thenuge15

Well if you have read some of my post I am seriously thinking about getting a climber. I was going to get a cheapy 100 dollar one but everybody on here told me not to. I am going to cabelas in dundee michigan this weekend and hopefully picking out a good climber, but still in my price range.

Here is a link to the one i' m most likely going to get.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...jpg&hasJS=true

It is made by API, it weighst 20lbs, and it is 180 dollars. Has anybody ever used this? Any good or bad reviews. It looks like a pretty decent climber, and It looks very comfortable.

thenuge15

Also, Someone was warning me to keep my weight off the front of my feet when climbing, otherwise it will slip. Do I have to worry about it slipping? If so is there a way I can be strapped in all of the way up. Thanks for your help-Sam

Cougar Mag

While you are there, check out Ol Man stands since the Vision and Original Ol Man is close to that price range, and also the Summit Bushmaster. My reasoning? That API stand is now made overseas for Cabelas and Bass Pro Shop. In my opinion the same quality and care is probably not used.

LeeinVa1

Not sure if i caught you in time. there are a couple versions of climbers. the one you are looking at is a stand up climber, which means you use your arms to pull yourself up the tree, if you have never tried this, it will get your attention the first couple of times. i have the api grandslam, it is a sitdown climber and a lot easier to get up the tree with. you can be strapped to the tree while you are climbing, makes it a little slower going up and down, but a lot safer, i don' t strap myself to the tree until i get up it. as far as the construction quality, i have not seen any lowering of the quality because the stand was made overseas.

thenuge15

LeeinVa thanks for the info. How do you climb up while being strapped in?

LeeinVa1

i use a full body harness. when you climb, you hook a loose loop around the tree and just keep moving this up and you move, fairly simple to use, but a little slow. by the way, did you get the stand yet?

thenuge15

No im not getting it until next weekend. When using the old man or grandslam, do you sit on that bar when you climb? Also wont this bar and the side bars get in the way while shooting your bow? Lee the grandslam looks good but does that bar in front get in your way while bowhunting.

LeeinVa1

No, the crossbar and armrests do not get in my way while bowhunting. keep in mind that they are at the same level of a seat on a chair, approximately 16 inches, so when i am standing, they are not in my way. the other option i have is to move this section of the stand around behind the tree and just use the standing portion, i normally do this early in the mornings and late in the afternoon.

thenuge15

Will it get in the way sitting down though? If you cannot shoot while sitting then where do you put your bow? Are there any set down climbers that you can move that bar out of the way. Also someone was telling me to put the weight on the front of your feet when climbing, so it doesn' t slip. What do they mean, so it doesn' t fall of your feet or what? I' d imagine it is pretty instinctive to do.

brucelit

Hey nuge, you are going to have to practice with whichever climber you get before you take off into the field. As I stated before I don' t think you' ll be unhappy with the Ol Man multi vision. The bar in front can be taken off once you get locked in but if you need to shoot from the seated position you can easily hold you bow outside the area of the frame of the seating platform and if you stand you won' t have any problems with the bar. It comes with a full body harness and tree attachment straps. It also comes with a good video that tells you all about tree stand safety and how to use the climber and the safety belt. The part about the platform falling is real but not if you are careful. You have to pick the platform up with your feet to move it up the tree and you do that my lifting with your heels first toes down. That allows the platform to come loose from the tree so you can raise it to the next level. There are straps for the top of your boots and a heel strap to keep your feet where they belong. If your feet should come loose there is a safety strap that will catch the platform before it falls very far down the tree. Good luck with whatever stand you get but be sure to watch the video and read the safety instructions. And practice, practice, practice.