I recently bought a climbing stand. At my house there are not trees straight enough to practice but the places that I hunt have big pines and ash. Well this weekend my buddy and I (who also just bought a climbing stand) tried them out for the first time. We picked the straightest trees in which the base was as close in diameter as about 15ft up as we could. But even then the base is just enough bigger to make it impossible to make the feet level once you are 7-8 ft in the air. Is there a way to tighten the feet section while in the air or are we tough out of luck?

When your at the base getting ready to climb up, you need to have your foot platform angled up. So the higher you get the foot platform will level out..

I did that and it still was too loose once I got to about 8 ft. I am pretty sure had someone been behind me with a video camera they could have won $10,000 on Americas Funniest Home Videos. Someone needs to invent some sort of racheting system which would allow you to use a climber on any tree (without limbs). Just kind of frustrating.

a buddy tried tightening his while about 10 feet up and the entire bottom fell to the forest floor...there he sat, 10 feet above, feet just a dangling...NOT ADVISED

i do what hoosier does, but something extra...i put it about shoulder level and angle it, then I lift myself up onto that bottom platform, then attach the seat portion, this gives me the levelling that i need, but also not having to worry about the tree "thinning out" as I climb

you might need to start with the 'bottom' at a much steeper angle........have had to do mine at a harsh angle to start with and as i got up in the tree it 'flattens' out - would rather have it that way so you fall back at the tree versus the feeling of falling from the tree!

totally agree. It just seemed as though no matter how steep I put it, it was still going to angle the wrong direction once up in the air. But I will play with it prob on the next trip and then it is going back to craigslist. Thanks for all the input.

The reason the started making adjustable stands.

You can sit on the top section, put your heals under the front lip of the bottom section and lift keeping pressure on the tree. Reach down carefully with your hand and try and adjust the cable/belt. One thing that always should be done is tieing the top and bottom section together that way if it falls you can pull it back up.

All of this requires no small amount of strength and balance. Your definetly on the right track though, practise is the key to safe hunting.

Do you have one of those 1980's climbers that's a metal bar in the back and one in front with two wingnuts?

Hoosierhunter is righ have it angled up and if its still doing it tighten it even more. its guna be a lil harder to get up the tree but itl stay level

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