How "creative" are you with your climber?
 

Hardcore's reasons for portable use thread got me thinking and wondering..........How many guys view something as an obstacle or a problem in the woods that other guys see as an opportunity??

Myself??.........I readily admit to not being able to set a portable stand up with any proficiency that would allow to me even consider putting one on my back and walking off to the woods............by the time I was done every deer in the county would know I was there and it would be about 10 am by the time I sat down...........besides being soaked in sweat and about a 50/50 chance of being injured [8D] The aggravation alone would be enough to make me reach for the golf clubs next time instead.

I have NO doubts that some of you guys are like monkeys and speed merchants with thesethings but it's just tooirritating to me to bother.


Having said that.................;)

NOTHING.............and I mean NOTHING stops me in my Summit. I am up any tree out there5 minutes after my stand comes off my back..........down and out just as fast.

Just as Hardcore descibes in histhread..........after many times up and down trees with your chosengear you become proficient and figure out the best way to get things done...........this same logic is what allows me to take on trees that others who don't use climbers very often would look at andwish they could climb but decide not to.

Let's just say my methodssometimes are ones you will NEVER see in the video that comes with your stand ;)


I amALWAYS safe.............never not tied to the tree but I am certainly creative and trusting of my equipment. I know my stand and what it can and can't do.............basically the only thing it can't do is climb very high in a skinny tree..........and I mean SKINNY, which you shouldn't be very high in if at all anyways so that is a good thing IMO. The rest is only limited by the operators skills IMO.

Limbs??........LOL, takes me 5seconds to get past a limb..........just open cable and reattach above.......simple. The bottom platform of course would be the part that stops most guys from accomplishing this..........not me. I learned how easy it was to manipulate the bottom platform one time when I misjudged the angle and didn't feel like climbing back down and starting over..........nowchanging the angle or moving my bottom platform is second natureto me and atually very easy.

Straight trees??............again no concern for me, I havebeen up bananas, bends, curves, hockey sticks etc..........doesn't matter to me, if I want to hunt out of that tree I am going up it..........You just have to adjust yourtop and bottom individually to match the tree...........no big deal.

I have been up telephone poles, slick bark, skinny, fat, crooked, limbed, bare, leaning, straight and pretty much everything in between...............I've gottensome pretty funny comments from my hunting partners when they see me in my climber 10 feet past a Y in the tree.

I don't consider anything I do to be unsafe.................and truthfully I don't know that I would be able to do half the things I do if it wasn't for owning a Summit.

I just think it's probably got less to do with what you are climbing with and more to do with how well you can use your chosen gear. I would look like a completedisaster trying to do what I do with sticks and a portable on my back............but strap my Summit on me and within minutes I will having you asking "How the heck did you get up there??"


I'm sure we are all pretty crafty with our chosen method of ascent.............if we wern't I doubtwe woulduse it.


One thing about my climber is I know I will NEVER be limited in how high I can climb.............where with sticks you can only go as far as how many you brought. I like knowing I can stop whenever I want, or just keep going if need be. Sometimes that extra 3 feetmakes a big difference. Opening day of gun this year I was all set (so I thought) at 20 feet or so...........until I got up there are realized it was jail in 3 directions.......I ended up with my platform at about 26 feet shooting from over 30 for sure..........I got my shot off and it worked outwell but that doesn't prove or disprove anything...........I just like having that freedom. :D

RE: How "creative" are you with your climber?
 

Tee hee glad someone else admits to this! Heck I've stood on limbs and switched trees mid way up! The only real no no I found, is if that sapling is still in your lane, bungie strapping it to your platform is a bad idea. Tends to make it seperate from the tree if you move just right!

RE: How "creative" are you with your climber?
 

Where I hunt.....there is an ABUNDANCE of climbable trees with a Summit viper. I get creative if I have to.....but it's sledom an obstacle.

Stealth...........is one of the main reasons I chose the Summit. Comfort is a close second.

RE: How "creative" are you with your climber?
 

Virtually all of my stands are set-up preseason. I do move quite often during the season but that consists of clearing shooting lanes, trimming branches on the tree I am going to climb, etc. So, I guess I am not creative at all;)

RE: How "creative" are you with your climber?
 

Atlas man = summit tree stand salesman of the year. LOL After reading that,I want to run out and buy one.

RE: How "creative" are you with your climber?
 

Atlas, I've used a climber for many years and I am not doubting you at all but I have two trees picked out specifically to hunt specific spots, and I swear you could not use a climber in either of them. One tree is at the minimum diameter limit of using any stand in plus there is several crotches to get around. A person can only go up so high because it really narrows above one crotch, thats where I sit my stand. Only type of stand that will work in it is a small hangon........therefore my Assault. A climber or most hangons are too big for the tree. First time in the tree ever and I killed a nice doe, couldn't have even got into that tree without sticks and a climber. I'll take some pics of the tree next time I am down there. Other tree in another area runs parallel to the ground for about 4 feet before it shifts back toward the sky. Even then its not straight and I'll have to use a combination of sticks and steps to get where I want in the tree. Its also in a fencerow that divides two fields. Corn should be planted this year and I am going to be sitting along that field edge and can shoot left or right...............due to my Assault and sticks/steps. I'll get a pic of it too hopefully this weekend.

RE: How "creative" are you with your climber?
 

ive also wondered just how crooked does a tree have to be to make it unclimbable?? one of my favorite trees has a few hard S bends in it...and at the bottom it starts like this / then snakes the whole way up...never gave me troubles...

big knots? no problem at all..just gotta learn to manuver the platforms around it...

tree gets skinny too quick?? not a problem...i certainly aint climbing back down! i will just tighten the cables.

never went around branches...never had to..by the time most of my hardwood trees have branches, its time to stop climbing and use them for cover...

im tied to the tree as soon as i jump in my Viper. i have never felt unsafe or done anything i probably shouldnt have...

and like you, if im not up the tree and settling in within 5 minutes, i must be still sleeping...and i do so with little noise...no more noise than climbing a ladder or lock on...just one of them things after you do it a couple times in the dark, it seems like second nature...packing and unpacking in the dark..setting up up...climbing without making noise...just seems simple now...

RE: How "creative" are you with your climber?
 

atlas you need to stop bashing on summit climbers!! [8D]:D;)

RE: How "creative" are you with your climber?
 

never switched trees half way up, but have sawed many a limb and manuvered around many crooks bends and bumps :D
Oh, and mines a summit to, love it ;)

RE: How "creative" are you with your climber?
 

I've sawed limbs off on my way up, and I mean significant attachments to the tree, but I've never thought of trying to take my cables off mid-climb to get around a limb. The climber would be no problem, but I think I would have to work up some nerve and practice with the platform. Interesting idea.

RE: How "creative" are you with your climber?
 

This year i took my summit to new levels like you mentioned. I too removed both the top and bottow to manuveur around braches that were too fat to cut with my limb saw. I am very good at changing the angle of my treestand in mid air, but also safe by wearing my HS vest. I have had the same summit for 9 years or so, so i know my stand well. Therefore i do not have to make adjustments as much as i normally do, but sometimes in the dark it is hard to tell. I am also what you would call a monkey in the tree so it helps me get my stand into any position i want. With that being said I am only 21 years old so it makes it easier for me than some of you old guys.[8D]

RE: How "creative" are you with your climber?
 

I have used my Summit to hunt off of the ground before. I'll attach the top portion a few feet off of the ground, and it makes a nice comfortable place to sit up off of the ground. Starting next year I will be hunting exclusivley out of my Goliath.

RE: How "creative" are you with your climber?
 

the most creative i've done is to change sides of the tree as i climb. kind of spiral up the tree as i climb . Only once did i readjust the top rail
How do you change the bottom plat form once you are up the tree ? I want to know how you go over branches?

RE: How "creative" are you with your climber?
 

I've went past a branch with the top part but not the bottom. Although I have disconnected the bottom 20' up a tree to readjust it. everything else I can pretty much work around.

I want to see you get up past a split in a trunk. You are going to have to get REAL creative to do that.