I am on a budget as many others are right now but, I wanted to become more mobile. In order for me to accomplish this, I knew I would either need a climbing stand or sticks and a hang on. After looking long and hard for a good six months I found one that I thought would fit the bill. Cheap was my main concern but, secondly I wanted a stand that that did not have a shooting rail. I have used several in the 2010 season. Both had rails and both could not be shot out of sitting down. I found what I was looking in the Comfort Zone Stealth Climbing stand. It was $99.99 at one of the big box stores and they had plenty of them in stock. Here are a list of the features: • Padded sliding seat • 27in. X 20in. steel slat foot platform • 17.5in. X 12in. sliding seat with 12in. X 19.5in. padded backrest • Padded camo climbing rails/armrest • Removable padded camo shooting rail • Non-glare black sand finish • Adjustable foot straps • Folds flat for easy storage • Weight limit 300lb • Carry weight 34lb I used this climber from the end of September until the end of December. I had 30+ sits in this stand which means I had 30+ pack in and pack out with it. Here are my findings: 27in. X 20in. Steel slat foot platform: The platform is plenty roomy and easy to move around on. What I didn’t like about the platform is that it was noisy. I haven’t done it yet but, I will before next season, is spray automotive undercoating on the bottom side of the slats. This should more than likely get rid of the ringing noise that comes with moving around on it. Now I will say this, when you are moving around slowly when a deer comes in range, it doesn’t make any noise. Its normal moving around that causes the noise. DSCF7114 by StickNStringArchery, on Flickr As you can see in the picture above, the original bungee for your heels has been replaced by a red one. This is due to the bungee breaking on the second use. My brother bought one about a month before seasons end and his bungee never broke. I may have just ended up with a bad one. The foot straps worked just as good as any I have used. They tightened fine and once adjusted on the first use, I never touched them again. I have no complaints at all with the straps. It was one of my more favorite pieces of the stand. DSCF7100 by StickNStringArchery, on Flickr Padded seat: Ah yes, probably my favorite thing about this stand. It is the most versatile seat I believe is on a tree stand. One strap and one buckle holds this seat on and that makes it easy to install and remove. I had one or two instances where I left the stand on the tree and simply unbuckled the strap and took it with me. One of those times it rained between uses and my butt was dry the next time I went out to hunt it. This also made it where I could put the cushion on the top rail without the shooting rail and there was absolutely nothing in my way. It was almost like hunting out of a lock-on. When I am able to afford a more expensive climbing stand, this seat is going with it. The seat also features a heat pack pocket. DSCF7110 by StickNStringArchery, on Flickr DSCF7111 by StickNStringArchery, on Flickr Padded camo climbing rail armrest: Um, I am still trying to figure out why this is even listed on the outside of the box. All these are is super thin pads that have 5 pieces of Velcro on them. They wrap around the top rail of the top half of the stand. This is the rail where the cables go and the pins also go. I threw mine in the trash due to they were loud, ineffective as padding and in the way. DSCF7097 by StickNStringArchery, on Flickr Removable padded shooting rail: Best feature I have used, well, not used on a stand so far. The only time it has been installed is when I took the pictures for this review. I can’t tell you how it performed with it but, I can tell you I loved not having it. I highly doubt I will ever use it. If you need one, let me know and I will ship it to you free of charge. Non-glare black sand finish: I liked the finish but, would have preferred a green or grey color. Nothing impressive but, it was finished well and held up all season. It has some scratches but, nothing bad. All in all I was happy with the finish. DSCF7103 by StickNStringArchery, on Flickr Folds flat: I’m still trying to figure out how the two pieces lock together. I have it pictured the best I can figure out but, unless you are transporting it in your car or storing it, there is no need to fold it flat. In fact I wouldn’t use this feature for packing in and out due to how loud it is to set it back up. Plain and simple this feature is useless when packing in and out. They could save a few bucks on manufacturing and sale it for $90.00 instead of $100.00 with this feature. 34lb carry weight: Yes it is 10lbs heavier than most, higher end and in some cases almost 15lb heavier. Can you tell it, yes. I will say this though, it is pretty well balanced and once you do something about padding on straps, it’s not that bad. The farthest I have carried it was about 1-1/2 mile constant. This was up and down hills and big ones on top of that. I stopped once for water and to take a breather and wished I had stopped a couple more times. I would suggest starting with shorter walks with it and build up. I did lose some weight carrying this bad boy around. It wasn’t bad but, I wouldn’t mind it losing 10lb if possible. The set up: Like many other stands out there this less expensive stand does have pins and looped cables. Do I like them, well, not really but, I am use to them and do not mind them. Can they be noisy? Yep, sure can. Can they be quiet yet again, yes. Take your time with them and pay attention to what you are doing and you can be just as quiet as you can with other more expensive stands, it just takes a few seconds longer to set up. If worried about losing pins, tie a piece of small string to them. Heck maybe even paint them orange. They are pins and that is that. DSCF7113 by StickNStringArchery, on Flickr The climb: This stand is capable of climbing as fast and as quiet as any other stand out there if you take the time and get to know it. The teeth bite hard and solid. They do not slip and I always felt comfortable that they weren’t going to come loose on me. The foot straps with the bungee worked great. I have no complaints with my bungee replacement and actually before the factory bungee broke, it did an excellent job. I climbed small trees as small as 8” and as big as 26” wide and it did it with ease. Up and down, this stand does a great job of getting you where you want to be. The sit: I have sat in this stand for as little as three hours and as long as nine hours. It was comfortable the whole time. That being said, I am a stander/sitter. I will stand at least half the time I am in the stand so I don’t get too comfy and fall asleep. I did however take a little cat nap in this stand. Not meaning too of course but, I did. I don’t have a complaint about the stand as far as comfort goes. The summary: I got what I was looking for and expecting in this stand. It does its job as it should for the price you get it for. It is on the heavy side but, is not awkward to carry though and is well balance once on the back. I think with a little time and a few dollars extra a hunter can make this stand as quiet as any stand out there. The removable shooting rail is a superb feature for a budget climber. The seat is excellent as far as comfort goes. If you can’t afford or just plain do not want to fork out the money for a $200.00+ climbing stand and don’t mind the weight, this is the stand you want to buy. If you are looking for light, quiet and fast set up straight out of the box, buy something else. Plain and simple this stand gets the job done. It’s not fancy or flashy nor is it a show piece but, it will get you mobile and up a tree. To me it’s worth every penny of the $100.00 price tag.
I got it at D*ck's Sporting goods. I went on their website and for some reason, I can never find any of the Comfort Zone's products on there. It may be instore only though.
Looks like a fairly well built stand for the money. I bought an aluminum stand from them years ago that is alot like that one. It only weighed about 20 pounds.
Honestly, for the money, I couldn't be happier with it. The only thing I would change really woulb be the weight but, It is steel.
Good review! A little heavy for me but I do have a Summit Open Shot which only weighs 14 pounds so I guess I am a little spoiled. Couldnt pass up the deal I got on it. $75 from a guy I work with. Glad you are happy with it!
Ive bought this stand as my first stand. I like everything about it except for the weight. or maybe if I had better shoulder straps it would make it more comfortable to carry because the ones it came with. Im debating on selling it and getting a summitt climber before next season not sure though. Other than that its a great stand
It made a big difference once I wrapped the Shooting rail pad off of my old double ladder stand around the straps. Not sure if I will have this set up next year or not. For the money, It can't be beat.
A buddy of mine said itd be good to just take and leave if you knew it was safe too that way you wouldnt have to haul it in or out the woods. But Im still deciding on what I want to do.
Funny enough, I bought one today and looked it up on here after the fact. Glad to hear that you enjoyed it and it served you well. I was thinking of putting 4 bolts in to secure the front rest since it was incredibly noisy but seeing as you got by without one I might hold off and give it a try. I have owned a summit before and it had it permanently on. Was always comfortable being able to sit on it while climbing and felt secure. May take some getting used to it without it on for me.
I had two and sold one of these. The other stays in the woods and if I decide to move, I just go get it and move it. After carrying it in and out for a season and experimenting with ladder sticks and lock on, I went that rout for portability. Next on my list is lighter sticks. I'm tired of hauling heavy stuff in and out. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
