Hey got a question. I bought one of the new remington tree stands from walmart it is a two man. I noticed real quick there where some real improvements but alot of failures from the older ones i think where made by ameriastep. I also noticed at gander it seems the nicer one man stands where made from the same thickness of metal. It seems they had the same area holding on the tree. Seems to me the only real diff is the platform. But the two man has a 500 pound weight limit. Which as most of you know i am south of that by 25 pounds. The one man seem to stay around 350. Is the weight limit just a legal thing would the one man hold my weight. Or am i thinking about something that will get my killed. I ask because the one man are nicer cheaper and ofcourse easier to move in and out of the woods.

Knowing that an engineer will usually build some margin into the design, I still wouldn't push it as you don't know how much margin is built in, go with the 2 man.

I would go with the 2-man anyway...much roomier and more comfortable to hunt out of for extended periods of time. I have a one man ladder stand at one of the properties I hunt and RARELY hunt from it because of its lack of comfort. I'll climb a tree 8 yards from it as long as there is time.

If your 475 naked...You've pushed the safe working load of even the 2 man. Is that the end of it? Heck no! Either build your own stronger or add to the 2 man to make it stronger. Keep in mind you have to get the thing out there. Even if you don't add some steel to the thing, add plenty more ratchet straps. Some of my stands have 3 times the straps that came with it. Kind of hard for a stand to fail if it has to additional straps as back up.

Maybe a box blind would be better. I"ve never looked into the ratings of them.

I've heard stands break at 2x's the max load, however the rule that I know of in construction is always 3x's. In other words if something being tested breaks at 3000 lbs. the NBC will give it a max load rating of 1000.

Look for a double railed ladder stand. The ladder is what is going to hold most of your weight. I'd maybe even consider building one (super heavy duty ladder stand) from angle iron or treated wood(plan to inspect and replace some boards annually) for piece of mind.

lemme know how it werks out

One other suggestion that was overlooked, and I don't mean to be an a-hole, but it's time to lose some weight. If you are worried about a 2 man tree stand not being able to hold you, that should be a hint.
With that said, I hope you have a happy and healthy hunting season. I have to give you credit, if I was pushing 5 bills I don't think I would want to be climbing a ladder stand 15 feet in the air.

Do you have access to a Mig welder. If you do get some conduit that is the same thickness of the rails on your stand and weld the conduit on to it. Also get some pipe that will fit inside of the conduit so that you can make the connection at each break.

Well iam taking a mig class at my college taking a tig class this spring. Good idea.