Input needed, looking at light hang ons for all day sits

[El Duderino]

I have been hunting out of a saddle this year and love it, mostly public land and certainly a mobile hunter.
As the rut is heating up here in TN, I’m considering getting a light hang on to use with my sticks and saddle for next year.

I’ve adjusted my saddle endlessly and love it for 4-6 hrs but just can’t seem to get comfortable for more than 6/7 hrs.
With that said, what are your favorite light hang ons? I’d use it as a hybrid, still hunting in my saddle but turning around and sitting some.

I carry my current platform in the load shelf of my mystery ranch popup 28…bonus points if said lock on could also fit in there when I’m not carrying my platform.
Thanks for any input

 

[El Duderino]

To add to this, I’m also curious if a hang on would even handle side pressure if I’m using it like a platform for part of the time. Thanks.

 

[kyler1945]

I have been hunting out of a saddle this year and love it, mostly public land and certainly a mobile hunter.
As the rut is heating up here in TN, I’m considering getting a light hang on to use with my sticks and saddle for next year.

I’ve adjusted my saddle endlessly and love it for 4-6 hrs but just can’t seem to get comfortable for more than 6/7 hrs.
With that said, what are your favorite light hang ons? I’d use it as a hybrid, still hunting in my saddle but turning around and sitting some.

I carry my current platform in the load shelf of my mystery ranch popup 28…bonus points if said lock on could also fit in there when I’m not carrying my platform.
Thanks for any input

Get a JX3 hybrid. Cheaper and more comfortable.

That said, any light hangon can be attached to the popup. Id personally remove the bag, strap the stand to the popup frame, and then attach the popup bag, or whatever bag, over top. Don’t try to leave the popup bag attached with bottom load shelf lashing straps and stick stand in there.

You want stand against back, then all your goodies on top of that. Doing this in load shelf will be annoying and make the stand too high behind you.

 

[KYHunter]

There are several threads on here that discuss this at length. My recommendation is a LWCG .5

 

[El Duderino]

Get a JX3 hybrid. Cheaper and more comfortable.

That said, any light hangon can be attached to the popup. Id personally remove the bag, strap the stand to the popup frame, and then attach the popup bag, or whatever bag, over top. Don’t try to leave the popup bag attached with bottom load shelf lashing straps and stick stand in there.

You want stand against back, then all your goodies on top of that. Doing this in load shelf will be annoying and make the stand too high behind you.

Ok thanks Kyler!

 

[El Duderino]

There are several threads on here that discuss this at length. My recommendation is a LWCG .5

Ok thanks I’ll look around

 

[DB4x4]

I would recommend the Millennium M7. Not the lightest or the quietest, but has a super comfortable seat. I got mine for right around $200 "back in the day".

 

[neonomad]

I would recommend the Millennium M7. Not the lightest or the quietest, but has a super comfortable seat. I got mine for right around $200 "back in the day".

JX3 hunter here, but the M7 is probably the best bang for the buck. Or you can find stands lighter and with more features, for more money. The M7 is surprisingly comfortable.

 

[Plebe]

That said, any light hangon can be attached to the popup. Id personally remove the bag, strap the stand to the popup frame, and then attach the popup bag, or whatever bag, over top. Don’t try to leave the popup bag attached with bottom load shelf lashing straps and stick stand in there.

You want stand against back, then all your goodies on top of that. Doing this in load shelf will be annoying and make the stand too high behind you.

You can run a .5 in/on the Popup 28 either way, depending on one's load out and it doesn't ride too high. I've tried it both ways.

I haven't put the M7 in it, but the way the seat folds up, the M7 may be less awkward than the .5 when dropped in the shelf and snugged up.

With the .5's "load shelf" seat arrangement, you end up with a good sized gap between the frame and the bag when the stand is dropped into the Popup. If you've got bulky outerwear, it can fill up that space. Otherwise, run the seat out the bottom like you suggest.

 

[Benzy2]

Out of curiosity, why do you stay in a single blind/tree/spot all day? It seems to me that habits in the morning and evening don’t tend to be ideal for the same spots. I’d think spending 4 hours in one, moving to a different spot over an hour or so, and then spending another 4 hours in a spot would be more productive while giving the body a break from a single position. I’m not one to do all day sits though and tend to head in for lunch and to play with the kids while my wife gets a breather so I may be missing something experienced all day people know.

 

[Westdesign03]

I feel like the Novix Helo is pretty hard to beat, even at the more recent higher price. (I jumped on them and got mine right when they came out and was on sale for $204.) It’s not the lightest stand compared to the high dollar ones but it is rock solid, no flex (I’m 170-175lbs), dead quiet.

I’ve never used it as a saddle platform where I put pressure on the side, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work especially if you're using both straps on the stand. Just be careful of stepping over the cables and I would still try to put my feet close to the tree if possible.

 

[DB4x4]

JX3 hunter here, but the M7 is probably the best bang for the buck. Or you can find stands lighter and with more features, for more money. The M7 is surprisingly comfortable.

... And I both hate and love the Millennium bracket that they come with. On one hand, it's much easier to install the bracket first (I replaced the ratchet strap with a cam buckle strap), then pull the stand up with Paracord or your rappel rope and simply slide it into the bracket. (I always add a second strap to the bottom for stability, which is 100% necessary in my opinion)

That's much easier than trying to hold a stand in place with one hand, while fiddling with the strap with the other... But the bracket is one more piece of hardware you have to carry and worry about clanking off of the metal stand. Tradeoffs...

 

[DB4x4]

I've envisioned a scenario when I start taking my kids hunting, where I one-stick climb with my saddle, then pull up a stand with my rappel rope for them. That way, they could hunt from the hang on with me right behind them on the back of the tree for support.

With the help of ascenders and mechanical advantage, I think I could basically pull/belay them up into the tree, which would eliminate the need for extra sticks. At the end of the hunt, I could belay them back onto the ground, lower the stand, then rappel down myself.

It would be the same system I take now, except for the addition of:
- Stand
- Kid with RCH
- Longer Rope

Still a work in progress...

 

[neonomad]

... And I both hate and love the Millennium bracket that they come with. On one hand, it's much easier to install the bracket first (I replaced the ratchet strap with a cam buckle strap), then pull the stand up with Paracord or your rappel rope and simply slide it into the bracket. (I always add a second strap to the bottom for stability, which is 100% necessary in my opinion)

That's much easier than trying to hold a stand in place with one hand, while fiddling with the strap with the other... But the bracket is one more piece of hardware you have to carry and worry about clanking off of the metal stand. Tradeoffs...

Agree across the board… I also use a cam buckle strap on the bracket, and I added a versa button to the bottom of the post for a strap there.

Sidenote I had an m100u in the barn, and got permission from a neighbor for a spot in his pines last weekend so decided to set that stand there, the first time I’ve used it in like 5 years. Getting up the tree and clearing a spot was a total hassle but man that stand is comfortable and this is a cool setup:

 

[TreeCreep]

Get a JX3 hybrid. Cheaper and more comfortable.

That said, any light hangon can be attached to the popup. Id personally remove the bag, strap the stand to the popup frame, and then attach the popup bag, or whatever bag, over top. Don’t try to leave the popup bag attached with bottom load shelf lashing straps and stick stand in there.

You want stand against back, then all your goodies on top of that. Doing this in load shelf will be annoying and make the stand too high behind you.

It pains me to admit because I had a similar thought as The Dude.
Tried Pop up and lightweight stand. ( the pic is rappel rope, stuff sack with my layers , DanO Admin pouch with gear hanger/ kill kit/ calls, on a Pop Up with back strap.

Ended up with a JX3

try any hang on as a platform and see if you sit.
, ideally you would pivot over applying side pressure.

 

[Weldabeast]

I've envisioned a scenario when I start taking my kids hunting, where I one-stick climb with my saddle, then pull up a stand with my rappel rope for them. That way, they could hunt from the hang on with me right behind them on the back of the tree for support.

With the help of ascenders and mechanical advantage, I think I could basically pull/belay them up into the tree, which would eliminate the need for extra sticks. At the end of the hunt, I could belay them back onto the ground, lower the stand, then rappel down myself.

It would be the same system I take now, except for the addition of:
- Stand
- Kid with RCH
- Longer Rope

Still a work in progress...

What if something was to happen to u while up there? How would kid be lowered?

 

[fwafwow]

Out of curiosity, why do you stay in a single blind/tree/spot all day? It seems to me that habits in the morning and evening don’t tend to be ideal for the same spots. I’d think spending 4 hours in one, moving to a different spot over an hour or so, and then spending another 4 hours in a spot would be more productive while giving the body a break from a single position. I’m not one to do all day sits though and tend to head in for lunch and to play with the kids while my wife gets a breather so I may be missing something experienced all day people know.

I can only speak for myself, and I’m not the most experienced, but I’ve sat (in this case literally, in a ladder stand) twice all day in the coldest conditions when I expected to not last more than a few hours. The key was the rut - and being in the almost perfect spot and seeing activity every hour or two - enough that each time I thought about getting down, I stayed longer. I say “almost perfect” because the monster buck that kept me interested (the same both years) was close enough to keep me optimistic, but just far enough away that I didn’t get a shot. Still two of my best hunting days ever.

 

[El Duderino]

Out of curiosity, why do you stay in a single blind/tree/spot all day? It seems to me that habits in the morning and evening don’t tend to be ideal for the same spots. I’d think spending 4 hours in one, moving to a different spot over an hour or so, and then spending another 4 hours in a spot would be more productive while giving the body a break from a single position. I’m not one to do all day sits though and tend to head in for lunch and to play with the kids while my wife gets a breather so I may be missing something experienced all day people know.

Yeah agree with fwafwow, my longer sits are for the week before and during the rut, where I’m trying to sit in travel corridors near doe bedding and bucks are on the move.
I’m also just going based off my own personal data and from hunters I’ve learned from. From our opener until the last week in October, I’m hunting til 11 ish and then looking for feed trees, or hunting from about 3 til dark.

One spot that I’m hunting has morning, mid day, and evening activity right now. A whole lot of deer are killed in the middle of the day when most people are eating lunch.
I also hunt in the Appalachian mountains, we have low densities and it’s quite a different deer hunting experience than most places.

 

[Plebe]

I almost always sit the same spot all day unless I see something that entices me to move. Often enough, I get morning and evening and mid day movement. Sometimes just morning and evening movement, sometimes one or the other, and sometimes none.

This is how I hunt most of the season.

 

[Blacksmith]

... And I both hate and love the Millennium bracket that they come with. On one hand, it's much easier to install the bracket first (I replaced the ratchet strap with a cam buckle strap), then pull the stand up with Paracord or your rappel rope and simply slide it into the bracket. (I always add a second strap to the bottom for stability, which is 100% necessary in my opinion)

That's much easier than trying to hold a stand in place with one hand, while fiddling with the strap with the other... But the bracket is one more piece of hardware you have to carry and worry about clanking off of the metal stand. Tradeoffs...

I don't hunt public so I screw a small bow hanger in above stand location. Tie a pc of paracord to the stand corner. Pull stand up & hook on bow hanger. Hands free to attach straps.