My first climber wont happen this year do to funding, but i will take all this into consideration, thanks guys.

Good advice from all - I agree with waiting until you can purchse a quality stand in the 20lb range. Summit has served me well for the past 5 years.

I practiced in my back yard. Develop a routine and practice it over and over, it will build the muscles you need for climbing that you don't use for football.

I have a Viper and I think it's a good stand, but I haven't used it in the past few years, since I got my Lone Wolf Alpha Assault, which is a very quiet (one-piece cast aluminum platform that is solid, not welded hollow tubes), very light (11 lbs) and secure hang-on stand.

I really like being able to go up and down from my stand when I want to. I sometimes like to do stalk hunts mid-day, to get me out of my stand for a change of pace. It also makes it easier to leave the stand up and just take my climbing sticks (4 sticks = 10 lbs), if I want to leave it up overnight or for a few days. Leaving a climbing stand at the bottom of a tree is an invitation to theft (maybe not a problem where you hunt, but would be a major bummer).

I think the Lone Wolf sticks also make it easier to get up in a wider variety of trees. They don't connect to each other and the steps flip to either side for more flexibility of placement and don't require trimming of branches or "telephone pole trees". And they stack/pack very tightly with each other and my stand. I also think the hang-on sticks are quieter than a climber. They're pretty pricey, but very well made and well-engineered, IMHO. Total weight of stand + sticks = 21 lbs. I udnertsand you're on a tight budget this year, but think about it if you get some money in your pockets (or for a Christmas gift request ;-))

Good luck!

One way to reduce this risk is to lock it to the tree with a cable. I've done this occasionally (rarely, the last few years) when I've hunted one evening and planned on coming back the next day. That way I could get set up that much faster and quieter without having to pack in the stand and set it up on the tree. I figure that if someone is going to steal it, they need to plan ahead and bring bolt cutters to remove the cable...something they can do just as easily with a hang-on (if they're going to bring bolt cutters, they'll just as easily take along a climbing stick too).

I won't leave a stand on any publicly accessible land for long, including hang-ons or ladder stands, where I think that theft is a problem. That's probably the #1 reason I prefer climbers...I always have the peace of mind that my property will not be stolen because I've left nothing in the woods.

I cant buy much hunting things without someone getting on my case, but i have thought about the hang ons, something to think about.

http://www.treewalkertreestands.com/index.asp :happy0001: