halfbakedi420

those bastards. wish i stumbled upon them for ya. then ya woulda found 2 dead guys holding tree stands and the cam with a pic of me holdin them up like a prized elk!

Krypt Keeper

Going this afternoon to bass pro and look to see what fits my budget and butt..

Yeah halfbaked I think they are pretty stupid to mess with someones stuff that is always armed.

however that small game rubber blunt tip to the ball sack will very funny.

BGfisher

OK, getting back on track, if you want a good climber that's comfy and safe I'd recommend something from Summit. Whether you want one to sit-n-climb or open front is up to you. Personally I like the former just because I can climb with less sweat and noise. Also like the bar around so I have some place to set the bow when I'm sitting-----or sleeping. LOL.

I've had several makes and models since the '70s and Summit has been the best. If you're looking for something long term don't buy anything made of steel. They are heavier and harder to climb with due to the weight. In time you''ll end up dissatisfied.

There's no reason you can't pick up a used model from Craigslist or somewhere. Anything made after 2005 should be decent enough. New ones have gotten incredibly expensive. If you get a Summit a good addition is the plastic fot stirrups. They make it much easier to climb quietly as you will be able to control the foot portion better.

Shimano

I have a Gorilla climber and really like it. It probably weighs a little more than some but it doesn't come with the huge price tag. It has cables and is quiet.

KSBOHUNTR

I probably would have looked closer at the Gorilla because I do really like their hang ons if I would have known it came with the cable. The Ol'man I used was Chain and I hated finding the right hole and gap between the chains. I had no issues with it but that. I looked closer and seen the new climbers use cables. One of the Gorillas had the same type of setup and I assumed it was chain also. So there is some additional advise. Look closely at the setup and check out the users manual when available online. Any of them with a cable and backrest get a thumbs up from me.

07superglide

I don't even know who makes one of my climbers!!
My uncle gave it to me after he went about 5' up and
Didn't like it... Sure glad he kept it around tho!! It's
By far my favorite! Unlike any other I've seen,this thing
Has a knife like arm in place of the cables or chain. Its
Too cool and will be used till I can't climb anymore!

Krypt Keeper

Ended up with a API hi-point climber. Simple operation not a lot of junk hanging here and there. 21lbs and while it has a chain instead of a cable I think I can live with that.

need to figure out the foot straps on it as the instruction manual isn't all that great. After that I need to practice with it a few times before Saturday morning. Really liked some of the summits, however after looseing several hundred bucks this past week in stolen ladder stands and a camera I didn't have the spare coin to buy one with my wife being out of work for 2 weeks sick.

I can still hunt so thats the good thing. Maybe after this season I will sell my current climber and upgrade.

halfbakedi420

the foot straps are so you can pull the bottom half of the stand up, then you can stand again with the top piece, lift the feet, stand, lift the feet..stand and so on.

scottycoyote

you probably already know this but just in case you dont, if your climber and your footrest arent connected by some kind of rope or string, be sure to tie one on yourself, about as far apart as you are tall from the waist down. Years back my first climber didnt come with one, nothing like watching your footrest start sliding down the tree while you are sitting in the climber to immediately make you go doh!

Krypt Keeper

Yep, got everything figured out except for the foot straps. API's illustrations are pretty 1st grader approved artwork. They show the 3 straps to use for the foot straps to tie all in together and when transporting to be used to keep the stand together. All fine and well if they actually showed you how to correctly attach them in the first place.

Even the dvd they send with it is useless, and the email I sent 5hrs ago has gone unanswered.

Will admit I am not the smartest guy, but also not the dumbest and tend to be pretty handy at stuff. Oh well, if anything I will just do it my way and keep the 3 straps just for securing the stand together to carry it.