Tree stands

[John A.]

There are many kinds and brands out there and this is a discussion for all of them so feel free to tell us what your favorite stand is, or type of stand, or blind or whatever you use. Extra points are given for pictures

Myself, I tend to use permanent blinds mostly because I don't usually hunt on public land or land management area's, but to be honest the kid in me likes tree houses.

We built this one about 6 years ago and it's starting to show its' age, but is still solid and usable, though the floor is beginning to tilt down in the front, which was starting to give me an uneasy feeling when I would stand up from my chair due to the floor being a little out of level.

I put a tin roof over it for several reasons. Mostly to keep my stuff (and myself) dry and to keep the snow off of me, but I also use the frame around the bottom of the tin to hang a burlap blind in the warmer months and during the colder months, a thick brown tarp, which keeps the wind off of me and perhaps may be a little warmer.

I have very few pics of my tree fort, but here's a few of it in the background about 30 yards away:

Since that stand is beginning to show its' age, I was able to sell some gun parts that I wasn't using anymore and put that money into my first steel commercial 2 man ladder stand. I was able to pick it up at my local walmart for $94/tax which I thought was a really good price for its' size.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/36545660

It is an Ameristep brand and it came with 2 harnesses and everything needed to get it in the field. The only complaint that I have about it is that it came with plastic washers (instead of metal). I think the logic of using plastic washers is mostly for corrosion preventive purposes, but I like regular chrome coated steel washers myself. My other gripe is the mesh wire used in the floor and seat. It'll probably be fine, but I would prefer a thicker mesh, But overall, I do like the stand.

Before I place it up there (probably in the next few weeks), I have already built another tin roof to put over it, and will be setting it up in the same manner as my old one, though for now, I have a twin bed sheet that is in a realtree pattern that I am going to use wrapped around the section much like I did with the burlap on the old stand to mask much of my movements.

I may still use some burlap on the top section suspended from the roof to hide our (torso) silhouettes because we're going to be about 25 yards away from the trail.

I don't have any pictures of it yet because it's still in a dozen pieces in my basement, but I'm kinda excited to be able to finally get a "real" tree stand.

 

[OhioArcher]

I've had quite a few lock-on stands over the years. Dropped big $$$ on a Lone Wolf Alpha only to find I couldn't sit in it for more than 2 hours...seat way too uncomfortable. It's better now that I replaced the seat but it still the least comfortable one I own. I have a F&S ladder that has been at our club for 3 years now. not portable at all. I can sit there almost all day even thought it is about 15" wide.

I have a Big bear or Big something that weighs a ton. Carried in in /out of the WV mountains one year. Very comfortable but definitely is a hang and leave it type.

My Treewalker climber is the most comfortable stand I have ever owned. I have had many pleasant naps in it. Just need a straight tree and I'm up it in about 15 mins.

Harnesses are a must with me. I have all the ones provided with the stands but never used them. I use HS or Muddy harnesses...they are comfortable and not in the way.

 

[John A.]

I hate harnesses. I understand their purpose, but aside from that, they can kill you as easily as a fall itself. And unless you land on your head/neck you'll probably only break bones anyway rather than dying from blood pooling in your lower extremities which is a lot like being put in a sleeper hold. You just pass out and it's all over for you then.

The main reason I hate harnesses is because I had to wear them at work when I was a lineman and they were always in my way, burdensome, and a general pain donning them 12-15 times a day.

From the tens of thousands of times I have went up and down an electric pole, I have lost my balance more often ascending or descending than while stationary. Which is not when you are using a tree stand harness anyway.

I'm not advocating anyone else to not use their harness, but I don't.

I definately would use a harness while using one of the climber tree stands and that is a no brainer, but for a platform stand with a railed ladder and rails all the way around you, that's just something more to have to carry in and out of the woods and something else to get in my way and trip me and make me fall overboard.

On another subject, since I am going to leave this one in place when we get it up there, I am going to wrap the frame and tree with a large chain and lock. No reason to make it easy to steal when I'm not sitting in it.

 

[MikeD]

I don't have a particular brand I like or dislike, I tend to buy whatever is on sale and doesn't seem to flimsy.

I have an older climber that I rarely use. It's pretty stable but I've had a few older ones fall out from under me while climbing so I just don't trust them that much. Plus I never seem to be able to find a tree straight enough with no limbs where I want to set up.

I like to build my own ladder stands when I can. I use 2x4 for the ladder and usually a 24" wide piece of 1' plywood for the platform. The last one I built had a boat seat pedestal on it so I could mount a comfy seat that would rotate so I could turn and shoot quietly. I only use these up at my cabin where people won't mess with them and I can leave them there til they rot.

My go to stands for mobility are the 12-15 foot ladder stands. They are easy and quiet to set up. For these I look for legs that have clips to hold them together. I've had them separate in a wind storm, not cool. If they don't come with clips I will drill the legs and use my own. I usually assemble the stand at the car and carry it in like that. The only part I hate about these is getting that initial strap around the tree. I tend to use several ratchet straps as I climb it to keep it from falling away from the tree.

Another stand I have used that I liked a lot is a strap on, Ameristep I think, It was a huge one. Very comfortable to sit in but a beast to hang. I used a 20 foot ladded stick to access this one. I like the 20 foot sticks becaus I can set the stand at 15-16' and have a good amount of ladder to made the stable transition to the stand. I left it up the last time for two years and have not used it since because I need to replace the straps and bolts. I've had to many failures over the yeas so I usually like to replace and cloth every year and all the bold every couple depending on how much rust they are showing.

Belivee it or not there is still an original Baker climbing stand in the garage up north. This is the one they referred to later as the death climber because so many people died or were seriously injured from using it. There were no bolts or ridges to dig into the tree so they tended to slip a lot. This one was my dads, not sure why we still have it, just cool memories I guess.

I also have a few permanent enclosed stands for use mostly during gun season bad weather.

As far as safety I always wear a strap. I've never actually fell but I've had to many close calls to risk it.