Lone Wolf's are great I just can't justify the expense. I simply have to hang too many stands. As far as any stands squeaking or being less safe that mainly comes down to the owner taking care of his/her stuff. I have many affordable stands and have not had one fail and many of them have been hunted for many seasons. Not a knock on LW or LW fans just saying there are options out there that are safe, practical, and far more affordable for the average hunter.
If I'm hunting my property, I want my stand already set and ready to go. That way I can get off work and run to the stand and be setup and ready to go. No way I could do that with a portable setup. It would just take too long and I would make too much noise. My Lone Wolf is awesome, just not a practical choice for my everyday setup. When I travel or hunt public, that's when I pull out the Lone Wolf.
Any cheap stand I have ever used squeeked when the temps dropped well below freezing. That was always my only complaint about them other than being heavy making them difficult to carry and hang.
I've had some squeaks in the past and the only tip I can offer is to insert thin plastic washers between any fastener that connects frame sections together(some stands come with them now). I also put a blob of vaseline at those connections as well(all over the plastic washer and frame sections). That has helped me with any squeaks from the frame but some of the seat materials can be noisy too and I have replaced a couple with the rope looking sling style seats. I replace the ratchet straps when needed and occasionaly I'll replace fasteners and touch up paint, all in all it's relatively inexpensive though. fwiw
Check out Sportsman's Guide and their Guide Gear line. Not the lightest but some real good quality stands at low prices.
What about the mesh wire grid platform? that's the real killer. again, no offense, if it works for you by all means carry on!
Full mesh wire ones are crap agreed....I don't mind the mesh floor, as long as it has proper support framing along it's base. Even LW's new stand has similar mesh flooring from what I've heard and seen. I am like Sky, I have way too many stand locations to continuely carry in a stand and steps every single trip, especially when doing quick after work hunts and stealthly slipping in and up asap is crucial. I do know without a doubt in my mind LW makes top of the line stuff and honestly is the set up I will purchase if I ever hunt properties far away, public or on properties I don't trust leaving stands up.
None taken, I've never had a problem with the grids on my hang ons I do have a climber the welds started cracking where the frame and mesh were welded. That may have had something to do with the out of shape guy hunting it pushing the weight limit Just too many areas to hunt to have to hang the stand and hunt it every trip. The leases we hunt are close to 3,000 acres and then the family farm and some friends farms means we need to have a lot of spots ready to hunt. If money were no object I might think differently but probably not.
We've never really had a problem with metal grate stands either, some have been up and used for many years too. Some stands we have added nylon washers as some have mentioned but that's about it.
