My wife is buying me a climbing stand for my B-day and I have been hunting out of locked tree stands for many years and I want to add a climber to my arsenal. I am currently looking at the api bowhunter. Can anybody suggest any stand better than an API. I no this is kind of a redundant question, but I need your advise. Thanks

This question really does get asked quite often. But then if there was some rule about not being able to post the same question twice then I wouldn' t have anything new to read everyday.

I' ve used both API & Summit climbing stands. Both are very comfortable. Both are about the same to carry in & out of the woods. Both feel just as secure 20 ft off the ground. But in my opinion the Summit is just easier to set up and take down.

API uses pins to secure the chain that wraps around the tree. They are pretty noisy trying to slide them through the hole and a pain when you drop one while getting set up in the dark. The Summit cable system still makes a little noise but not nearly as much as the API pins. Just easier to use in my opinion.

Matthews,
I have the API Grand Slam Supreme and love it. The Grand Slam fully encloses your upper body and feels much safer. My brother-in-law has the API bowhunter and I hunted out of it last year. I felt very unstable climbing the tree, due to the lack of support and did not feel that comfortable once settled in. I don' t think you can buy a better stand than the API. I will also say that I have not had any problems shooting my bow out of the Grand Slam either sitting or standing.

SUMMIT----enough said

Lone Wolf, all others are inferior.

Just make sure its a good quality climbing stand. Summit, API, Ole Man, Loggy Bayou, Buckshot, Lone Wolf come to mind. I prefer the Lone Wolf but any of these are good quality climbing stands.

Once I bought my Lone Wolf Aplha Sit & Climb, I sold my API Grand Slam Supreme and Summit Bushmaster. There was nothing wrong with either the API or Summit, just the Lone Wolf fit my tastes better. Look at as many climbers as you can and see if you can try some out before you buy.

I use and love the summit cobra it is super light at 17 lbs, all padded, easy to back pack and sets up in seconds.

Try the others first then try the best Buckshot tree stands. they are great.

Brian

i have never owned an API but you have to remember that they just went out of business and someone else bought them out.. Now all their stands are made over seas and the quality is not as good.. they make stands just for cabelas and bass pro shops now.. there is much more info about API but thats about the extent that i know.. I have heard that the quality is not there like it used to be