I set mine up basically like Lady Forge. shoulder straps hooked over the teeth on the stand. Then I take the waist strap put it around part of the stand and clip it together. Holds it all nice..
One thing I have learned is that distributing load is worth its weight in gold when considering how to pack stuff in and out of the woods. I use a Badlands Monster fanny pack with the shoulder straps in conjunction with my LW Sit and Climb. The stand weighs 20lbs. My pack, loaded, with jacket lashed to it weighs a whopping 17lbs (trust me, it doesn't take much to weigh down a pack). I first tried the old standby of strapping the pack to the stand. It works, but is pretty damn heavy. Instead, I put the pack on first, then put the stand on over this. Its a bit awkward at first, because the pack kicks the bottom of the stand out about 10". However, once you get things adjusted so that it all rides nicely, the difference in percieved weight is enormous. The old weight felt like I was carrying 50lbs on my back, the new way, half of that. The big difference is that I am distributing the weight of the load across two sets of shoulder straps. The other bonus is that once I get to my tree, pull the stand off my back, set it up and up I go. The pack never comes off till I'm 20ft in the tree. Just less to mess around with in the dark.
Thanks for the info. Ill look into this set up for sure. It seems like it would work out nicely and its also cheaper than the Blacks creek one. It seems like you pack a lot in if its weighing in at 17 pounds. Sounds like there is plenty of room in the pack for the stuff i want to put in it.
The Badlands pack itself weighs 3lbs (built like a tank). I think my jacket weighs about 5lbs, not sure on that one. Add food, drink, binos, rangefinder, calls, light, etc., it can get to that weight pretty easily. However, the pack carries this weight very well. I am not sure if the pack would be able to carry your camera (depending on size) and arm. I usually take my camcorder or DSLR with me and it fits in the main compartment. I don't know what I'd do if I had an arm too however.
Its a pretty small camera. Its a canon vixia hf r30, I could pack the arm on the back of the stand with the straps i got from LW that pack the stand together tight. Im sure id be able to figure something out for it.
i have the monster fanny too, they are awesome...and i love the support cable that it utilizes. and i TOTALLY agree about weight distribution, it is really amazing how much difference this makes. i am not saying that a less expensive pack will not do the job, but the added padding and all the little differences that you get with a better pack, are ten times worth the money. and blacks creeks are good too, so is tenzig. there are a TON of good packs out there. i love badlands because they have an unlimited, no fault, TRANSFERABLE lifetime warranty. no matter what you should ever do to it, they will fix it...no questions asked...the only money out of your pocket is shipping both ways, which is like 24 bucks both ways...which is worth it to me. i love the back and shoulder padding, the way they are built to help you not sweat in your back...and just the design of the packs. i just got my monster for bowhunts close...then it spoiled me, so now i have a 2200, just got a white tail hybrid this pre season(AMAZING, I LOVE IT!!!), and now i am thinking of getting the OX frame pack...may never need it, but im sure if i buy it, i will use it!
Pshhhh I just took a look at those packs and thought I was reading the price wrong. Someone's gotta tell those guys to come back to earth with a reasonable price. $450 for a pack is just extreme!, for me at least. Nice product for sure but not nice enough to spend $450! Shoot it better hover me to my stand and set me all up for that price.
I have a Gander Mountain h20 pack and it is perfect for me for bowhunting. But for gun hunting when it is really cold and I have a lunch and snacks packed for sitting all day it gets pretty tight. I do like that it has a ton of buckles on it so you can strap a bunch of stuff to it like clothing. When I shoot a deer before I start gutting it out I get down to my tshirt and all my clothes are strapped to my bag so I wont get them full of blood and I am ready to drag the deer out (gun season advice, where a blaze orange sweatshirt or tshirt for walking in and out or dragging). I strap it to my treestand when carrying out my climber. It works really well. I have a couple extra bungee straps attached to my stand so I can get my pack nice and tight to the stand so it does not bounce around and make noise when I am walking in and out. This seems to work the best for me. I have tried having the stand over my pack and that was just too uncomfortable for me and I couldnt get used to it.
If money is truly not an issue, this one by sitka would be on my list. Tool box https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz7sZpWTe5A&feature=youtube_gdata_player sent from my samsung note 2
I did a quick google search and it showed a link for one on BH.com store for 229 but it says out of stock. Its the 1700 i think. Do you know the other size? I think that might be the pack to load my climber on and camera arm then have room for the other things.
OLY.... Ive always used a fanny pack but Im looking at switching to a small back pack. Most of the time I have a stand on my back so the fanny pack goes to the front. However I find that sometimes theres so much weight in that thing that I use my left hand to hold it up as I walk. Water, food, camera, camera arm, tree steps, trail camera etc. I know I could always get a fanny pack with the back pack straps but Im really leaning towards a back pack. Anyway I really like the looks of the tenzing 1200. Looks like it will hold everything I need and more. Water proof liner, straps to hold a jacket, hydration compatible, exstendable main compartment etc. Just looks like a cool bag. There are plenty other packs with those features but I keep coming back to it and Im probably going to pull the trigger. Im thinking ill just put the pack on my front and the stand on my back. Ill see how it works out I could always rig it to the stand. Ill let you know which pack I get. Look around and read reviews. Cabelas, bass pro, badlands, sitka, red head, timber hawk, there are so many out there make sure you look at them all. Figure out exactally what you might want to pack and go from there. Everyone has features they look for in a pack based on what they carry in. Good luck bro.
I was mistaken I believe. They have the tool box and the tool bucket. Pretty neat items. http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs...r-hunting-gear-sitka-tool-box-and-tool-bucket sent from my samsung note 2
I dont know about strapping the camera arm to the outside of your bag. Id feel much better knowing its zipped up inside.
Yeah i had that problem last season i put so much in my fanny pack i had to hold it up as well. So i will need something bigger this season. I think im between the badlands monster pack and the sitka tool box. I like that you can attach the stand to it and i think it will have enough space. Im pretty sure sitka gear is water proof too. I just wish there was more on it but right now there isnt. I have a little while before i really need it so i have plenty of time to search for reviews. Thanks good luck to you as well. Whenever i decided for sure ill post in here and let you guys know what i go with.