Cougar Mag

Depends which climber it is. I own the Lone Wolf Alpha sit-n-climb, absolutely the quietest climber I ever tried or owned. It weighs approximately 18-19 lbs., but the way it folds flat and carries, it actually seems lighter than than the old 15 lb. Loggy Bayou I used to own. I guarantee that the traction belt is quieter than a cable or band.

As someone else said, a climber friendly tree is generally harder to find whereas trees suitable for strapping a stand on are easier to find. That is the only drawback to a climber.

KoBear

if i had to bring in and out my stand everyday, i would buy a portable ground blind. i have one and love it. set it up in 2 minutes with no noise. use it for turkey, deer, and predator, plus everything in between. but if you need to hint high everyday and take your stand, a climber is the only way to go.

FlDeerman

Old Man climbing stand are the best I've found.Light and quiet when climbing.But then I also like my ground blind.Public land, I think I would rather be up a tree.

Two Beards

We tried climbers a few years back and did not like them.
Too heavy, too noisey, and IMO, just a pain in the butt.
The last 4 seasons we've used Chippewa hang-ons from
Basic Innovations and 4 Lone Wolf climbing sticks. Quick,
simple, safe, and quiet...perfect system for 'on the go
hunting'[:-]. I also know a lot of bowhunters that use LW's
hang-on and swear by it.

The thing that deterred us most from climbers was that
the just wouldn't work on very many trees here in Iowa.
I work way to hard preparing my stand sites in the off-season
to not be able to hunt from the perfect tree. I prefer
to hunt from oak trees when possible to take advantage
of the leaves as concealment, very rarely was I able to
hunt from a oak with a climber[:@].

mtair

i bought a lone wolf alpha climber this year , it is the best hunting investment i ever made ! it is light and makes no noise at all. i am tall 6 foot 4 in. and 230 pounds and i can sit all day in it if need be.

boltman

IMHO, climbers are the only way to go. I've got four of them, two OL'man grand visions, and two Ol'man grand multi visions. As you can probably surmise, I feel Ol'man makes the best climbers. If you come down and hunt in the deep south (MS, AL, LA) which is the heart of climbing treestand country, then you'll find that 95% of the guys using climbers are using Ol'man stands. I have one hang-on stand. It's been in the same tree for the last 7 years and I haven't visited it in the last three. Thank God I only paid $39 for it because that's about all they're worth. It always scared the crap out of me trying to hang the thing with one hand while holding on to the tree with the other, all at 25 ft above the ground. Never again. Those things are very, very dangerous in my opinion. Climbers are about the safest treestands made. It's pretty much impossible to fall out of one while climbing unless you do something really dumb.

slugman

thanks for all the input ...

Bulzeye

SLUGMAN,
I'm in the same boat as you. I can only hunt public land so far, and I'm required to remove my stand daily.

I have to recommend a climber. Anything else is just too much to carry in and try to set up quietly. I've used a climber once and loved it.

In my infinite wisdom however, what I actually bought was a hang-on and a 4 peice climbing ladder. My setup is fine and plenty comfortable, but what a pain it is to carry! So why did I buy the hang-on, you say? Simple: I'd only bowhunted and got tired of seeing deer out of range that I couldn't shoot at. I liked the idea of spotting deer from my stand, and being able to get down and stalk up to them without making ANY noise. Since I bought it of course I have not had a single occassion to use it this way.

It does wrok nicely though if you want to get down and do some still hunting for the middle part of the day and then return to your stand later for the late afternoon.

In hindsight, I would certainly buy a climber in your situation.
They are plenty quiet, and you can still get down during the day almost silently if you want.

Use fall protection with any stand.

WHATEVER TYPE OR BRAND OF STAND YOU BUY, YOU WILL FEEL MORE SECURE AND BE SAFER IF YOU GET A RACHET STRAP TO STEADY THE STAND AGAINST THE TREE ONCE YOU'VE CLIMBED UP. THEY MAKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE.

ALSO: If you go with a hang-on, use a fall protection system like Summit's Seat Of The Pants. It lets you use the safety rope as a climbing belt attached to d-rings at your hips. THis is the only effective way I;ve found to have both hands free to sttach the hang-on stand to the tree. It'd very awkward and even dangerous to try it with one hand. Too easy to slip.

badshotbob

I hunt mainly private property and will only use hang on stands (well, am going to get a two-man ladder stand this year for me and my boy). I leave them in the tree all year round. I know you can't do that on public land, but to me, they have many advantages over climbers - they are more mobile (to me anyway), easier to get in the tree, you don't have to cut all the branches off to get up in a tree, they are more secure when using ratchet straps and are lighter and less bulky to carry in and out. I do hunt public land once a year when me and my buddy take our week long hunting trip up north. I've never had a problem with theft, but it is not uncommon. One draw back. That's why I've always used cheap stands. I've had many types of stands over the years and found that the $59 River's Edge works the best for the money. I've used a climber before and hated it. Maybe it's a thing where you get used to it, but I personally think that hang ons are the way to go.

rem7400

I tend to think that a climber is safer than lock on stands using screw in steps or climbing sticks. The hazards associated with the last 2 options are numerous. I've been using API's Shooting Star for the last few years and like it just fine. I'm getting a little older and fatter these days but still don't mind toting it in 3/4 - 1 mile for a days hunt. Some hikes are worse than others.
Regards to noise, some trees are worse than others. Large Pines are the worse, a good hardwood suits me just fine and I can get up it nice and quiet. There have been several occasions ( as recently as this past season) that I have climbed a tree and no sooner got set up, that a buck has come in on me obviously looking for something. I can only surmise that even with my best efforts to be quiet that the noise I did make must have sounded like a buck rubbing and attracted these other deer.