I purchased an Ol man drone as my first climbing treestand. Im new to bowhunting and am afraid of heights so safety was the main factor, with comfort and portablity following. I bought it online from bass pro. The price was $399 their most expensive stand. The end total was $501 after shipping, taxes and duty fees. Not cheap so I expected alot. Initially I was very pleased, the hex drive technology is wonderful being able to retract and extend the cable is very good. The stand is VERY comfortable with the footrest and the mesh seat, basically a recliner in the sky. After my first hike with it I knew something was wrong, it was VERY heavy and Im a strong guy. I got home and weighed the stand. It's advertised as weighing 22lb which is basically avergage weight. The stand is in fact 29lb which is heavy by any standards. Ol man has another stand that weighs 29lb the mutli vison made of steel which retails for $199. I tried to contact ol man however their 1 888 number is no longer in service and they would not return my emails regarding the matter. Needless to say Im not impressed in paying $300 in difference for the "hex drive" Bass pro has been excellent and they have paid my return shipping and are sending me an alumalite CTS. I like the design and comfort of the ol man design. However the Drone IS NOT as they woudl have you believe and their customer service is literally non existant. Please take heed, and by all means if you dont mind paying $500 for a 30lb stand then the Drone is the obvious choice.
I have the aluminum multivision wide. Got it shipped for $199 last year and am very pleased with it. Its a great stand IMO.
Yes I have ordered the alumalite CTS. The design is awsome and comfort for all days sits is important to me. Its just the Drone is not as advertised and Im very dissapointed.
I've never actually weighed it but its definitely not 30. Its actually very easy to pack and walk in with. If I were to guess I would say yeah about 20-22lbs.
I bought a drone in 2016 specifically for the adjust ability. I knew going in it was going to be heavy as my brother had one that I had borrowed. This was the second season using it and only about the 4th time as I prefer to hunt out of a hang on stand when possible. (Most of my tree stand hunting is done on private land.) As I was climbing the tree for my first bow hunt this year the Hex Key turnbuckle bolt sheared and failed. This could have been very bad had I been more than 3 ft up off the ground. please check out your hex key bolts to see if there is any indication of a potential failure in your stand. I have not seen any product recall of warnings out there.
Update to Drone Failure: I got in touch with the manufacturer through their website. (Millennium has bought out Ol' Man). The response was positive. They were willing to trade me stands. Through the generosity of Roger's Sporting Goods in MO (where I purchased the stand) they put me in touch directly with Millennium. I talked to a very helpful customer service rep who took my information and mailed me a replacement hex key assembly with no questions or cost to me. I just received it in the mail and have not made the repair yet.
