Climbing Tree Stand

24 November 2008, 18:52

adamhunter

I've got several: Summit, Equalizer, API & Buckshot and have hunted out of many others. All have their good points and bad. All depends on what your needs are; if you will bow hunt only or bow/gun hunt; is it one you will be packing into the woods every morning; is comfort the main concern. I use the Summits and the Equalizer the most.
Summits are hard to beat in the weight/comfort category. I have a Viper and an Open Shot. I use the Open Shot for bow hunting only. The Viper is a good rifle stand, but kind of confined.
The Equalizer is a great stand too. Comfortable, easy to climb with, and you can adjust the angle of the seat and platform while up the tree. Plenty of room to get comfortable, but it is a heavy stand and kind of noisy to get set up.

30+ years experience tells me that perfection hit at .264. Others are adequate but anything before or after is wishful thinking.

25 November 2008, 06:11

holzauge

Before I made the same decision I consulted with a guy who was on a SWAT team and spent days sitting in various climbers as training and to test them.
He recommended a Summit as the one he could sit most still, and quiet in the longest. I went with that advice I've been using it over ten years. I still like it better than any other I've tried. I've been pondering there new model that folds flat.

25 November 2008, 07:38

LBGuy

my son likes summit, but i prefer my 10 year old api bowhunter. i only bowhunt out of a climber. i suspect they are all pretty good as the lawsuits would quickly follow if a piece of crap was long on the market. i suggest you get a decent harness system (with something like a rope or strap) that goes around the tree. many people have fallen from climbers. good hunting

26 November 2008, 09:28

L. David Keith

The safest I've found are Loggy Bayou. The most dangerous for several of us are the earlier Summits. I have several friends that fell from Summits. I used one twice and it collapsed both times. Fortunately I caught myself with the safety belt. I have an old TSS stand that is still very safe and I use it along with the LB.
Everyone please wear safety harnesses and belts.
LDK

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27 November 2008, 20:26

Fish30114

I'm a Summit guy also. Have had one since the very first model, John Waller himself called on our local archery shop back in the day. I fell with it once--down the tree if you will, and the stand locked back in, and one of my legs blew through one of the platform 'rungs'. I think in most other stands I would have really been hurt bad--bad bruise the only result here--the slip/fall was my fault, I was coming down at night, and had inadvertently set my stand in on a knot, when I took the pressure off of the hand climber bar, and put it on the stand platform, it slipped off of the knot. I've not slipped since.

All of my Summits now are more current models, gave my other ones away--and I love them, stable, quiet, easy to climb with, and easy to pack. I do put aftermarket Military Quick Release style shoulder straps on them.

I would advise everybody to use a harness type safety belt system, the type that is like a vest is the best IMO, if you need it, you would really want it, hopefully you never need it, kind of like carrying an umbrella to discourage the rain....

02 December 2008, 01:19

holzauge

These comments about falls and Woodsie's comment on feeling more secure in a climber than a ladder made me think. My experience is that ladder stands seem more safer but aren't. In addition to my Summit I use a Griz ladder stand, they don't make them any more, the best ladder stand I ever used. I have never fallen or come close to falling from my climber but I've fallen twice from my ladder stand. Both falls were when taking the ladder down and had to take the chain and the safety belt off. Both falls were caused by heavy rains causing the to soften to the point that stand sank down suddenly on one side. Once one leg sank into a mole run I didn't know was there and I fell @six feet, and once the stand had settled until the bottom rung was resting on a root I didn't know was there and I fell about ten feet. Now I use the ladder only on evergreens where I want to leave in limbs as cover and when I know I'll leave it up for a few days.