Opening morning I was at about 15 feet and climbing when the sitting platform of my stand broke, collapsed, bent, whatever you want to call it but I went backwards but was able to grab the safety rope and keep myself from falling on backwards. The safety harness would have kept me from hitting the ground but I really didn't like the idea of hanging from a tree so I was thankfull I was able to catch myself with the rope and did not have to test the harness. Without the harness there would not have been a rope to grab on to.
I hate to mention the brand name of the stand because there a good company and I'm right on the weight limitations of the stand. I'm at 290 pounds and with equipment I'm probably 300 and that's the limit of the stand.
My moral of this story is: If your close to a weight limitation of a stand by one of the big guy stands and don't take the chance and of course, the other moral, wear that safety belt climbing, sitting, standing or descending in that tree. This was the second time in my life I have used a safety harness but I'll not get in another tree without it. Have a great hunting season.



Edited by - rockytop on 09/30/2002 13:11:14

Glad to hear you made it home safely. Great story, hopefully your story will turn a few disbelievers into believers. Good luck the rest of the season.

Glad to hear you are ok. Would you kindly mention the brand? It is of some importance. I too am on the fringe of the limit of my stand. All of the commercial stands should have a safety factor built into them. I'm sure the manufacturer would like to know when their product fails so they can better the product.

[Deleted by Admins]

It's great that you are ok.

High Country Archery - "Driven to greater heights..."

Glad your still here to be able to share the story with us rather than another forumite pointing to the news clipping!! <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

-Mike

I'm still not going to mention the name except to say I emailed them saturday night and told them what happened. This morning they called me at work and said they were not only replacing the stand but sending me their big mans model. They didn't make the big model when I bought the stand. My email is [email protected], if your a big guy and worried about your stand, send me a message and I'll get back to you with a brand name.



Edited by - rockytop on 09/30/2002 15:28:43