I am looking to buy a good tree stand at a reasonable price. I am leaning toward a climbing stand rather than a hang-on, mainly because they seem like less of a hassle to set up and maybe a little safer. Since I am not crazy about heights, I am also looking at a stand like the Summit Viper, but I wonder if the shooting rail will be a pain. Any advice??? Thanks!
Welcome to BH.com I have the Summit "Open-shot" and would buy another one. It's compact, light, reasonably priced and easy to use. However, I have 6 hang-on for my go to spots and keep my climber for new areas, or what I call, back yard hunting (ninja hunting).
Climbers are great. I hang a ton of sets with hangons though and hunt 95 percent of the time out of them. I like being able to get in and setup quickly and quietly. I do enjoy the use of a climber though. If I could only buy one, it would be a climber. The style/brand is user preference IMO.
Yes it's really the users choice. Maybe a friend of yours has a certain model you can try out and pick your likes dislikes from that. On a broader scale. Cheap ones are heavy and cumbersome. Higher priced ones are easier to use and much lighter. The higher end ones use lighter components and still have the strength to weight ratio in tact. You may think I'll buy a cheap one cuz i'm only gonna carry the 26+ lbs a couple hundred yards, but in the long run that extra weight will limit the places you are willing to go. Many people like Lone Wolf, & Summit, There are plenty of good stands available. I prefer the Lone Wolf Hand Climber but tree-stands are an item you have to like for yourself.
My preference is the Lone Wolf Alpha hang on. They adjust to leaning trees, are very quiet and light, and the overall quality of construction is unmatched IMO.
I second that but do you know if you really want a climber or a hang on? Are you only going to have 1 stand? If so I would recommend a hang on as they will fit most anything. Good luck it's fun to shop stands because there is such a wide variety. IMO quality counts after all it is potentially your life.
Same here, Hang on, I'm a Lone Wolf guy as well. The stand is simple to set up and it can go in any tree a climber can and a hell of a lot more! I have one LW that I put and take down after every hunt with no problems. A bit pricey but worth every penny in my eyes!
Yes, i was a little shocked to see they raised their prices by like $30 for this year especially in this economy? I'm glad I bought 2 Alpha hangon stands last year. The price increase makes the new muddy stands look a little more appealing to me (about $60-$70 cheaper).
Yeah like a lot of you guys said, I prefer to hunt out of hang on stand. Yeah they are harder to set up but I do that in the summer time and usually dont move them much. So buying a climber and sitting in the same tree would be a waste. I have the Summit Viper SS with the rail and I love it! The rail is not going to affect you bowhunting at all. Plus it makes a me feel a little safer up in the tree. I've tried the Lone Wolf's and dont feel safe in them. Just my opinion.
Thanks for all the great feedback from everyone. It's a little tough for me to decide climber vs. hang-on because I have never used a hang-on, will likely be using many different hunting spots, can only buy 1 stand, and ain't all that crazy about heights! Add to that I have only been bowhunting less than a year and you can see my "issues". Best of hunting to all of you, and thanks for the info!
Yeah I have a gorilla stand and i really like it too. I think for the price, you cant beat that. there not heavy and they come with those super nice seats.
I agree with GMMAT, climber are an awesome tool to have to be "mobile". Hang on are good for hunting a spot where you consistently see deer every night or morning. I know lots of people who hunt out of hang on's and will kill a nice buck every year out of it. But a climber is great for when you find a hot spot and want to move in on something. But my biggest problem with that is like he said. Find a good tree to climb.
A person should anticipate their needs and get a stand that will meet them. Climbers meet certain needs, hangons/sticks meet certain needs. The you have preferences. Certainly a climber can get up a tree faster than a hangon with sticks and if I ever felt I needed to get up a tree real fast I would use a climber. To guarantee that climbers are safer is a bit of a stretch though. Using either stand can be as safe or unsafe as the person using it.
I'm as mobile as a guy can get. I put up my stand every hunt and take it down after I'm done for the day. I never sat in the same tree more than 3 times this past season. Like Jeff, I hunt a lot and like to change it up for the element of surprise! I guess the type you use is a personal choice, neither way is wrong! Just be safe and always wear your harness!
All I know is my Hang on stands can fit on trees that climbers won't. I probably hunted out of 20 different trees last year. I have some stands that stay up on the same tree all Fall and I have a couple LW HangOn stands which get moved around quite a bit. Different strokes for different folks I guess. I just don't like having to look for that perfect climber tree. But this may not be a problem for other areas like it is where I hunt.
If I ever went mobile, I would use a sticks/hangon combo so that I wasn't limited by which tree to use. If I ever have money laying around I want to start using the Millenium hang on stand with several ladders already placed. 10-15 sets already hung and ready, only one hang on to mess with and no chance of theft. Stick ladders can be had for $35 for 20 ft, which makes this the cheapest and arguably quickest most efficient way of setting up, if you despise climbers as I do.
