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LWCG 0.5 Full Season Review

Gator said:
As a lockon, it would be too short for my taller frame and lazy slouching sitting (wish someone would make "lighter" hang ons that were just longer). As a platform such as @elk yinzer is using, I'd be curious how much the cables get in the way? Also be interested in "true weight" as well.
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Its 7lb with the seat pad and two straps.

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Good review, I’ve dabbled in this treachery of incorporating a hang on back into my arsenal. I’m 6’2” 250 and 34” Inseam 14/15 boot depending on brand. This is a 1.0 and with my size I don’t think a .5 would be beneficial for me. But I’ll prolly end up buying one to try.

Last two years I’ve hunted strictly out of a saddle off a predator platform and used bolts for my climbing system.

I picked up a ambush for my wife and a set of mini sticks. I prefer the mini sticks for learning/trying new places. I’d rather carry a little extra weight then drill holes... the drill/ bolts is unbeatable for pre sets. I ditched my pack and now use a small Fanny pack and can attach it to the ambush or 1.0.. I did two sits with the 1.0 and was happy and comfortable with it using it as a hybrid. I don’t think it’s a end all be all but definitely a nice option I think with my size it will be very handy late season when the layers and bigger boots come out.


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like or dislike D'Aquisto,the guy is the best innovator for the type of gear I need.I bought my son one of their cameras back in Feb at a show.We had some issues with so I called and talked to a very nice girl.She sent me a new camera that day and a label to send the old one back.
 
Flee said:
I have a millennium m7 and I have some mods in my head that should put me in the 6lb range. Basically to replicate the .5 and use exactly as you do.
I already have a molle frame pack waist belt and shoulder straps for it. Then I want to hack off the seat post and lower it (I’m 5’4”) and add a versa button. Just getting rid of the attachment block and the chunk off the seat post is an easy 2lbs. It’s a great stand for the money and to me an easy mod.
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I'd be interested in seeing what mods you make and the final weight
 
elk yinzer said:
Been getting a lot of PMs when I post anything in reference the old halfsie, so I figured I would do a thorough review. Yinz may know what I think of unboxings (absolutely despise them) and I've now put this thing through the ringer enough that its earned a good honest review.

In summary, it's a perfect compromise between a saddle plaftorm and a treestand. Put another way, it is a Loc-On Windwalker, but (nearly) perfected. I spent a good 150-200 hours in the thing. I anticipated going in I would rotate it with my Klemz platform a fair amount. Nope, I used the 1/2 every hunt except one this season. Not even sure I'm even going to keep my Klemz around at this point.

We'll get some housekeeping out of the way.

Yes, I'm aware it's expensive. Maybe even along the lines of the infamous Yeti-Gucci pricing model. It's my money, I'll spend mine how I want and you spend yours the same. C'est la vie.

Yes, I'm aware there is drama involved with this company. I'm just a a consumer folks. They brought a quality product to market, I purchased it. Simple transaction, save your virtue signaling. I don't know the individuals involved personally but if I did it could be different.

With that book closed....

Little background info, I spent 17 years using exclusively climber, followed by 1 year "hang and hunt" and then for the past 3 years been saddle hunting mostly from a DIY Klemz Platform with some time in the Tethyrd Predator. That is to say, I've been mobile hunting all my life. I've been through a ton of gear the past 5 years really on quite an expensive bender to find what is perfect for me (which isn't going to be for everyone) I'm not much of the gear tinkerer as a means unto itself. I just hadn't settled on a platform yet.

Basically, I've been yearning for this stand for a few years. Size - it's perfect. Nailed it. Most of the smaller treestands are still too wide and suck at snagging brush while hiking in.

There are essentially two gripes I have with cable-less saddle platforms. First, they just aren't roomy enough. Yes you can stand up on them, pivot, and execute the weakside shot. Call me clumsy I guess. It's doable but not repeatable. By the time you expand a platform footprint large enough to actually stand and pivot to shoot, it now weighs as much as a treestand.

Second, is the tremendously wasted utility by forgoing the dual purpose use of this shaped rigid object as a backpack frame. For instance I carried my roughly 5 pound platform in a MR popup weighing 4ish pounds = we're now at 9 pounds total. Now, I know that setup isn't designed to be gunning for blue ribbons at the Weight Weenie World Fair. So why not put a good backpack suspension on a much larger platform at the same or less weight? Just makes too much sense I guess.

I will also say, I'm not a big "comfort" guy. My gear decisions are based on effectiveness and efficiency. And I very much live by the K.I.S.S. philosophy. I hunt some places that frankly suck to get to, and the ease of getting in deep and through thick brush necessitates some sacrifices with regards to comfort. If I want to be comfortable, I'll sit at home on my couch. But certainly no part of this system causes discomfort to me and I think is a good balance of comfort while hiking, comfort in the stand, and utility to kill stuff effectively.

Is it a treestand? Is it a saddle platform? I don't know. Both I guess.

I know I exclusively used it paired with my saddle. Roughly 90% of my time is split between leaning in the saddle and just standing on the platform with very minimal slack in my tether. I like to face mostly where I expect to see deer. Sometimes that's facing the tree, sometimes it's not. More on that in a bit.

I lean in the saddle a lot but I really like just being able to stand up. I have a standing desk at work. I guess I'm just a stander.

But one important reason why is so many trees dictate where you have to set up and then I might expect deer movement at my 6 oclock. A standard small saddle platform, that situation sucks and ends a long hunt with a very sore neck.

I would not personally use this a "standard" treestand, that is, with a rear-tethered harness. To me it's too small for that, it truly shines as a hybrid saddle platform because the saddle maximizes the small real estate of the platform and lends itself to the many different shooting options of a saddle.

Regarding slack in the tether, I can stand on the platform and shoot comfortably 360 degrees no problem without requiring any additional tether length. To shoot 3-6 o'clock, I can either go over the bridge or get my back really tight to the tree and spin strong side with the tether under my armpit. I generally prefer the latter feeling it is a little less movement and a little less prone to getting crossed up and stuck. While rut hunting, I got into a few of those fusterclucks where I had deer all around me and had no problem pivoting quickly. I feel I am much more responsive to those quick adjustments.

A second cam strap is required due to the horizontal pressure to execute typical saddle shots. I prefer a small cam strap that I actually thread through the base of the platform. It seems a little stickier to the tree that way than using the bottom versabutton. Obiously that is out of spec and you want to be careful you have the stand good and locked in when threading that second strap because the platform isn't engineered to be a fulcrum, and if you do it improperly it can become just that using a lower strap.

I might have sat on the seat an hour or two all season. The seat post is low and the seat itself is small. Very unsurprisingly this is not comparable to sitting on a lazy boy. Not super comfortable, but not terrible either. It's about the height of a 5 gallon bucket for reference. I never sat much in stands anyway. There are certain situations lacking cover where sitting like a statue puts you in the best position to kill deer, and I would be most definitely be able to survive doing that in this stand for a few hours at a time.

You can flip the seat cover over and sit in the saddle using the backside of the seat as your knee rest. For my height (6 feet) the seat post is the perfect height to lend itself to that configuration. That's how I usually rest when I need a break from standing and leaning. That is plenty comfortable as a break from standing, but again, I'm not a sitter by any means.

The only thing I didn't like about it are the sharp edges caused by the machining process. I've already worn out one cam strap where it contacts the sharp edge of the seat post. I need to grind down the seat post edge where it rests. At the price point of being the highest retail production stand I know of, I do expect that all such issues would be addressed, but to get through an entire review with one minor flaw isn't half bad.

Really the only thing I modified besides some light paracord wrapping to silence, is that I stole the suspension off a Kelty Cache Hauler. The stock carrying straps, as with lesser stands, flat out suck. With my DIY suspension it carries just as comfortably as my MR Popup. It could maybe use a little lift, but the stand is too short to accommodate any the way I attached the suspension. I used yoga mat material as a back pad as my prior experience with treestand harness/suspension mods sorely lacked that back padding aspect. I need to find a solution in padding that is better with sweat management as my back would be soaked after a long hike.

That was a lot of keyboard jibber jabber, here are some photos:

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In my view, the youtube jibber jabbers are like watching paint dry, but I did a quick no-budget production for those so inclined:
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I just got my LWCG .5, put it on a tree in the back yard put a strap on the bottom and it still was trying to kick out. Not sure what i was doing wrong?
 
I just weighed my old Assault, 9lbs 7 oz! I was sorta surprised by that?

I did take the offset bracket off and i cut a couple inches off the seat post as it felt too high to me but that’s it.

Maybe i dont need a LWCG or Beast stand afterall as i thought i was toting an 11 or 12 lb stand around! Haha
 
After my first year saddle hunting I believe for archery I will go with a hybrid set up with a light weight hang on of some type and for-go the hassle of weak side shots...unless I’m missing something? Tried over/under the bridge and completely spinning around...all options seem like a lot of movement...for rifle I’ll keep using a pivot platform
 
Redoak47* said:
I just got my LWCG .5, put it on a tree in the back yard put a strap on the bottom and it still was trying to kick out. Not sure what i was doing wrong?
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I use one strap on the top button and have no need to use the bottom strap. I kneel on the seat and toe hook the platform and have no issues so i would suggest for you to try that.
 
I would try this with my Loc On Limit (similar dimensions), but I doubt it can take side pressure, and I'd end up bending it into a pretzel.
 
rhagenw said:
After my first year saddle hunting I believe for archery I will go with a hybrid set up with a light weight hang on of some type and for-go the hassle of weak side shots...unless I’m missing something? Tried over/under the bridge and completely spinning around...all options seem like a lot of movement...for rifle I’ll keep using a pivot platform
Click to expand...

spinning to take a shot on weak side of a saddle/platform or ROS combo, and standing/turning to take a shot behind you in a hang on is no different in terms of movement from an in bow range deer's perspective. There are obvious tradeoffs, that it sounds like you're thinking through - and ending up in a combo of the two will give you benefits of both, with tradeoff of weight/pieces of kit.

But if anyone says it's too much movement or hassle to shoot a deer on the weak side, all I can say is A - i've done it a few times and the deer didn't complain, and B - it would've required the same amount of movement if I were in a hang on.
 
Redoak47* said:
I just got my LWCG .5, put it on a tree in the back yard put a strap on the bottom and it still was trying to kick out. Not sure what i was doing wrong?
Click to expand...

Cam it over and get that leverage on the top strap before attaching the lower strap.

Get the lower strap as low and tight as you can.

Most trees it doesn't totally lock in, but I could never ever get it remotely close to truly kicking out in the sense that the tree contact materially changes to the extent you would need to reset it. I experienced very minimal shifting with extreme side pressure, we're talking millimeters.
 
I mean, you just cant beat the .5. I would be interested in mods people have. I put my assault seat on it and flip it over for a knee cusion sitting saddle style. Helps a few things out by doing this. I'd like to put up a video of the point 5 just cause i like it so well. May do that when i get time
 
rakbowhunter said:
I'd be interested in seeing what mods you make and the final weight
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Will be a spring project. But I’m curious as well as to what weight is cut. I’m assuming a couple
Lbs. That’s a good chunk of aluminum. And the the attachment block weighs a lot also
 
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