I don't like heights so the climbers with the full bar to enclose you is the most secure in my opinion.

Lone Wolf makes a excellent set of climbing sticks and a light weight hang on stand that is solid. The only bad news is they are expensive. I have the Alpha Sit and Climb and have used and own some of their climbing sticks. The sticks are the fast and quiet going up and solid once set. My hang on is on the way.

As far as the climber goes.. I always attach the lower section to the upper section w/ a strap or bungy... so that the bottom doesn't end up at the bottom of the tree. Yes.. I've been there before also... Otherwise you might look at a climber where you sit on the bottom portion.. and the hand climber gets put aside.. I use a Loggy Bayou stand like this.. and I put the climber either behind me.. or up quite a bit higher than my head. A few stands that come to mind of this style are the Loggy and the new Summit Clear Shot.

I do know that Dick's Sporting goods has an ad in our local paper this week that has a lock on stand for $35.. and a climbing stick (ladder) for $35.. and if you buy both or more than 1 of each.. they're only $30 each.

seems like a good idea and should work well if you have a very well cleared path to your stand. If its five feet long when closed down, its going to stick up quite a bit higher than your head, and if you have tp travel through any tight brush its going to make a lot of noise. But if you have clear paths to your hunting spots or can travel fields to where your gonna hunt, it should be nice.

Sounds like you need a Tree Lounge.

WHats up Butch I just don't think I like the pack master I used to work as a stand salesman and have heard the gripes about every stand. While carrying this stand throughthe woods it sticks up about 2 feet over your head that means its going to catch every limb and vine in your path. Mabye your ameristep just wasn't the climber for you. Ask your friends what they use try them then buy an ol man multi-vision.

Thanks.... Yeah, the Ameristep was okay, but it didn't seem right to me. It was kind of loud and tricky to put up in the wee hours of the morning. I had the strong, heavy, steel version and didn't care for it.

Anyway, I will be hunting public lands and state forests in VA. So, I need easy setup/take down and don't want to leave a hang-on stand in the woods, as it will be gone in a heartbeat. I've heard the horror stories of stand stealing, and don't want that to happen.

Ladder: Too big, bulky, not practical for my situation.
Hang-on/climbing sticks: Okay, but need one with easy setup/take down.
Climber: Best for the situation, but I'm a little freaky with climbers.[:-]

Butch A.