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Evolution of the ultralight stands

JFin15

JFin15

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2019
Messages
455
Location
Central AL
This is an attempt to convey a message about what I'm (still) waiting on from these (3-4) treestand manufacturers...

Ok, so we have several great 5-8 lb hangons and they're a great tool, for anyone trying to stay mobile, myself included. BUT, with the growing number of hunters who have tried saddles and for whatever reason of their own, began to transition back to stands, how long is it going to take for one of these companies to make the equivalent in a compact climber??

I personally believe the demand would DEFINITELY be there, as evidence by these new ultralight stands staying sold out. I would absolutely buy a 8-10lb climber from any one of these companies and I would drop a significant amount of cash for it! In the back of my mind, this is what I've truly desired since the day I set out to find a system better than a 20# vine-snagging square yard upon my back!

So listen up LWCG/BEAST/OOAL/(maybe even a treehopper with the recent news), IM TALKING TO YOU! Please start working on the climbers of the 21st century please!

What I would like to see is basically a platform the size of the .5 with a simple, small top piece...net seat would be comfy, light, and cheap. Something that packs down fairly well (I think of the folding summits), and minimal fiddle. I understand a climber is unavoidably heavier but with the manufacturing capabilities put into today's locons, it's very possible to build a 10lb climber imo.

Good gosh I cant even begin to think about what I would pay for that.

How many of you guys would like to see this?? I think it's not only inevitable, but the next step for the industry.

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JFin15 said:
This is an attempt to convey a message about what I'm (still) waiting on from these (3-4) treestand manufacturers...

Ok, so we have several great 5-8 lb hangons and they're a great tool, for anyone trying to stay mobile, myself included. BUT, with the growing number of hunters who have tried saddles and for whatever reason of their own, began to transition back to stands, how long is it going to take for one of these companies to make the equivalent in a compact climber??

I personally believe the demand would DEFINITELY be there, as evidence by these new ultralight stands staying sold out. I would absolutely buy a 8-10lb climber from any one of these companies and I would drop a significant amount of cash for it! In the back of my mind, this is what I've truly desired since the day I set out to find a system better than a 20# vine-snagging square yard upon my back!

So listen up LWCG/BEAST/OOAL/(maybe even a treehopper with the recent news), IM TALKING TO YOU! Please start working on the climbers of the 21st century please!

What I would like to see is basically a platform the size of the .5 with a simple, small top piece...net seat would be comfy, light, and cheap. Something that packs down fairly well (I think of the folding summits), and minimal fiddle. I understand a climber is unavoidably heavier but with the manufacturing capabilities put into today's locons, it's very possible to build a 10lb climber imo.

Good gosh I cant even begin to think about what I would pay for that.

How many of you guys would like to see this?? I think it's not only inevitable, but the next step for the industry.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

i would like to see it, might not buy it though....i would lay down some cash for a machined platform like the predator in size but weighing less than 2 lbs

what's the news regarding treehopper?
 
Lone Wolf hand climber is still as good as it gets. Very much relevant these days and ideal for straight tree gun hunting. I'm good with the size.
 
I’d think it would be awesome if someone started a thread of seeing guys who went saddle and transitioned back into a lightweight stand. I’d really like to see though the guys who went into the treestand/hybrid but went back to a more traditional saddle platform.
 
For me at least, the saddle is the only reason I can bowhunt. Hang-ons destroy my back in minutes and climbers drive me nuts in terms of bulk.

I only ever hunted from the ground with a gun until this year and saddle hunting opened a whole new world of opportunities.

Staying somewhat on topic though, a hybrid climber/2TC is intriguing. Think a platform roughly the size of a predator that can be used like a climber platform. Add your tether and you’ve got a climbing system.


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Dude, amen. I hate fiddling with climbing sticks sometimes when most of the trees I hunt I could get in with a climber.

BRING BACK 90's LOGGY BAYOU (with some minor but important improvements)!

Machined platform a la LWCG.

Summit style cables (the LW belts suck)

Summit style tree v-bracket.

Loggy hammock seat style where it locks the stand to the tree.

Overbuild the climbing aid to where you can tie your harness into it while climbing instead of sliding your harness up the tree as you climb.

Platform should be about beast stand dimensions.

I would love to use it hybrid style with a saddle but to take any side pressure the platform would probably need to be OCB'd to the tree.

I'd absolutely be game.
 
Bowtie747 said:
I’d think it would be awesome if someone started a thread of seeing guys who went saddle and transitioned back into a lightweight stand. I’d really like to see though the guys who went into the treestand/hybrid but went back to a more traditional saddle platform.
Click to expand...

I went from saddle platform back to the 0.5 hybrid. For me it just boiled down to the fact that I prefer to stand or lean against the tree most of the time and the saddle platforms are too small. I lean or sit in the saddle to switch it up/rest.

It also makes a lot of sense from a pack standpoint with a good backpack suspension the .5 does double duty.
 
elk yinzer said:
I went from saddle platform back to the 0.5 hybrid. For me it just boiled down to the fact that I prefer to stand or lean against the tree most of the time and the saddle platforms are too small. I lean or sit in the saddle to switch it up/rest.

It also makes a lot of sense from a pack standpoint with a good backpack suspension the .5 does double duty.
Click to expand...

I had one on order and ended up canceling it. It wouldnt come till the middle of November at this point. With there 3-4 week wait. Kind of regret cancelling that order
 
kbetts said:
Lone Wolf hand climber is still as good as it gets. Very much relevant these days and ideal for straight tree gun hunting. I'm good with the size.
Click to expand...
The LW hand climber is 'still as good as it gets', my point exactly! It's time for an update/upgrade.

I still use my openshot sometimes but I'd like something even smaller that packs down flatter.

I too hate sticks and mostly use bolts but alot of the trees I climb could take a climber...I'd say its atleast 50%

A small platform and a seat that's all.

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Oakridge said:
A climber based off of the .5 size and machined instead of cast would be perfect. I’d be all over that. Around 8 pounds would be ideal!
Click to expand...
EXACTLY! THIS^^^^

It scares me to think about what I would give for one, assuming it was well made of course. Can we imagine the day folks spend 4 digits on a treestand? At this rate, yea.

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I owned a LW hand climber and hunted with it for years. Sold it when I started saddle hunting and regret it. Once it gets cold and bucks start chasing I miss being 30-40ft up with a rifle in my hand looking down into a clear cut or palmetto flat.

I personally wouldn't want a climber to be built to be as light and small as possible. I'm cool with the 15lbs or whatever the assault is. I like a climber for being WAY up there and when I'm that high up I don't want to be sitting with my back to the tree on a tiny little springboard.

Now, if they could magically make one that packed on my back with nothing above my shoulders, below my back, or sticking out to the sides, and it weighed 15lbs, and it had a sling-style seat and a cozy rail around you like a summit...I'd be down.

I have owned a LWCG Ambush and a TL Mission (assassin reskin). The ultralight, ultraexpensive high-speed, low-drag model was worse at everything but being light weight to me. I've also gone back to the mini lone wolf sticks i started with. My favorite saddles are anderson designs. The old designs may not look sexy on paper but a lot of the new ones seem like giving people who ask for dumb things exactly what they ask for, which isn't always the best way to make something usable.
 
Well seeing as how the beast stand cost me a grand CAD to get to my door. I'd pay 750 USD for a under 15lb sit and climb with a mesh seat and foot rest with a bowholder that's not in the middle of the front of the platform.

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Loc on had a seat-less climber At one point. It was called the intruder I think. I like loggys too and agree with @elk yinzer that the fold up seat to secure it is money. I'd really like to try a stealth quick and quiet(owned by Mark at treehopper)setup which is a modern version of the baker which is supposed to be great. He's really good at modernizing old ideas. I also have a weird "lofty" hang on thatbo thinknhas some neat ideas and could have some of it adapted to a climber. Seat is like a loc-on butn100% removable so end up with just a platform.
I won't lie, I miss my LW hand climber, especially when it's freaking cold and snowy....that coupled with the old game plan gear leech pack is hard to beat.....
 
I am hybrid hunting with both my climber and saddle, started last fall. My X-stand climber only weighs 11 lbs, can go as high as I want to go, and in less time than sticks or other typical methods. It is bulky to carry, so that is the inevitable tradeoff. I will be trying a summit hand climber at 6lbs with the saddle this fall too.
 
I personally would never go back to a climber. I have a LW hand climber collecting dust right now. I'd prefer to 1 stick up and hang a LWCG .5 on the tree if I was going that route
 
Maybe a climber that folds in on itself to reduce bulk? With climber being your stand AND climbing system it can weigh more and still be better....it's the bulk that's the issue imho
 
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