As my cousin imported quite a few of these treestands a while ago, I got one fairly cheap from him, and am planning to us it for Roedeer (a little late for this season, but at least next year) and maybe give it a try during moose season. It took a while to put the thing together (with the help of my 13 month old daughter), but once I had a go up a tree with it, it was actually pretty easy to use.

The Boss (dressed in red) is of course in charge, and giving me vital instructions:


Here I'm breaking out in a sweat, as the Boss is telling me to get my ass in gear, and get up the damn tree before it's her bedtime:


Finally up my test tree, and ready to do it for real out in the forest:


Does anyone else here have any experiance with treestands, or any good tips?

Gees mate, it looks like you are wearing a parachute harness, how tall a tree are you planning to set it up on?

Just the harness it came with! It is important that the harness is put on correctly so as to not squeeze vital body parts between the legs!

I plan to go up as high as possible when needed, and this can often be well over 10-15 meters with our trees.

Erik,

those types of tree stands are very popular here in the US.

If they are legal in Germany, then I may bring one there when I move.

Personally, my limit for staying still is just 2 or 3 hours before I get too bored!!

It is important that you do use the safety equipment, as people do fall from them, and at 15 metres, such a fall could well prove fatal.

P.

Your seat looks very interesting, can you give me any more information about it, am I right in thinking that there is a mechanism that enables the user to 'walk' the seat up the tree trunk (how easy is this) and how safe do you feel in it. Think the harness is a necessity!

Nightwalker,

The treestand is made by: Summit and is made to climb up the tree. It's sort of like using those poleclimbing shoes the telephone companys use to climb telephone poles. Eccept that it is the seat itself that functions like such a shoe by having the covered wire hang around the back side tree, while the v shaped notch on the chair and floor sections dig into the tree from the front. It was very easy to use, and I felt totally safe while doing so. The harness though is definatly a necessity just incase you manage to fall asleep while up there!

These function basically the same as a permanant built stand often found in Europe, but the cool thing is that it can be carried on your back (it has strops for this), and thus can be used where ever you want.

I have not had the chance to try it out while hunting yet, but I do know my cousin and his hunting buddys have shot many moose from theirs.

Erik

I think those climbing chairs would be very useful when hunting hog deer in Gippsland Down-Under.

As an American hunter, we use them extensively for hunting here in the states. They are extremely safe when used correctly. The one you have, Summit, is a top quality climbing stand.

You can climb as high as you want, many of us who use them climb 25-30 ft up. It helps with scent control and gives you a great view. Just remember to wear the safety harness. The put it there for a reason.

Every year in the US, hunters fall out of tree stands and injure themselves or die because they were not wearing it.

Erik,

I have used similar seats in Florida, where I originally come from. I find them to be outstanding. Brought one back from the States last year for a European hunting buddy who loves it! Don't know that I want to haul another one through two airports.....!

There was recently an article I believe in American Hunter on several seats, their advantages/disadvatages and the safety features. Not all are made equally but pretty much in the USA your provide a reasonable product or it disappears from the market place.

Two points:

My best strategy using similar seats in Florida was to attempt to get into the thickest, swampiest, nastiest spot I could negotiate with it. In the begining I wanted the panoramic view and tried to cover as much area as possible with the seat but found out with expereince I had more success when using the seat in the thick stuff.

Secondly is the safety POV - remember to use the safety straps and a length of parachute cord (or similar) for your rifle! The rifle always comes up LAST and goes down FIRST. That way you are free to manipulate the seat up/down without fear of an accident.

Thanks for the tips Gerry. I'll keep your "thick stuff" theory in mind!

A couple of pics of my highseats:




Have been looking for a treestand like that myself. What`s the appr. cost for such a thing? I love my highseats, but would like something I could move around a bit as well..
Getting some elevation is just great when hunting! I you can sit comfortable and actually move a bit without beeing detected..

Here are mine :


IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/Othello041990/Mir2.jpg[/IMG]

André,

Everyone's pic's of their seats are just great - I can almost feel the anticipation imagining climbing up into them.

I especaially think your high seats are cool!



They bring back alot of memeories for me - in my Special Forces days those would have made great Mini-Command Posts!

A little comfort doesn't hurt. The only thing I miss is airco