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Platform Lock

1

1canvas

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2022
Messages
547
Location
The Great State Of Ohio
Watching many videos with people reviewing platforms I sometimes see an incredible amount of flex in the platforms all the while the reviewer will talk about how solid the platform is. Secondly, and to me the most important, is how well they lock on to the tree. It seems some platforms don’t lock on as good as others, to me I look at that as a safety factor, especially when leaning on the side. I have two Trophyline platforms, what other platforms that seem to lock on the tree better than others?
 
I have been very happy with my Trophyline but I was going to try a Seeker platform. I have a Mission which is a bit larger than I need and a EDP that although works it’s a bit small. I Had seen reviews of Seekers being hard to get solid on a tree. One guy online posted his cam buckle failed o_O on a new Seeker platform. My plan was to find one do all platform and sell the rest.
I think 14” wide by 13” long would be ideal but I don’t want to give up how solid the Trophyline platforms lock to the tree.
 
1canvas said:
I have been very happy with my Trophyline but I was going to try a Seeker platform. I have a Mission which is a bit larger than I need and a EDP that although works it’s a bit small. I Had seen reviews of Seekers being hard to get solid on a tree. One guy online posted his cam buckle failed o_O on a new Seeker platform. My plan was to find one do all platform and sell the rest.
I think 14” wide by 13” long would be ideal but I don’t want to give up how solid the Trophyline platforms lock to the tree.
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My mini seeker does not lock onto the tree anywhere close to how solid the Trophyline platforms do.

The mini seeker has a bit of play/slop between the post and platform. The attachment bracket is also “meh”. I replaced the attachment bracket with a Novix batwing and it grabs the tree better now. (Not in the same league as the Trophyline though.).
 
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Maverick1 said:
My mini seeker does not lock onto the tree anywhere close to how solid the Trophyline platforms do.

The mini seeker has a bit of play/slop between the post and platform. The attachment bracket is also “meh”. I replaced the attachment bracket with a Novix batwing and it grabs the tree better now. (Not in the same league as the Trophyline though.).
Click to expand...
I am glad I dodged that one.
 
I have a Mission, Predator, and the LWCG Fix. The predator is the least solid. The mission is much better but large. The Fix is absolutely rock solid and is the platform I use now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Maverick1 said:
My mini seeker does not lock onto the tree anywhere close to how solid the Trophyline platforms do.

The mini seeker has a bit of play/slop between the post and platform. The attachment bracket is also “meh”. I replaced the attachment bracket with a Novix batwing and it grabs the tree better now. (Not in the same league as the Trophyline though.).
Click to expand...

I had the same experience with the mini seeker, but once toe cammed in, it was pretty solid….but not as solid as the Trophyline’s. But still great platforms.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Maverick1 said:
"I was going to try a Seeker platform" - - - but, whatever happened to "Now I'm done buying"? @1canvas - Welcome to the club, my man!!! (I'm kidding!)
View attachment 116762
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Obviously a newbie assumption :tearsofjoy:, but will it end o_O ?
I got to say, this saddle thing is fun. I look forward to days I can play with sticks, saddle, and platform. After I cut my poundage a bit that really made a big difference on shooting.
 
Still Kicking said:
If you are looking for a smaller rock solid platform just skip the rest and order a Fix. There are many smaller platforms that are good, but Fix is Great.
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I resold my TL Mission and bought a nice used LWCG Ambush this winter. I've tried it a couple times in testing and it is really good design, lighter than the Mission and seemed to lock down well to the trunk. I'm thinking seriously of additing a Fix in place of my standard Tethrd Predator, altough I hunted from the Predator quite a bit last fall and always felt it was very secure. Until you actually hunt a few times from a saddle or platform, you really won't know what you like or dislike. Testing is just a preliminary.
 
Alaska at Heart said:
I resold my TL Mission and bought a nice used LWCG Ambush this winter. I've tried it a couple times in testing and it is really good design, lighter than the Mission and seemed to lock down well to the trunk. I'm thinking seriously of additing a Fix in place of my standard Tethrd Predator, altough I hunted from the Predator quite a bit last fall ande always felt it was very secure. Until you actually hunt a few times from a saddle or platform, you really won't know what you like or dislike. Testing is just a preliminary.
Click to expand...
That is my thoughts also, so I guess I should stick with the Mission and EDP until I get some hunting time in. I do like that I already have two options of a large and smaller platform to choose from.
 
The platform itself is only half of the equation. I used my Seeker for 2 seasons and wasn't happy with how tight I could get it to the tree. Especially the top bracket. It seemed like no matter how or where I attached it, I couldn't get it tight. Even toe camming didn't get it tight. I saw apost on here about swapping out the top bracket to one from Trophyline or Lone Wolf (can't remember which) and went to an Amsteel Daisy chain with a trucker's hitch and now it gets so tight that I'm almost afraid I'm gonna break my platform attaching it. WIN_20240903_13_24_26_Pro.jpgWIN_20240903_09_44_19_Pro.jpgWIN_20240903_09_44_55_Pro.jpg
 
It’s a hairy feeling o_O when you platform slips, especially being a newbie.
I had looked hard at the Seeker and never bought one because of the lock on issues. I did see a guy had good results replacing the top stand off.
I was in the trees today with both platforms, my EDP and Mission, to play with the USA Pro attachment ropes and both are one toe cam and done, no more than two. This one also has the truckers hitch, easy on and easy off.
 
So I been thinking of getting the Seeker Mini since it came out. Well I ordered one this past week. I know, I’ve got a little bit of a gear junky problem Anyways, soon as I got it I removed the top bracket and replaced it with a Lone Wolf bracket that I bought for my original Seeker. I used the stock cam strap and slapped it on my test tree. You can see by the pic she bit pretty good. Sat right there and let me put my original Seeker on top for some comparison pics for anybody interested. I’ll still build me another amsteel daisy for the attachment method as I prefer that over the cam strap.
 
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