What is the stigma with people willing to spend $1000+ on bow setups to use for a year, $500-600 on carbon goretex camo again for a year or two of use.... But cheap out on their treestand quality and treestand customization, especially when this is a piece of gear we tend to keep for a while? I bet if you divided the years of use by the cost of different pieces of your gear our treestands are one of the best returns on our money spent. This post stems from Diamond Dons responses to a blog of mine. So, if you don't like it.... Blame him.
I have spent my share on both Scott, and I will say, my treestands/climbing sticks are much more expensive than my clothes and bows. Why someone uses cheap gear at 20ft up is beyond me. Bobby
Easily, specially when I'm not paying an arm and a leg for a tree stand. I've made my own for years but I may Invest In a Muddy lock on this summer. Either way you still can't beat the Investment with tree stands.
I think cheap and inexpensive are used too often in place of each other. There are PLENTY of treestands that will keep you just as safe as one double the cost up the tree, but often times the number of benjamins forked over is proportional to the snuggly warm, safe feeling they get up the tree. I have set in a $300 treestand, and I have set in a $40 treestand, both met the same standards and were equally safe.... Comfort wise? (which may be the original point), it seems money buys it to an extent. I have never sat in a $50 treestand and admired the comfort.
I'm usually a cheap SOB, but I've never went cheap on a treestand(obviously within what I could afford back in the day), but I'll shell out money over a treestand before a lot of other items.
i can be just as happy sitting in a 60 dollar stand than sitting in a 300 dollar stand. either way the stand gets me up on the tree and something to sit on. i dont need to be 100% comfortable in my stand i just need it to get me in the tree. And yes a LW would have its benifits over just the plain old hang on stands. which is why i and alot of people want one. i think you would be much better putting your money in on a tree stand than maybe someother equipment. you can use your stand for not only for bow hunting. but with lets say a $900 dollar bow it has its limits.
I find it hard to believe that guys spend this much money on a bow that they only shoot a couple months out of the year, I don't get it.
You really see a lot of that over on AT. I swear guys buy bows over there like women do shoes. Scott, I do agree to an extent. Like TEmbry said, "cheap" and "inexpensive" can often be two different things. I have two climbers that aren't certainly LW material, but they've lasted for 10 seasons, and they're simple, lightweight, and very safe. I don't think we paid over $100 for each one. However, I'm certainly more willing to spend money on a quality stand AND a quality safety harness of all my equipment. Spending and extra $300 on a bow isn't going to help save my life. Spending the extra money on safety equipment will.
Well......I spent $230 on my Summit climber, and I certainly didn't consider that skimping. And......I can sit, quite comfortably mind you, in it from before sun up to after sun down. It does absolutely everythiing I want it to, and then some. I've shot......I don't know how many deer out of it, and plan on shooting an awful lot more. Is it heavier than the L/W? Yeah, but it's light enough for what I do with it. I don't consider 20#'s all that heavy.....and I didn't have to make a single modification to it. Nothing. It climbs super easy, it's super quiet.... Now, don't get me wrong. I know that my style of hunting isn't the only right way to do it. I am certainly not arrogant enough to think that if someone is doing it differently they are wrong, because they aren't. Not by a long shot. I just think, and will stand by this thought, that if I spend 3 large bills on a climbing tree stand, I simply should NOT have to replace the seat to make it more comfortable. For that kind of money, it had better be comfortable enough already, but that's just me. Let's see......3 bones for the stand, and another 70 bones for the replacement seat.....I'm up to dang near 4 bills. I spent almost half of that for my current climber and hunt out of it almost exclusively for going on 5 seasons now. I have certainly gotten life out of it. All I'm going to "upgrade" on it this year is new cables. True, I spend $1000+ on my bow and gear....but......I didn't need to make any modifications to it either. Take it out of the box, set it up, and shoot it. I didn't need to replace the grip, cams or anything else to make it more comfortable, or shootable. Yes, I spend money on quality gear, whether it be camo, boots, undergarments or whatever. I get my use out of all of it. I guess the only part of the statement I don't agree with is "But cheap out on their treestand quality".......Summit isn't cheap, nor inexpensive. It's also quality equipment, and I've used it for years already. I'm not sure how that's cheaping out?? But again, my way isn't the only way, no doubt about it. I'm certainly not going to ridicule anyone for making modifications to "personalize" something or make it suit their needs any better. I'm just not going to do it. There's simply nothing wrong with trying to "build" the perfect piece of equipment for one's self.
Or a deer rifle. And in most cases, they're only shot a couple WEEKS out of the year. I spend money on my archery equipment, but I shoot year round. Just shot tonight, in fact.
Diamond, I wasn't saying that you cheaped out by using a Summit. Summit are fine stands, I got a lot of good use out of my Cobra XLS. I said this thread was because of some comments you made. Those comments got the wheels in my head turning and I started thinking about some things. I am talking about some guys who have 1-2K of gear on their person sitting in a Walmart climber or some home made POS stand.
I certainly cannot argue this statement. BUT.........The complaint I hear over and over again, and not just on the forums, is the seat of the L/W. And all I ever hear about Summit is how comfortable they are. For considerably less coin. Is that going to weigh in on my decision of what stand to buy, especially since I can't "test drive" them before I buy? You better believe it will.
Not to make this a Summit VS LW battle.... But IMO the only advantage Summit has over LW is the seat comfort. That's it.
Oh dude, believe me.....I know you were't taking a "shot" at me by any means. I knew that my comments got ya thinkin. And I quite certainly agree with you. LOL....how many times have I said the same thing about arrows?? Spend all that money on the bow and accessories, only to buy the cheapest arrows you can find. Same principle here. Was just expanding on my comments is all.....ok ok.....I'll admit, after the week I've had, maybe I did take it a TAD personally.......but nothing for me to be upset over.....I know what ya meant.
LOL...ya know, Jeff......I could see how standing the entire hunt could be a huge advantage. It's hard telling hom many P&Y's I've had walk past me that I didn't see........Because I was sleeping.
Probably none because the snoring was so LOUD! :d :evil: :d Maybe a few bears strolled on by wondering what the ruckus was,,, :d
Good point buckeye. I'm guilty, but it's what works for me where I hunt. 99 percent of my hunts are 3 hours or less.(after work) A 35 dollar Gander mountain/generic hang on is everything I need. Safe and inexpensive are my main points. I hunt private land almost exclusively. I buy all the hang ons that I can get away with, hang em to the best of my ability before the season, move them in season if necessary, and if I have to strike ASAP, I do have one climber that sees the woods 5 or 6 times a year. But I see what you are talking about. 1700 bucks sitting on top of 35 don't quite seem logical, but who among us claims to be sane?
I have to pick and choose where my hunting dollar gets spent. My discretionary income is pretty limited and I usually get to make one purchase a year of significance. I try and keep up with the Jones' but its just not realistic on my budget. That goes for equipment and trips. I have 2 ladder stands each of which cost less than $100. One is set up in my yard for practice, the other one is overlooking my foodplot. I have 2 hang on stands, one is a Big Game Boss XL with a 20' Big Game tree stick,I have less than $200 invested in this set. It is heavy but It won't get moved much once its set for the year,(I hope!), and it is very comfortable. I don't even know the brand of my other hang on. I picked it up at a yard sale for $20. Is is relatively small and not very comfy but will do for short sits. I mostly stand in that one. The ladder for it is 18',(3-6' sections), that came off a cooling tower that was demoed at work. Heavy but very solid and free. I also have 2 climbers. One is a Gorilla Greyback. Quiet, and reasonably comfortable. It weighs in at about 20lbs, is easy to carry and set up and climbs quite nicely. It will see some use this year. I also have my first treestand. A Hunter's view climber. Its heavy, 25lbs?, noisy, and a pain to set up but I've killed 4 deer out of it so I know it works. It will probably be sold at my next yard sale or given to someone in need. I also have a nice Gorrila hang on and set of Gorilla sticks that belongs to Russ,(Kanga). They are sweet! Light, comfy, easy, quiet set up, easy to pack. He may never get them back! This will be my mobile set up this year. I'd love to have the best that money can buy. I can't. Its just that simple. A new,(quality), bow every 3-4 years is realistic. Paying for an average lease is realistic. Middle of the road stands is realistic. I bought quality accessories for my bow. Spot-Hogg Hogg-it, Limb-Driver, Alpine Soft-lock, Bucknasty string, etc. because most of that stuff can be moved from one bow to the next and quality makes sense. Oh, yeah Don, I use middle of the road arrows. Beman MFX, I just picked up a new dozen before I went to Kansas. If I got free bows every year or had great corporate discounts or sponsorships I might have more disposable income to invest in other equipment like treestands. Please don't take that wrong its certainly not a jab at anyone, just a fact. If I had more free or discounted stuff I could afford more other stuff like quality stands. This year I'll be looking into spending money on safety gear. Quality ropes for safety lines with prussic knots and one or 2 good vests such as Hunter Safety system. Now I use harnesses that came with stands. They work but I'd like more comfort and convenience in that arena.
Seem smore and more before I buy new gear I think about the first few years I bowhunted - the stuff I used and the way I hunted. Very basic. Beg, borrow and garbage pick most of it, but it worked, and it will still work. If I do have a few dollars I tend to spend it on clothing and treestands - if I can sit still long enough and remain comfortable my thinking is I will get a shot. Maybe a different way to view equipment purchases.
I was skeptical till I got one. I guess it really depends on how you want to hunt. If you have a reasonably well known and pre-prepped list of trees that are short to medium length hikes in, a Summit or similar climber will get it done just fine. Last year, I really started trying to get aggressive with my hunting, and setting up in newer spots, and hiking further in. A lot of my spots are over a mile in, and often I'm setting up in a new tree. The LW is MUCH easier to use in these situations, much easier to pack, much easier/quieter to setup, etc. Like buckeye said, the only thing a Summit has on a Lone Wolf, is the seat. I'll upgrade the seat on mine for this next season, and then I'll be able to have my cake and eat it too.
