Their is no quick way with my fat arse! But I love using the lone wolf stand with climbing sticks.. Also the Lone Wolf sit n climb is very light and works well.
Lock your stand and take your bottom stick or two with you when you leave.....if you plan on hunting the same spot anyway.
If being quite and easy are your most important features.....**** can the stand idea and hunt from the ground, if you're open to such.
yes i have considered ground hunting, or even building some sort of natural base that gets me a little higher off the ground, and conceals me. but it is a lot tougher ground hunting, a lot bigger chance that the deer will see me on draw back.
For those guys that use climbing sticks and a lock-on stand. What is the degree of difficulty in putting up that set-up in the complete darkness and how long does it take you to do so?
Brett, i've never really timed myself but I know it doesn't take long at all, especially using the EZ hang hook system with the lone wolf hang-ons. If I were too guess easily under 10 minutes...
I've been using this stand for 7 years and love it...I've also killed 7 P&Y public land bucks out of it. Form on my back, to 20 feet high ready to hunt takes me less than 2 minutes.
man this thread has really taken off. Thanks for all the replies guys, you have helped a lot in narrowing down my decisions, and im sure there will be many other people viewing this to help them decide what to use.
I was thinking once you climb as high as you want to be you hange it right below your belt/strap, hook your safety harness onto the tree and step onto the stand after hanging it. Then take off the spikes. You would be attached to the tree the whole time. Other than a little damage to the tree it seems like a good idea. Much lighter than a hang on and ladder or steps and maybe even lighter than a climber. When I can afford a set I may just try it just to see. If nothing else I could use them to screw my steps into the tree and hange stands.
Though Lone Wolf is often expensive, it is by far the most superior equipment I've seen or used thus far. I purchased a set of River's Edge climbing sticks because I was on a budget and don't feel comfortable using them for another season. Not only were they noisy, they were hard to pack-in and never made me feel secure while using them. I've got the mindset now where it's more advantageous for me spend a little more liberally for equipment that I depend on and hope to use for more than a season or two. I don't know if I find the stand weight to be all that big of a deal. Sure, I might have to carry in 30 pounds or more of equipment, but I'll have to drag a lot more weight back out if I'm lucky.
I know he's not joking, because I have a Summit Cobra, and I personally guarantee that I can throw it off my back, get it strapped and be at 20' within 2 minutes. No joke, it's the fastest-setting stand I've ever used. I'm not a Lone Wolf Climber guy, and here's why: First off, they cost an arm and a leg. Secondly, the one I tried out was called a "Sit & Climb" and it had a "pack flat" design, whereby the trusses were locked into place by spring-loaded pins. Maybe it was because I was unfamiliar with the stand, or perhaps it was because the stand was brand new, but I had a devil of a time with those pins. They kept binding up, and at 14 degrees F, that's not something that I enjoyed fighting with. I'd have much rather the stand not have packed flat, and saved me the aggravation of battling with those pins. I spent over 10 minutes on the ground with freezing fingers, monkeying around with those god-forsaken pins. I cussed Lone Wolf the whole way up the tree, then I cussed them again when it was time to pack the thing up. Secondly, it was heavy. Heavier than my Summit by a fair margin. Definitely noticeable. I was not impressed. On the plus side, it really bites the bark, and it's reasonably comfortable. Now maybe I'm nuts, but I've almost bought this stand 2x now. It's a twelve-pounder, and looks like a simple, no-nonsense design. Yes, 12 pounds. Timbertall Baby Lite. http://www.treestand.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=TTBBL It's definitely more expensive than I'd like it to be, which is why I never pulled the trigger on one. But at 12#, it's tempting.
Damn 12lbs...but only a 250lb wt limit and 38 inch waist limit, ain't my game. I've got an Ol Man, I don't mind taking to spots where I know I have a tree and I will be getting a LW to play with this year.
Back in the day I used a rope, saddle, spikes and a 6# hang on aluminum tree stand but that was private ground.
I've used a bunch of treestands in the past. I started using lone wolf 4 years ago and haven't regretted it a bit. Besides the money issue with them, their well worth it. Not only are they light, portable and quiet. My favorite liking too lone wolf hang-ons and sticks is that I have gotten in some pretty wicked trees with multi-trunk trees too cover me up well. The sticks are so versatile, they don't have too go straight up. You can stagger them and place them on different vertical trunks going up!
