MountainHunter

Cougar, I use the exact setup you're talking about (LW Alpha Assault hang on and 4 LW climbing sticks). I also have a Summit Viper climbig stand, but haven't used it sinceI got the LW stand last year. The LW really free you up on what trees and cover you can use, and they're light and easy to use, which is great in the mountains where I hunt. Listen to what others have said her: Use a good harness when you hang your stand and buy and use the LW shoulderstraps to carry your stand to/from your site. But listen to what Greg saidnly strap the stand around ONE shoulder when climbing up your sticks with it; it's much safer that way. Sorry to hear about your friend, Greg. That's a real shame and a lesson to us all.

Greg / MO

Since it looks like a lot of people are enjoying this thread and the info contained inside about safety and the proper way to hang a stand, I thought I'd add this pic today... In it, you'll be able to see probably the safest way to position your stand in relation to your last climbing stick. This is my fourth stick, and I'm still probably 19 - 20 feet off the ground in this pic.



You can see that after I lower my bow, it's a simple matter of stepping onto the stick at the same level, and I can grab the top two steps with both hands as I begin my descent.

hillbilly archer

That right there is how I position my sticks also. Always higher than the platform.

Ben / PA

I use hang ons in a fixed stand purpose and may move them once or twice a season based on what I am seeing. I do take one of them with me when I hunt on a property that is not a usual haunt of mine rather than my climber. I like being able to go exatly where I need to, rather than the closest straight tree.

todd a smith

i have the lw setup and once i have my strap on i hang my stand..i do not usually hunt really high...
most trees that i use have alot of stuff on them that hides me pretty well

Rickmur

Greg are you stepping up onto the stand? If you go higher on the ladder then your standing on the wrong foot as I see it to enable you to step down on the stand like your supposed to. What am I missing here?

Greg / MO

Rick, yes... with this particular set, I would be stepping up probably six inches or so onto the platform. It's either step up on the way up and step DOWN after your hunt, or vice versa. You usually can't do both each time... The advantage to having the steps extend up on past the stand is that the user can always maintain at least two points of contact while climbing -- or, in this case, stepping onto the platform.

If I wanted to step up after the hunt before beginning my descent, it's a simple matter of grabbing the top two steps with my hands, stepping UP onto the bottom step of that top stick, and then working my way down.

If it bothered me to step up those six inches or so onto the platform -- even though I was holding the top two steps with both hands as well -- I could simply flip all the steps 180 degrees with the Lone Wolf climbing steps. But that step is no different than the other steps when climbing the sticks all the way from the ground up to your hunting height... and with the steps extending beyond the height of the platform, it's just as safe as every other step you've made up to that point.

robdre56

well i hung my first hangon today was pretty simple i had a climber already on the tree but i couldent go up as high as i wanted to with it becuase of a knotso i tied a rope to my lock on i bought and climb as far as i could with the climber then pulled the lock on up and straped it to the tree above the knot where i wanted to be in the first place then climbed down and started to put the screw on foot steps in only took about 15 mins not bad for my first one although ill have to do it without the climber some time but i have to get used to it a lil first

Finch

I'm surprised to learn that many don't use a climber to install their hang-ons. I bought one of the cheapy hang-ons from D!ck's last year but I've never attempted to hang it. I have a perfect place to hang one but I was unsure of the best way to go about doing it. The tree I had in mind is forked so the climber really wouldn't help.

Thanks for the tips guys.

Greg / MO

That's funny about mentioning the use of a climber to hang a fixed-position stand... I would have NEVER thought anyone would have ever done that until I started reading about it on these forums... That just goes against every thought I've got about taking a small, light hang-on and some screw-in steps or climbing sticks in for maximum portability...

The first time I ever heard about it, I was like "HUH? Why in the WORLD would anyone ever want to do that?!? Carry two stands just to hang one!" Just goes to show you how different everyone's minds work.