ORIGINAL: GMMAT
For one thing, Don.....you bought your stand from a place that made an online pricing error and "honored" it to the people who took advantage of it. Scoffing at those who paid more is kinda crappy...don't ya think?
It would be like me telling you I paid $400 for my new Bowtechs and telling you that you got ripped off if you paid more. Kinda low class.
To the rest.......
That being said.....I went up a tree in my LW last year over 80 times. Climb that many times in a season then tell me which one you chose (stand).
If you climb a few times a year......or you're a stationary hunter.....I don't expect you to understand why I love my LW. And you can ask GR8.....I was NOT a fanboy of LW, even after owning it for a short while. I was a HUGE skeptic. No more.
Honestly......If something happened to mine, I'd be forced to pay whatever I could get one for. But I WOULD own another one. Period.
Even though I only use Summit Viper SS's, the Lone Wolf is probably the best overall climber when all aspects are taken into consideration. The only reason I don't own one is that I have no complaints about the stands I have. Well, that and the Lone Wolf stands don't
look as comfortable. To me personally, all day comfort outweighs all other factors. If I actually trieda Lone Wolf, I'd probably want one. If I decide I want one, I'll pay the price that they are asking. If you want the best, you usually end up having to pay for it, and since Lone Wolf seems to be at the top of the food chain, I suppose they can ask whatever price they want. If it's too much, I just don't buy it.