Experienced hunters know that the only key to success is patience and planning. Having the patience to wait for your prized buck can be difficult, but through excessive planning it gets a lot more bearable. Long periods of waiting often leave hunters sore and miserable. You have to be tough to sit through the cold of fall not knowing when you’ll get off a shot.
What’s The Best Climbing Tree Stand?
1. Summit Treestands Viper SD Climbing Treestand
Summit’s Viper SD Treestand is easily one of the best on the market. Summit Treestands really does make a high quality product. The Viper SD is Summit’s moderately priced treestand line, and comes packed with a lot of features. Being Summit TreeStands most popular model you’re sure to like the Viper SD Treestand.
The Summit Viper SD is one of the top tree stands on the market. The best part about the Viper SD is that it’s extremely comfortable. Fat men like me at 6′ 270 lbs will find the added room on the Viper SD to be a much needed feature. With a weight limit of 300 lbs the Viper SD is perfect for most people(big men want the 180 Max SD Treestand) With a width of 18″ you won’t have to worry about the metal digging into the side of your legs. Summit chose to use a suspended foam padded seat so that you can adjust the height for even more comfort. Unlike most suspended seats the Viper SD feels firm and doesn’t pinch your sides.
Tree Stand portability is one of the biggest complaints I hear from a lot of hunters. Bigger tree stands tend to be on the heavy side, which they should be to hold 300+ lbs. The Viper SD is the perfect weight of 20lbs and mounts right on your back for easy carry. After initial inspection of this tree stand I was shocked at how quiet the thing was during setup. Summit strategically places custom foam pieces everywhere you’d expect aluminum on aluminum contact. The summit safety bar makes this one of this treestand a sitdown/standup climber which gives you a much wider layout. Stand up tree stands are crucial for bow hunters. You might be able to swing a rifle around behind you, but there’s a good chance you’ll fall out with a bow. Which brings me to summits excellent included safety system. Tree stand falls are the number 1 cause of death for hunters. Even though it’s the hunters responsibility to ensure their safety all tree stands should include a basic harness. Luckily Summit included one of the best harness’ I’ve ever used. It’s a full body harness that’s comfortable, doesn’t rub and securely mounts to the stand. Do yourself a favor and buy the Summit Viper SD TreeStand(youwon’t regret it).
2. Summit Treestands 180 Max SD Climbing Treestand
Like I said above if you’re a big man you’re going to want to buy the Summit Treestands 180 Max SD Treestand. This is the tree stand I’ve been using the past couple years and it’s worth it’s weight in gold. It’s one of the most expensive treestands on this list, but if you’re wide tall or heavy there’s not a lot of options. If you liked the above Viper SD you’re going to like the 180 Max SD. The only real difference between the two is the beefier frame and thicker cushion.
Summit Treestands really outdid themselves while building this Tree Stand. Honestly they are one of the most comfortable tree stands I’ve ever used. Even if you’re not heavy the added width and cushioning is well worth the purchase. You can sit all day without feeling uncomfortable which is both good and bad. I’ve been known to get a nice nap in a time or two during prime hunting hours. I can only imagine the massive bucks I’ve missed sleeping in this stand. Where you’ll notice the biggest advantage in this stand is with the seat. Summit designed the absolute best seat in the industry. The deep seat works like a comfortable cocoon protecting you from the harsh cold and wind.
The Summit 180 Max SD Treestand was designed to be used by the biggest hunters in the world. Built with a heavy duty reinforced aluminum frame the Max SD will hold up to 350 lbs. No matter who you are you’re going to be comfortable in this tree stand. One of my hunting buddies is 6’7″ tall and he can sit comfortably in this tree stand. Summit equipped this stand with an adjustable-height seat and a reversible surround seat. You can actually sit facing the tree which is a much needed feature for bow hunting. The added strength to the frame really doesn’t add a lot to the weight of this stand. At a little over 23lbs you can still easily transport this treestand on long hikes into the woods. It has all the same safety features of the above Viper Sd. The RapidClimb Stirrups allow you to secure your boots and climb the tree easily and safely. The bar on the front of the stand also makes it a lot easier to climb the stand since you aren’t relying as heavily on a safety harness. If you’re a big man like me do yourself a favor and buy the Summit 180 Max SD.
3. Lone Wolf Side Sit & Climb Combo
The Lone Wolf Wide Sit and Climb combo is another great option for larger hunters. I personally prefer the Above summit stand due to the increased comfort, but the Lone Wolf Stand has a lot of advantages. The biggest advantage you’ll notice is that it’s much easier to stand which is crucial during bow season. The wide base and unobtrusive seat allows you to change your position quickly and easily.
This was the tree stand I used up until a couple of years ago. After wanting something new I switched up to the above Summit 180 Max SD with no regrets. That being said I gave this stand to my father and he really loves it. He just turned 65 years old this year and with the help of the Hunter Safety System Harness he’s able to easily climb into the tree. At 6’3 285 lbs and two knee replacements he can use this tree stand(albeit slowly) where he can’t use the above 180 Max SD. The open design gives him a little more room to work with this tree stand with the added benefit of being able to stand while bow hunting. The 21″ wide reinforced foam seat is one of the largest in the industry. With a 350 lb weight capacity almost anyone can use the lone wolf tree stand. I really like the oversized one piece cast aluminum platform because it’s very easy to maneuver. The biggest downfall to this system is the included harness. Being one of the most expensive tree stands on the market you wouldn’t expect it to have a horrible harness. Set aside a little extra money for a quality harness if you buy this tree stand.
With a little practice the Lone Wolf Tree Stand is extremely easy to use. Personally I like the design of the above Summit treestand due to the safety bar, but the Lone Wolf is a great alternative. It probably takes about 5 minutes to setup and climb into the tree stand. Anybody who’s used this style tree stand will instantly know how to set it up. Weighing in at 21 lbs the tree stand is a little bit lighter than the above summit and just as easy to carry into the woods. With adjustable backpack straps you’ll be able to easily walk this back to your hunting spot. I really think Lone Wolf did a disservice to themselves with their color choices. When people buy hunting gear they expect a camo pattern whereas the LoneWolf is more of a gray blue color. Just remember that it won’t make a difference because deer will never see the seat since you’ll be blocking their view. I was happy with the Lone Wolf tree stand, and I really think you will too.
4. Summit Treestands Cobra SD Climbing Tree Stand
The Summit Treestand Cobra SD was specifically designed for bowhunters, but works just as well with rifles. The compact and portable design makes it the perfect bowhunting stand. With an open layout and easy to setup design you won’t be tied up in one place all day. When the deer aren’t coming you’ll be able to quickly pack up and move your stand in no time.
Summit Treestands must research the crap out of their stands to come up with the perfect design. I don’t know how they do it. The low profile design allows you to get a full 180 degree turn radius without impeding the draw of your bow. It offers a completely obstruction free shooting experience from the seated position. Most of that comes down to their open design and trust me as a bow hunter that’s a good thing. The best part about the Cobra SD is how easy it is to climb with. Summits RapidClimb stirrups allow you to climb up the tree and get setup in a matter of minutes(less than 5 with practice). Designed to keep your boot securely in place you won’t have to adjust your footing between each movement, just keep on climbing. Summit’s QuickDraw cable retention system is another important improvement that significantly speed up your climb. Just insert the cable until it’s secure on the tree. It’s the fastest cable management system on the market.
Being one of the most portable climbing tree stands on the market has it’s advantages. Weighing in at less than 18 pounds the cobra Sd is one of the lightest climbing tress stands on the market. The lightweight design doesn’t come at a loss of durability. The heavy duty aluminum fraim can support up to 300 lbs and has an adjustable seat to ensure a custom fit regardless of your weight. Like the above Summit Treestands the Cobra SD comes with a nice and comfortable full body harness for increased safety. If you’re a bowhunter you really need to buy the Summit Cobra SD climbing Tree Stand.
5. X-Stand Deluxe Hunting Stand
For an extremely lightweight option try the X-Stand Deluxe Climbing Tree Stand. X-Stand Tree Stands have been around for a while and they make a very nice product. They make an extremely portable closed tree stand that’s easy to setup. Being an extremely affordable option the X-Stand is a little less comfortable than the tree stands listed above.
Where the X-Stand really sets itself apart from the competition is it’s portability. It’s one of the lightest closed climbing stands on the market weighing about 16 lbs. It might not seem like a lot compared to the 24 lb summit above, but you’ll notice the difference carrying all your gear miles into the woods. It folds flat and has built-in backpack straps to carry off into the woods. Even though the stand is lightweight it really does give you a sturdy setup. That being said the cushion can get fairly uncomfortable throughout a long hunting season. The mesh seat without a back quickly gets old on cold mornings. If you live up north like me your butt will go numb with the breeze blowing on it all day. You’ll also likely want to bring a back rest which eats into the portability of the unit. If you’re looking for an extremely portable climbing tree stand buy the X-Stand Deluxe Climbing Tree Stand.
Choosing The Best Climbing Tree Stand
Climbing tree stands are one of those things you don’t realize you need until you see one in use. The portability of a climbing tree stand is their main advantage, especially while hunting on public land. It’s extremely easy to setup and you won’t have to leave your expensive stand in the woods overnight. Tree stand theft is a serious issue around me and I’ve had more than one permanent stand stolen on my property during the night.
The best thing about climbing tree stands is that you can setup your stand just about anywhere. All you need is a tree with 15-20 foot of straight base to setup your stand. You can pretty much climb up to your hearts content to get a great view on game. There’s no limit like you have with climbing sticks or ladders. Choosing your tree stand will most likely come down to these three features.
Safety: Safety should be your main concern when buying a tree stand. By their very nature tree stands are dangerous. Sitting 20 feet in the air on a little platform goes against all of your natural instincts. Most of the tree stands are inherently safe, but make sure the mounting strap seats fully and you buy a stand to suit your weight.
Durability and Weight Limit: The first thing you are going to want to test is whether or not your treestand supports your weight. Most of the tree stands on the market can hold a max weight of 300 lbs. The real limit is most likely higher, but I wouldn’t test that when your 20 feet up in the air. Over 4000 people fall out of their tree stand each year and I’d prefer it be somebody else. Even though I weigh about 260 I bought the Summit 180 Max SD which has a weight rating of 350 lbs. Nobody ever complained about having to much leg room.
Additional Features: Not all features are entirely necessary with tree stands. You see a lot of advanced features in the Summit tree stands that are nice but unnecessary. A lot of features that speed up your setup process aren’t entirely necessary. I tend to get my stands up in the tree before I can legally start hunting. So your up in the tree sitting and waiting(napping if your like me). Features worth paying extra for are additional comfort like the deep seat found on the Summit 180 Max SD.
Tree Stand Safety Tips
For you to stay safe in a tree stand you are going to need to follow a few safety tips. If you follow this list of safety tips you’ll be better off than most hunters.
- Before you setup your tree stand inspect your gear to make sure everything is secure. When your safety harness starts to fray or feel dry rotted it’s time to buy a new safety harness.
- It doesn’t matter how young or macho you think you are always wear a safety harness while climbing a tree. You never know when a freak accident is going to happen. You could be 25 feet up in the air and stumble across a beehive and fall while your unsecure. Do yourself a favor and always secure yourself in multiple places.
- While setting up your platform make sure everything is secure before settling. It’s a lot easier to protect your self while facing the tree than it is sitting down.
- Tighten your tree stand belt and don’t go past the recommended safety allotments.
- Don’t rush when your first setting up your stand and taking it down. Those are the two most dangerous things about hunting. I know you’re excited to get down and start tracking your deer, but you should really wait a few minutes to track him anyway.
- Never climb the tree with all of your gear. Not only will the gear get in the way there’s a good chance you drop something. Attach your gear to a rope at the bottom of the tree and use a pulley system to get your gear in the tree.
Following all the above safety steps should put you on the right path to a safe and successful hunt.