Tree stand

[Ndstevens]

Fell in love with tree stand hunting for whitetail this afternoon and im looking to get my own stand. If anyone has any recommendations for a decent entry level stand they could recommend, i would highly appreciate the help.

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[mikear]

What’s your budget?
Set and forget, or hang and hunt/run and gun?
Climber or hang on?
Packing it far or can you drive to the tree?

 

[Ndstevens]

What’s your budget?
Set and forget, or hang and hunt/run and gun?
Climber or hang on?
Packing it far or can you drive to the tree?

I would prefer to keep it under 300. I dont like garbage gear though. I want something that is mid level i guess. I would like it to be packable but im not sure what price that comes at. Im assuming a hang on would be more packable? I have some spots i could drive and set up for the day and others are a mile or so walk. At the moment i dont have anywhere i would prefer to leave one all season.

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[SnapT]

I have a couple of hawks and really like them except for when its time to take them down . That part sucks lol .
Looking at Lone Wolf next . Seems to be the best of all worlds .

 

[Ndstevens]

I have a couple of hawks and really like them except for when its time to take them down . That part sucks lol .
Looking at Lone Wolf next . Seems to be the best of all worlds .

You mean just being in the air taking everything apart is a bit sketchy?

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[Ndstevens]

I was looking at a thread in the search function that mentioned xop stands. Is there something that you get out of a lone wolf that you dont from xop? They seem very similar...

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[Ndstevens]

Whats the difference between a hang on and climber?

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[mikear]

I would recommend a hang on stand and climbing sticks for universal usage purposes. A climber is well suited where you have pencil straight trees.

As far as hang on stands and packability goes, Lone Wolf stands are highly regarded. I have an XOP stand which is essentially a Lone Wolf knockoff. All of the stands listed below allow some offset adjustment for crooked trees with the seat post “batwing”.

While not knowing your area, I would recommend a Lone Wolf Assault or XOP Vanish Evo (cheaper) for lightest weight and packability, but you give up foot platform area over the the Alpha and Air Raid stands (listed later).

https://www.amazon.com/Lone-Wolf-Assault-Hang-Stand/dp/B004XEHS54
https://www.fieldsupply.com/xop-vanish-hang-on-evolution-tree-stand.html

If you want more foot room on the platform while adding some weight and overall bulk, the Lone Wolf Alpha or XOP Air Raid are great stands. You’ll give up a bit of packability, but I’d go this route for a beginner unless you know you’ll be packing the stand on your back with regularity.

https://www.amazon.com/Lone-Wolf-ALPHA-Hang-Treestand/dp/B004XEHSH2
https://www.fieldsupply.com/xop-air-raid-hang-on-tree-stand-c7-xop-ar.html

For reference I pack an XOP Maximus (larger and heavier than alpha and air raid) over a mile on occasion, and it’s doable. For weekly or daily treks, I’d go with the stands listed above.

As for sticks they are a personal preference. If you want a double step at each level, the Hawk helium sticks get good accolades. For single step sticks I can personally recommend the Lone Wolf sticks (what I currently use). I suggest getting 4 sticks unless you know you’ll be hunting pretty low in the trees.

These should all fit roughly within your budget and will provide years of service. There are mods for all of them to customize for your liking. Welcome to the disease...

https://www.mackspw.com/Hawk-1-PK-Climbing-Stick
https://www.scheels.com/p/lone-wolf-climbing-sticks-4-piece/69721610103.html

Hope this helps.

 

[Ac338]

Whats the difference between a hang on and climber?

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With a hang on stand you use climbing sticks to get up the tree and then pull up your stand and hang it. A climber stand has no climbing sticks so you alternate sliding the seat and platform up until you reach the desired height. I have both a climber and hang on, the hang on will get you up into almost any tree regardless of limbs or straightness. I would recommend the lonewolf assault or xop vanish hang on with 4 hawk helium sticks(lonewolf alpha if you want a bigger platform). For a climber I use a lonewolf alpha.

 

[mikear]

Whats the difference between a hang on and climber?

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With a climber, it is your method of climbing the tree AND your stand.

With a hang on stand you will need sticks (steps/ladder) to ascend the tree where you will then hang the stand.

 

[mikear]

I was looking at a thread in the search function that mentioned xop stands. Is there something that you get out of a lone wolf that you dont from xop? They seem very similar...

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I would not hesitate to purchase XOP based on my personal experience. They have served me well. Others may have other opinions.

 

[Ndstevens]

Thank you to everyone who has helped. Ill do some bore research on the info i was given but i bow have some direction to get me to the right stand.

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[N2TRKYS]

I have both lock ons and climbers. I prefer the climber over a lock on and sticks any day.

 

[wentright]

I like the white river ladder stand cheaper but very good quality

 

[*zap*]

Lone wolf or xop for a hang on and muddy stagger sticks for the safest stick.

Lone wolf climber...

 

[NYyotekiller]

Like @*zap* mentioned, go with a Lone Wolf or XOP for a hang on stand. You’ll be glad you did.

 

[SnapT]

You mean just being in the air taking everything apart is a bit sketchy?

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The release mechanism for the hawk is a bit of a pain to use when its under tension ie up a tree . It doesnt seem to want to release lol . The two i have (a mega combat xl and a cruzr i believe) are very comfortable to sit in but i hate taking them down and moving them due to that . if i had a spot that i wasnt going to move it the hawks are god and the price is right but i think my next stands are going to be lone wolf (XOP look good too) .
cheers

fyi I'm green as grass so ymmv .

 

[SoDaky]

Lone Wolf or Millenium M7.

 

[*zap*]

The xop quick hang bracket makes hanging the stand a breeze. If its a one time set up or you leave the bracket out it is much easier/faster to hang with the bracket. The stand can still be cam locked when you use the bracket and the bracket has multiple slots so you can offset the stand.

 

[Ndstevens]

The xop quick hang bracket makes hanging the stand a breeze. If its a one time set up or you leave the bracket out it is much easier/faster to hang with the bracket. The stand can still be cam locked when you use the bracket and the bracket has multiple slots so you can offset the stand.

I was looking into that. Seems nice for bad angled trees and i like that i can have one stand and bring it to a couple different spots with the ability to hang quickly

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