As far as comfort goes you cant even compare LW to the millennium. I love LW but I would never want to sit more that 4-5 hours in one. Even with the comfort seat. Get the millennium and get a few brackets. Leave The bracket and steps in the tree and remove the stand when your done with the hunt. Putting up sticks every time you hunt will get old fast. If you had the Millennium and LW side by side in a tree and you sat in them both you would be crazy not to say the millennium is more comfy. Lounge chair-or-Hang on. That pretty much sums it up. One has a seat with the same dimensions as any other hang on the other has a seat thats like a beach chair. Would you rather sit on a small seat or a beach chair? Lw has a sweet platform and its rock solid. Its a quality stand that will last a lifetime. But its not comfy to sit for long periods. Especially with the stock seat.
Looking for some more Millenium user feedback. M100 users - Below or some of the things I have heard about the M100. Trying to get a better handle on if the statmenets are true or false. Please comment on the following statements: The seat is very comfortable but difficult to get to a standing position. The seat height isn't high enough. The seat in a folded position is to tall and wide hence preventing you from making shots that you could make with a more traditonal stand / seat. The platform has to much taper in the back and there isn't a lot of room to set your feet correctly without a concern of missing the platform with your back foot. A near perfect tree is needed because there isn't a platform or seat level adjustment. The treestand isn't secure enough with the Camlock alone, must place a ratchet strap at the bottom of the stand to make it solid. I wish the made the M-50 in aluminum as it does address a few of these issues.
I'm pretty sure it's the hunter if I remember right. It's the aluminum one with the larger platform and foot rest. It's very comfortable and plenty light to pack in. Quite honestly I'm well out of shape and I've been packing it in near a half mile and the terrain isn't the best. I actually take it shed hunting so that I get used to packing it around.
I'll try to answere them for you. I'm on my phone and its kind of a pain with reading the post while I write, but ill do my best to not miss any. I never had an issue getting in the standing position. Nor did my hunting partner. I am 5'9'' and he's 6'. I guess if you are pretty tall though it can be a bit harder then some stands. I like that the seat sits low...makes me feel a lot safer and more comfortable. But, i am sure for some the seat is low as it is lower then most stands people are used to. The seat folded up is wide for sure...if I had anything against the stand it is that. But, I doubt it will cost you much, especially if set up correct. I can see it being in the way though. Yes it tapers off towards the tree...an area people don't stand. It's a trade off to keep the stand a good weight and still stick out far enough for good footroom Def no level on this stand...that has never cost me any issues though because I won't climb a tree not straight...not a safe thing to do. Any lastly, I think it is more then secure with just the camlock myself. People put an extra strap on every stand out there...but I haven't on mine. Again, I'm afraid of heights, if it wasn't secure I wouldn't be in it. Has never moved on me, and when i first got mine I tried to get it to move when I set it up a foot off the ground, because I wasn't going 20' up if it moved.
I spent the better part of 5 days, 10 plus hours all day sits in Millennium stands on an outfitted hunt...but they were the M25 or M50...They had some good and bad features. The seat on the stands were super comfortable, except that it came out a little too far onto the platform and my feet were away near the outside edge. If the platform was a little bigger or if it had a foot rest it would have been perfect. The stands were quite and very stable. One other thing I liked was that when standing I put the seat up and siting/lean on the edge of the seat...like sitting in semi standing position leaning my *** against the edge of the seat. Call me crazy but that was comfortable. Looking at their website the M25 list for 99, and the m50 list 149...from what I can tell the only different is the m50 uses the separate receivers... If i ever see the m25 below 99 buck...I would consider buying a couple, and set them up an leave then out for the season. All in all they were decent stands.
Cmonsta that is spot on. Yes the seat is wide and the it will prevent you from taking a shot behind you very close to the tree. You can still shoot to your left and right behind you just not very close to the tree.That being said its well worth the comfort. Very rarely do I need to make that shot. As far as the height If you are very tall you might think its too low. I think its more comforatable that way though. The taper doesnt matter. My LW platform is wider at the base of the tree and I have never used that space. As far as the leveling thing goes I have never needed that feature. Its nice to have but ive never had that on any of my stands and ive never suffered. The cam lock alone is enough but I use a strap on the bottom. I do that on all my stands anyway. Its not needed but I just feel better with it. After I slide it into the receiver while its still in the up position I tighten a strap along the bottom. Then I pull the platform down and it really bites into the tree. I just use a strap not a wratchet strap. Over the years Ive focused more on my comfort and this stand has made a world of difference. Oh yea... It is possible to shoot over the seat to get that shot directly behind you but you will have to posioion your bow with the cam over the seat. If your tall its no problem. If you short this might not work. IMO it will take too much movement to get that shot but it is doable. To be honest thats probably the biggest gripe I have with it.
Hope those pictures help. One other thing is the straight lines of the platform. Not crazy about straight lines but Im just very picky its really not a big deal. Id also like the seat material to have a pattern to help break it up. Ill probably do that over the summer as well. When walking back in for the afternoon it blended in very good so its probably not that serious but again thats just me being picky. Also for the the size of this stand its super light weighing in at 14 lbs. In the end there is no perfect stand. They all have there good and not so good aspects. Almost forgot about the straps that help hold the seat in the down position. I though I would hate that but its actually very comforatable to rest your arms on.
Yes great point i forgot. Those straps look in the way but are one of my favorite parts. Arm rests but not metal so you dont have to worry about anything hitting them and making noise. And they help me feel safe...like the stand is holding me there so I can't fall out. Sounds dumb I know, but means the world to my fear of heights.
Great discussion guys. Thanks again for the info! I think I am going to buy a M100 & a M50. That and 6 to 8 extra Camloks to get started. Best place to buy? Rather buy from a smaller outfit that may give me a discount the more I buy.
Ya all very helpful info guys, thanks a lot!!! Cheaper place to buy would really help lol. But all and all I'm pretty sold on it.
Best place is call them up...they are the only ones who sell the ratchet camlock that I've seen. And their customer service rocks. More then likely free shipping also. Cheapest I've seen is if you are a member to Sportsmans guide. I was so that's where I got mine from. Think its $215 if you're a member there.
If comfort is a major issue for you, Lone Wolf is NOT the right choice. Its the only thing they lack and lack severely. If they'd fix that, they'd have the perfect stands.
Yeah I really think the same thing. But man, if they add comfort to their stands, i would hate to see the price tag!
Just circling back on this. We ended up purchasing 2 M100s and 6 extra receiver blocks (ratchet). I have a good week sitting in the stand. Below are my initial impressions. I was initially uneasy entering the stand. A single strap along with the extra distance off the tree made me uneasy. I will say that the platform is rock solid once you actually get weight on it. The seat is by far the best for comfort. I almost feel like I am sitting in a climber. At the same time I do have some issues with it. It is low off the platform. They have given you more comfort and leg height by angling the seat more to a semi-reclined position. This makes it somewhat difficult to get to a standing position. Trees are far from straight here in Kansas so I always choose trees that lean back rather than forward. This makes it even more difficult to get to a standing position. You need a near perfect tree, the good part about it is the receiver blocks allow you to prep your tree stand locations well in advance. At the same time the manufacturer states not to leave the rachet receiver block on the tree any length of time. I understand CYA but that goes completely against the purpose of the system in the first place. I do feel more secure using the chain receiver block, especially if you going to leave it up a full season. You certainly won't have to worry about a critter chewy through the chain like you would with the strap. At the same time it is definitively more cumbersome to remove the stand from the chain receiver then the ratchet receiver block. When you lift on the stand the receiver has a tendency to move with the tree stand. I would suggest the manufacturer make the receivers in a way that the straps could be easily replaced and or swapped out for a chain. I miss the platform and seat leveling adjustment! I do understand they have it on the M50 that has both the seat and platform leveling feature but didn't want to carry that extra weight around being that stand is steel rather than aluminum. I would still rather use a Lonewolf or Muddy for run and gun. I also understand Muddy may introduce a similar type product this coming year. I will be very interested to see what they offer. I may have to do a quick sale on the Millenniums!
I have the LW wide seat and it is comfy too comfy find myself snoring in it... Its reslly light and I have alot of space and I am about 250lb so the wide seat rocks..
This^....my lone wolf hang on will go in just about any tree I want it to and be level no matter if the tree is straight up and down or not! Sure I paid $250+ for it but that was about 8+ years ago, its a no brainer in my book! Best part, it goes up in minutes!
Yeah I can see the low seat thing being an issue. I prefer it personally...it was a selling point to me. I sit low in everything. Car seat, computer seat, anything. And I'm afraid of heights, so the sitting low feels more natural and calms me down a good bit while I'm up there. I'm 5'9'', and pretty chubby. Standing isn't the easiest but the comfort and safe feeling is more important to me. And as for straight trees, again with my fear of heights I normally need a straight tree anyway. I posted a thread in Nov about being scared while I was in stand, and that was hardly off level, but off enough I haven't been back to it since. I do worry bout the straps being chewed, and it makes no sense why they say to not leave it out (pretty sure to cover their butts...I was gonna write them about that) but the chain ones are so hard to set up and get tight, and like you said they are hard to get the stand out of. So I stayed with the strap. Def not the perfect stand, but I doubt there ever will be a perfect one. If LW could make a comfortable one it would be great, but with the way their price tag is currently Idk if it would be ne worth trading in the millennium.
Well i went out and bought one set it up a hunted it a few times befor the season ended and the only down fall i could find was when having the seat down there is not much platform to stand on but is not a big deal due to u can put the seat up no problem and if you have something quick happen you still have room just kinda makes me uncomfortable being on the edge. deffinitly will add the foot rest on mine just for the added comfort but so far i like it alot
