First Time in a Climber..Gulp
 

Although I've been hunting for years, it has always been on the ground.
Well, i finally bought a climber and used it this weekend.

Although i practiced using it right next to the ground over the past week, this was my first ascent.

First thing I learned was that you have to trust the actual mechanics of the stand. I mean everything is so loose except when you put your weight on it correctly. Just allowing myself to trust that was nerve-racking to say the least.

Here's a fun fact... I can scream like a little 5 year old girl when the upper part doesn't' actually grab the tree and slips down about 4 inches when you have your weight on it.

Here's another fun fact... My heart can beat at probably 250 BPM when the bottom piece actually falls away when climbing. It was tied to the top piece but pulling it back up was a difficult maneuver.

Once i got to my desired height (16') I had a strong desire to now fasten, bolt, secure the thing to the tree. But nooooooo, you have to just sit there and trust that it's all gonna hold.

I'm sure i'll get used to all this but it certainly was a new experience and quite frankly once i got up there, i wondered why i had never done this before. You can see soooo much more

I hunt 75% of the time from a climber and love it...
MOBILE, baby, Mobile!

It took me better part of a season to get above 14-15' and now I regularly try to get in the 20' range.
I too suffer from the shakey knees at heights, but for some reason this never bothers me...

Wait until your in a tree and 30-40MPH gusts whip you around like a rodeo clown - big fun:) Good luck!

Climber is the way to go! I love being able to pattern deer...climb a tree you like, and if you see some that will never get to within range, next time climb a tree closer to where they were. Gives you a lot more to work with. It is much easier to simply walk in the woods and climb up in a ladder stand, but I almost always prefer my climber unless I am running short on time. You will get used to it. Sounds as though you had more adversity on your first trip up the tree than I have had in years of hunting from a climber...you an unlucky kind of guy?

Climber is the way to go. I've been using one since I started hunting when I was about 15 or 16. I usually try to get up to about 25' if possible. I've had a couple of those minor slips where you tense up real quick. Hell I've had the bottom fall all the way down to the ground when I was about 20' up. I was hanging there on the top piece. I was borrowing a climber before I bought my own and they didn't have the 2 pieces tied together. That was a quick descent!!!

im guessing most of you that use your climber have pine trees? Where I am from there are no trees to use it. Which makes for some pretty big problems after purchasing them. My buddy and I got the bright idea that we would each buy one and use it on some ash trees where we hunt. We never really practiced with them but maybe a couple feet off the ground. We live in little blackjack oak country. Anyway we both head out towards the woods with our climbers on our backs, looked like a lone wolf commercial. We both decide where we were going to go up and they were about 100 yds apart on an old logging road. After about 30 min of making it about 5 feet up and then climbing back down, I decide that I don't know what I am doing and this thing is going on craigslist. I could not keep it level. Once I made it up about 5-6 ft it will be leaning so bad. Anyway I crawl down and decide I don't want to screw up my buddies hunt so I just creep back out to the logging road and sit behind a log jam. After about 10 min I hear something coming. I mean it is that sound you just know is a good one. When finally I start to see movement I realize its my buddy! He had done the same thing. I finally get his attention as he is staring up in the trees looking for me. He came and sat by me and we just were rolling. We finally came to the realization that ash trees just don't work. Bark is too hard and there is too much difference in circumference in the trees. But we did figure out they can be used in pine trees. But we still laugh about it to this day.

I don't have any pine trees. You just have to start out at an angle so when you get to the top the platform will level out. I use mine on pretty much anything that is straight and doesn't have limbs for about 25'.

Don't get me wrong. I believe that I am really going to enjoy the climber. I certainly can see the benefits.
It's just getting used to the idea that nothing is actually "secured to the tree" that is going to take a while.
That being said, I was wearing and will continue to wear a HSS full body harness from the moment my feet left the ground

It takes a lot of practice and you have to understand what you are doing when you are climbing and how to judge the taper of the tree. Once you get to where you will hunt from, use stabilizer straps to cinch down the top portion of your climber and you will feel much more secure.

In the beginning I would use screw in steps to put right under the cable on each side once I was situated. If the stand was to slip it would hit the screw in steps and stop and give me time to get everything back in place. This was all in therory of course.
I'm pretty comfortable in a stand now and trust them enough not to worry.
I always wear my safety harness and use quality stands.

DannyD, you might be doing something wrong. In 15+ years of climbing, I've only had one of the units slip one time, when I was in a hurry descending (call of nature). Maybe you're putting your weight on it too quickly, before it bites the tree. Put your weight on it slowly, so if it isn't biting you're not slipping so abruptly.

My API came with a ratchet strap for the seat unit, to be snugged around the tree once you reach where you want to be. One more bit of security. I don't know if they come with them now, but you could probably rig one, just don't drill or cut the stand.

Gotta agree with all, love the climber.

It takes some getting use to. I use to teach rappelling and I had problems using a climber at first. I didn't want to get over fifteen feet off of the ground because I didn't trust the equipment. I have been using climbers for over twenty years and it is second nature now. I can go up to thirty feet without thinking about it. The good news for you is that the equipment is a lot better than it was in the late 80's.

Learn your equipment, don't rush it, and you will gain the confidence to climb and sit all day.

Good luck!

welcome to the climbing world, starting out i would suggest using trees with pretty thick rough bark, trees with smooth bark almost ask for your stand to slip

Yeah, as someone else pointed out, you want to make sure that your bottom platform is secured to your climber (upper platform)by a rope (preferably one of each side). I had one drop five feet on me and had to pull it back up sitting 20 feet up.

Also, when you are climbing, look at the horizon, not down.

Ah, ya big babies! Do I hafta come over there and bring you up to the 80' mark? Nothing quite sunrise from the top of a monster eucalyptus tree in Phoenix!
Then again, I'm using ropes, a saddle, and a harness...with spikes!
Wielding a large chainsaw....
HAHAHAHAHA!
Just teasing!
Good for you getting up in that climber...
You'll learn to trust your gear eventually...
Make sure you flip the cable up a little when you raise the upper part. Helps get a good bite so the setup doesn't move.

This might be a dumb question but how many of you have to trim branches on the way up. The trees on our property are big bur oaks and maples and the stand cannot reach around them. And the other smaller tree's have branches every 5-10 feet and grow in every direction.

Great advice guys. Thank you.
I practiced with a ratchet strap tied to the cables tightening the cable around the tree once I am settled in. This felt much more secure.

I also "flipped the cable up" before putting my weight the upper part again. This certainly seemed to make it grab quicker and stronger.

I just kept climbing up and down about 4 feet last night on different trees with different bark styles. I certainly now have me some insight into how the climber grips different bark.

I'm looking forward to safely using it on my upcoming hunts this season. Right now though, i will only use it in weather that has no precipitation. Not sure i need that factor thrown it on me yet.

The Universal Hunter
 

They don't exist. One can be a good hunter and a poor tree climber. Climbing isn't meant for everyone. And they are nothing like climbing aboard the chair lounge in front of the television at the house.

And if you're not sure of tree climbing, look into one of those ground blinds (tents}that can cover your scent. Especially if you hunt in an area where the leaves stay on the trees a long time.

Welcome to the Climber Club! As others have pointed out, trees with hard bark are more prone to slipping. Pine trees, some aspen, hemlock, soft maple, and black ash are great to start out on. You'll also find that some trees are noisier than others because platey bark tends to slough off in big chunks as you are climbing. Just take your time and you'll be fine. Because I'll climb any type of tree, I'll still occasionally have 'slippages' on hard bark...happened to me repeatedly on an oak this past weekend. After you've had it happen a couple of times, you'll learn to trust the equipment and won't get as excited when it slips a couple inches. ;) As long as you have your weight on it, it can't slip far before the teeth bite.

I think the biggest challenge for a lot of people starting out is learning how to adjust for tree taper. Just takes experience because every tree is different. Also, learning how to climb and descend quietly, and how to quietly pack/unpack the stand. I was on public land last night and some guy came in a few hundred yards from me...no big deal. Until it was time for him to descend. It sounded like a metal shop given the amount of racket (metal clanging and banging together) he made as he packed up his stand. I'm sure every deer within a quarter miles was on high alert...

Take your time and you'll be able to do it all blind folded with a little practice. And always wear that vest! Best investment you can make.

i bought a viper from summit a few years back and i love it. it is some work but as long as i only have on one layer and dont go real fast then sweat is a min. i have my pull rope on thats 25' long and i have it marked at 15 and 20 feet so i get an idea of where i am at, otherwise I'd be at the top of the tree before looking down ha.
i usually give the teeth a twist to the right and left to make sure they have something to hold onto before transferring all my weight. sometimes even only being in the neighborhood of 10-14feet is enough for me though, especially if there are alot branches above that height. its amazing how much more you can see only being 10 feet up. so regardless id rather be 10 feet up than on the ground with a bow.

Do you best to scout area's with leaves still on the trees. Sometimes if you go into an area late in the year an hour before daylight you just have to hope you aren't climbing a dead tree since nothing has leaves on it at that point. (talking hardwoods not pines obvs.)

Also if you didnt already buy one of those retractable bow lines. They are pretty inexpensive and saves the hassel of untangling that freaking bow rope in the dark. Plus if its windy as you go up the rope may blow over to another close by tree or bush and get you tangled on your way up. PIA!!!

IF you do use just a rope make sure you tie it on before you head up. I know a couple times in my early days I was so worried about having to climb I would tie the rope to the bow but not to the stand. Nothing like getting you stand 25' up a tree and looking down for the rope and its still on the ground.--DUH!!

Done this more than once.

Not always, but a good portion of the time there are limbs. I carry a saw in the pocket of my vest, and anything less than a few inches in diameter is not a problem. If there is anything bigger than that...well, I find a different tree. I just try to keep from touching the limbs with my bare hands, since it will soon be on nose level with any passing critters.

summit viper baby i too was nervous but you will get use to it

I found a stray bracket that I wired and duct taped to my stand. I tied the haul line (para cord) to it, and a dog clip to the other end of the line. I wind the line around the bracket and it stays with the stand. To keep from getting tangled when hauling up, I pull up with my left hand and strip the cord away and over the stand with my right. After unclipping the bow, I let the clip slide down to the ground so it's straight, then wind it around the bracket. Works pretty good for me.

i love climbers with the bar in the front feel real safe.now once i get to my height i tie the top to the bottom around the front bar of the top to the front of the bottom not real tight just tight enough when you stand up the rope is tight to force the top peice to stay put..bungees work good to but dont tie so tight that if you lift your feet it makes the bottom fall...plus i tie the two stand peices together toward the back of the two on one side

I got the Gorilla greyback climber, cheap, works. I normally target tulip poplar trees, they are all over in NC and grow like telephone poles. The more you get used to it, youll noticed yourself climbing higher and higher, Ive had to climb back down. I now hunt from 18' seems like a sweet spot. Also a tip I like to do, is get your harness belt around the tree good and high, so when your sitting its got light tension on your body, its nice for close shots you can kind of lean out with your bow and clear the upper portion of your stand. I also like to sit with the bottom half lower, so Im almost standing and hardly have to "stand up" from a fully sitting position, works well on cutting down on noise. Also marked my pull up rope, so I can tell how high I am off the ground. Good luck, dont leave the ground without being strapped to the tree.

I, too, leave my bottom platform low so that there is little change necessary to completely stand up.

I have a question, though...how do you mark your pull up rope? Seems to me that you would always have the same portion of the rope close to you. At least, that is the way it is for me. How does this work?

I'm going to create Camo Depends for others like me:)

I have a 30' green pull up cord from Dicks, its got carabeaners on each end. I gave it a blast of white spray paint every 10'. Its a good gauge, and normally after I pull up the bow the cord is folded in half and about 3' off the ground so Im around 18'. Tryed tape for marking but it got in the way of hoisting. I also got some parachute cord and tie it in various lengths. Tie the tag ends side by side into a figure 8 making a big loop in a scence, you can then slip them around the rails or rest of your stand, and snap objects (rattle bag, water bottle, calls, etc)to them with a carabeaner. I leave them assorted lengths so they are easier to access, or the rattle bag ones longer so i can one handed slap if off my knee and roll it on my leg one handed. :)

i actually feel a lot safer when i am hunting from my climber than when i am hunting hang ons. My summit climber is so stable and grabs the tree so well that it doesnt move at all once i get it in place. i love it! With practice you will get much better and most likely will use it all the time!

Any tree that has rough bark is great for stability like burr oaks. I have to sit in a birch tree which can be a bit dicey, but I'm not worried with my safety harness.