Hello
I'm a huge fan of the lone wolf treestands. I've had both the summit and lone wolf climbers.
My lone wolf when brand new and for the first three years was absolutely silent during use. No creaks at all while moving about on the platform. My summit, I was totally dissapointed in that stand since it creaked quite often when moving about. That stand only went hunting a few times, being silent while getting ready for the shot(other than being safe)is the most important feature of a stand. In summits defense, this stand was an older model that had thin channel for cross members and not the triangular tube that is used on the newer verisions. The instructions that came with the stand actually had some recommedations as for what to do to get rid of creaks, I tried those and still no luck getting rid of those annoying creaks.
My lone wolf just amazed me at its fine qualities. The first three years I didn't alter a thing. My wife says I can't buy anything without making any changes. I'm fussy and have a lot of years experience bowhunting and want things just so. So no changes for that time period says a lot. Just this fall my lone wolf climber (which probably gets used at least 50 or more times a year) started developing a creak. I took that stand apart and replaced all the nylon bushings, washers and bolts(about $4. from local hardware store)on the stand and the stand is once again perfectly silent. I did at this time alter the stand somewhat. I had ordered longer belts to handle some larger trees. But the problem with the longer belts is that they wouldn't handle the smaller trees since the bolts in the stand were fastened in such a manner that they acted as stops for the end of the belt. This kind of sucked if I went hunting with the longer belts and then wanted a smaller tree, it just wouldn't work. So when I redid the bolts/bushings, I changed the direction that the bolts ran through the components and now I can use the longer belts on small trees as well as larger ones. And I'm 100% sure this change does nothing to affect the safety of the stand.
One plus that I hearabout the lone wolf is its ability to pack flat. Which the stand does beautifully. I however won't pack it in flat during the cold late season. Its just that much more hassle to be fumbling with at the base of the tree when its cold/miserable out. So the stand easily packs in the ready to use position as well.
Having said all this, I'd probably be willing to try a summit stand again just because they have such a big following and I believe the way the new stands are built will have ended the creaking problem I had with mine. A lot of time, the money one has available becomes a driving issue and summit stands are cheaper on the wallet. But I should never have to buy another stand, since my lone wolf should last the rest of my lifetime.
This is just my two cents arrived at from years and years of experience since I'm an old fart. I actually had a baker climbing treestand, the first climbers ever built.
Happy and Safe Hunting
Dan