Well tried out the stand again and it did go up quicker. Still sweat my butt of getting it up. Few more times I think I'll get it down. Have yet to use it in a tree with many limbs. Only been using it in trees a climber could work.
one suggestion - set the stand up at eye level from the ground several times until you get smooth with the stand part. Then start doing the sticks. It will come together eventually.
practice. like dnoodle said get good at setting the stand, thats the trickiest part at first. try putting up one stick and then the stand so you can feel what its like hanging from the tree. i too had a climber and got rid of it for the alpha and sticks. i now feel like I'm pretty efficient with it and can be up a tree smoothly in 10-15 minutes and very quiet.
When I first started using mine, I thought the sticks had to be so tight to the tree that you couldn't move them at all. This took me a lot of extra time trying to synch them down. I got over that and now I get them on the versa button, give them a good tug and I'm on to the next one. Saves me a lot of time. If you can carry your sticks up the tree with you as you go doing this, your speed will definitely increase.
used mine for first time last week.i had a hard time with fatter trees.find some thinner trees and practice.on a thinner tree had my 3 sticks and stand up in 15 min.was about 10 to 12 ft up witch I like.not to into hieghts.
I'm gonna keep messing with it. Thinking about buying the hand climber too. Little bit of a setback practicing though, poison ivy all over my arms and neck...
I have both climber and Lone wolf sticks...all Im going to say is once I figured out the tricks and got practice with my sticks I havent touched my climber since.
With practice you'll love it. The advantage to a hang on vs a climber.... you can put the hang on in any tree opposed to having to hunt for straight trees with the climber.
this guy is pretty efficient at it. i adopted the way he holds his sticks while climbing. saves a ton of time carrying the sticks up with you. How to Hang a Tree Stand in 5 Minutes! - YouTube
I just built a lineman's belt last week and love it. Got the idea from this.... tbwpodcast.com...check out video # 28. I ordered the ascender from backcountry.com and the rope and caribiners from REI. It's super light and will last my lifetime.
