff. A phone call was made to the sheriff and we will see what happens. Although, I am not satisfied as to what we were told, I won't publicly post it in case the puke by chance reads this as there is an ongoing investigation. For the suggestions about taking the last half of your sticks/steps with you, that what I do and have always done, along with cabling my stand to the tree. Those things do not stop a drug addict tree trimmer from throwing on his climbing equipment to steal your stuff.
Climbers have their place. The are great in areas with skinny straight trees with no limbs, like poplars. Check the trees were you plan on hunting. The problem I had is I couldn't find a straight tree with no limbs to get exactly where I wanted to hunt. I continue to see deer 50 yards away in trees that I could use climbing sticks and a hang on stand but not a climber.
Heck of a story. Sounds like you got there at the right time. There's no limit to what people will steal. Unfortunately stupid people keep me gainfully employed. As much as you'd like them in jail, it probably won't happen. Sometimes it's not just up to the cops, but the DA has to be willing to do something about it too. PM me if you are interested in more info.
I've used a summit viper for the past 10 years. I absolutely love it. I have fallen asleep in it several times, so comfy!! I hunt on public land, and it is loaded with straight trees, so I do not have issues finding straight trees. Look into the summit explorer closed front climber. It is a summit viper that packs flat. it weighs 23 pounds, but with a molle shoulder strap harness, it will put all the weight on your waist, not neck and shoulders. There are a few add-ons that a summit needs to make it perfect. (trust me on this) Molle II shoulder straps Thirdhand archery stabilizer straps Thirdhand archery bow holder (allows you to climb with the bow in the holder...amazing to say the least, no more tangled rope) Haz-more cargo net seat ( still amazingly comfy, and shaves at least 1 pound off the weight) just google search the name thirdhand archery and hazmore seats
I use a LW and it's heavier than carrying nothing to your stand but u can't beat the fact that Noone knows where u hunt.i mark trees w/ a tack when scouting. IMO they are as safe, just get familiar w/ it.
I just purchased the lightest climber I have ever heard of or seen. I absolutely love this climber. It is a little on the loud side, but it only weighs 11 pounds. X-stand x1. X-Stand Treestands | Worlds Lightest Treestand
I love my summit. I got the Goliath and it is super comfy. Just get you a HSS rope style tree strap and hook up. Slide the strap up as you go. The only downside is you can't go in any tree. Gotta be straight and limbless.
Get the molle waist and shoulder straps (on Ebay) and put them on the bottom of the stand. Tighten the waist up tight and the weight stays on the hips instead of the shoulders, so much easier to carry that way! I've been shopping stands too due to a bad back, and the Ol Man is right there with the Summits for comfort. Leaning toward the Ol Man Alumalite, just seems a bit more user friendly to me. If my back wasn't wrecked I would never give up my Loggy Bayou, but they are not as comfortable as Summit or Ol man PS Check out the Q Safe tree strap for climbing
I feel so safe in my summit viper. Way more safe than hang on. Can sit all day. Or sleep Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
I like mine it is not to bad to climb and is only 11lbs . It is x stand X1 . But get what you like. You do not have to worry about someone steeling it is why I went with a climber
I've been curious about these for long hauls. What exactly is loud about it? The cables? Setup? While sitting in it?
