I ordered it on Sunday June 8, and it arrived Wednesday June 11. On Monday they emailed me and told me it had been shipped, and when to expect it. The stand was $198.99 , Shipping $8.78 and tax $13.93 for a total of $221.70 Why tax? ' cause they are in the same state I' m in. Still that is cheaper than Basspro, Cabellas, etc. on their sale price. The company I bought from charge the actual shipping cost, not " shipping and handling. If i bought from Basspro they woulda charged me $237.94

It arrived in a nice box, and I ripped it open like a child at Christmas! Then I pulled it out onto the floor. Everything was ready to go. All I had to do was push the cable into the opening and close the gate. That was all there was to it! It came with a 5 year warranty card, a 5 page instruction manual that also explained the use of the 4 point harness that came with it.

There was a 30 minute video that was entertaining and explained how the stand operates as well as explaining the " dangers and cautions" of using a treestand. Did you know that 30% of all deerstand users get hurt somehow?

I took my stand to the backyard and hooked it up to a tree. Man was it easier than my old stand! It was so quiet I couldn' t beleive it. I sat in the cushioned chair, and I just sat there thinking, Man if my wife would let me put this in the den where my Strato-lounger is I' d be happy! It was so comfortable!

Then I started climbing. It was very quiet and easy to use. It would bite into the bark so well that I know it will not slide. It also has a self leveling feature that is built in. The video that came with it explains how to do this.

I was going to climb a telephone pole and an aluminum light pole just to see how secure it would be but the video tape that came with it said not to. I am not stupid, when the manufacturer says it' s dangerous then I believe them! However, in a tree it sticks! Not to the point of being stuck, I just mean it doesn' t slide. Have you ever bounced on your stand to get it to sink in? I have on my old stand. This one you just don' t have to.

It came with everything to safely climb a tree; a real 4 point safety harness, with rope to attach to a tree, a locking strap to use to lock the stand to the tree, another rope to tie both pieces of stand together(to keep the bottom from falling down should you " accidently" kick or push or whatever, backpack straps, padded cushions(thick!) video to explain it all(it was entertaining as well as educational.