Ok, I want to buy a hang on stand to pack in and out of public land for my every day hunts when I am by myself. I think I have narrowed it down to the 2 stands listed above, the Muddy Hunter or the Lone Wolf Alpha II. From a price standpoint there's about $60 difference. Is there anything that really separates these 2 stands overall? It looks like the Muddy might be more comfortable and the Lone Wolf might be a little lighter. I am unsure which would be safer and easier to put up in a tree and take down every hunt? Any input would be appreciated.
Go to lone wolf an watch the videos on their stands. That for the most part changed my mind. The ease of packing it into where you are going. But, I have not bought one yet either. Plan on doing it in the next month an half or so.
I often wish I could smash the two together. Their are benefits to both. You can't go wrong with either. For comfort I believe the Muddy is better out of the box. I am going to buy the Hunt Comfort seat for the Lonewolf this year. Sacrafice a bit of weight for comfort. You will want to upgrade the straps on the Lonewolf. The Muddy doesn't come with any. I would suggest The Claw Treestand Back pack straps.
LW alpha all the way and as mentioned just buy the comfort seat. For me, weighing in at 6'2"-215lbs the muddy seat felt good for about 6sec till the seat compressed down to nothing and the foot rest felt like if I put any real weight on it it would snap off. Bought the foot rest for the LW as well and they also don't feel right so I wouldn't buy those. IMO. I think LW really needs a footrest that extends out more from the platform. LW stands are top quality in my opinion but they need to keep on evolving and taking some ideas from other brands. Ie. muddy straps and Leverage sticks. Also. Buy or make a safty line for your stand. Works easy and you never have to worry about taking a fall.
Ok, I went to the East Peoria Bass Pro shop today and I really like the fact that they have alot of sticks and stands attached to the tree's already in the store, made it easier for me to make my decision. They did not have a Muddy Hunter Pro hanging but they did have a Muddy Hunter hanging for $209. The Hunter actually has a larger platform than the Pro. Bass Pro does not carry Lone Wolf stands so I went over to Presley's Outdoors and ended up getting the Alpha II hang on. I have it home and I am getting ready to take it out and hang it on a tree in my back yard to get a feel for it. Will keep you posted, thanks for the replies.
Ok, I just realized that the 2 trees in my back yard are way to thick to fit a tree stand on, will have to a park in town and find a good tree to set it up on. One thing I noticed, when you pack this up, is there a secret to not having so much of the straps dangling everywhere along with the buckles flopping around?
Lefty, here's what I do. Take the loose end of the strap and grab it about 3" from the buckle. Fold it back on it self at a 90* angle so you can wrap it around the stick. When you get to the end, tuck the end between the strap and the stick. Here's what I mean... There you go, no danglies. This is how I go into the woods every time. I do the same packing up from my tree, unless I'm trying to get out quick.
Cannot go wrong with either, I really like the Muddy price wise. I know some of the guys at Muddy and they are class acts. Not saying the people at LW are not, I just do not know anyone there.
Honestly I think a climber would be best in your situation, especially on public land. Having to go in every time and set up climbing stick's and then hall up the stand is going to make a lot of unnecessary noise.
Ok, so I went up to a park in town with some nice trees and set it up a few feet off the ground and sat in it for a little while. It attached to the tree pretty easily and the seat didn't seem as uncomfortable as some have said. I think my game plan will be to take my stand, sticks, bow and pack to my tree, attach my sticks first while leaving everything else at ground level. 4 sticks should go up pretty quick. Then either climb down and get my stand or just pull it up with a rope and attach the stand. Then rinse and repeat with my bow and backpack, either climb back down and get them or pull them up with a rope also after I get my stand attached. Im thinking 10 minutes to put up the 4 sticks, 5 minutes for the stand and then a minute or two to either climb down and get my bow/pack or pull them up. Even as a novice I don't see it taking much more than 20 minutes to get in and out of the stand. I might even decide to get the EZ hook and leave that on the tree and take my stand and sticks with me, won't save much time but might save a little.
