RE: Climber vs. Hang on Stands
SLUGMAN,
I'm in the same boat as you. I can only hunt public land so far, and I'm required to remove my stand daily.
I have to recommend a climber. Anything else is just too much to carry in and try to set up quietly. I've used a climber once and loved it.
In my infinite wisdom however, what I actually bought was a hang-on and a 4 peice climbing ladder. My setup is fine and plenty comfortable, but what a pain it is to carry! So why did I buy the hang-on, you say? Simple: I'd only bowhunted and got tired of seeing deer out of range that I couldn't shoot at. I liked the idea of spotting deer from my stand, and being able to get down and stalk up to them without making ANY noise. Since I bought it of course I have not had a single occassion to use it this way.
It does wrok nicely though if you want to get down and do some still hunting for the middle part of the day and then return to your stand later for the late afternoon.
In hindsight, I would certainly buy a climber in your situation.
They are plenty quiet, and you can still get down during the day almost silently if you want.
Use fall protection with any stand.
WHATEVER TYPE OR BRAND OF STAND YOU BUY, YOU WILL FEEL MORE SECURE AND BE SAFER IF YOU GET A RACHET STRAP TO STEADY THE STAND AGAINST THE TREE ONCE YOU'VE CLIMBED UP. THEY MAKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE.
ALSO: If you go with a hang-on, use a fall protection system like Summit's Seat Of The Pants. It lets you use the safety rope as a climbing belt attached to d-rings at your hips. THis is the only effective way I;ve found to have both hands free to sttach the hang-on stand to the tree. It'd very awkward and even dangerous to try it with one hand. Too easy to slip.