Climber or lock-on ? What do you use?

[matt steed]

A friend gave me a Lone Wolf hand climber, it packs easy and pretty light. It is defiantly not the most comfortable stand that I have sit in. I also have a TreeWalker climber, it is extremely comfortable but not very packable and a little more difficult to shoot the longbow out of. I have been thinking about about a lock on with climbing sticks?

What do y'all use and enjoy the most? How hard is the climbing sticks with the lock on to put up?

[TSHOOTER]

Matt

I started using a lock on and climbing sticks last season and have only used my climber 1 time since.  I made a lineman's belt with PMI cord and an ascender and carabiners from REI.  I hang sticks with the stand on my back and only go up the tree 1 time and I'm done.  Takes a little practice but works great with stands that have a receiver bracket. It's a little slower than a climber but you can use it in so many more trees and I can shoot 270 degrees with no rails to get in the way.  Just make sure to have another tether to tie off going around limbs and getting into and out of the stand.

[Leland]

Climber.It's nice to be mobile when the deer start changing their patterns.
Leland

[JamesV]

I only hunt public land and use a climber as I hunt a lot of different places and never leave my stand in the woods. In and out with me every time.

James

[TSHOOTER]

I'm just as mobile with a lock on and sticks.  I hunt public as well and leave nothing in the woods.  Good videos on youtube about the technique.  You have to have a good light weight stand and quality light weight sticks.  I use a millennium M-100U and 4 lone wolf sticks.

[Rick Richard]

Always used lock on stands so I am rather biased. Wait, I did have a couple of Baker climbers way back when, which is probably why I went to lock on's...another story.

If you decide to go the lock on route, then I would try the Millenium stands. I have had just about all the makes and models out there and can honestly say the Millenium stands are the most comfortable that my butt has been in. I can easily sit in it all day without getting fidgety or fatigued.

Just my opinion and good luck on your choice.

[KyStickbow]

I love lock-ons....its all I use.

I like to get them up in a big bushy Cedar tree....I feel invisible!

[Possum Head]

Originally posted by JamesV:
I only hunt public land and use a climber as I hunt a lot of different places and never leave my stand in the woods. In and out with me every time.

James

X2

[Orion]

I use both.  You already have a couple of climbers.  Time to add a hang on.

[Cmane07]

Nothing but a lone wolf hand climber for me.  But like you said, its not something you want to sit for prolonged periods of time in.

[awbowman]

I like both.  With the right tree the climber is quicker and easier but rarely do you have that perfect tree at that perfect place.  As the tree picked is more important with a bow, if I could have only one, I'd have a loc on

[matt steed]

Thanks. I am going to look at some lock-on' s.  The Lone Wolf is good, but I am only good in it for about 2 hours. The seat is my problem not the platform. The Treewalker will be my go to climber.

Thanks for all the information.

[KAZ]

Lone Wolf, XOP, or Chippewa Wedge Loc  Lock On and 3-4 Lone Wolf or XOP sticks for me. Plenty of Hang & Hunts on Public, In & Out, very stable on any reasonable free... I have a climber but it doesn’t get much use...

[Sam McMichael]

Neither. I use basic ladder stands.

[DJ Hardy]

I prefer a climber. Quicker and safer but not as bow friendly
But as stated above finding a tree that you can use it in is a problem sometimes.

[Schmidty3]

Im in oklahoma. (No straight trees)

I believe it was in one of wensels books where he said the perfect trees to hunt from are hardly ever the perfect tree to hang a stand in.

I find that lock ons give me the most flexibility, and you can get pretty creative in some starts trees.

[MCNSC]

Lock on and sticks for me. Mostly hunt private land but still I hang it and take it down every hunt. Quieter than a climber, almost as fast but opens up a whole new world of trees to hunt from.  I rarely hunt the same tree because of wind direction and deer movement. Plus I don't like looking at the same patch of woods too often.

[RedRidge]

I am with TSHOOTER. The M100 is not only lightweight, but it is very comfortable. The seat folds up quietly too.I stack 4 lonewolf sticks together and strap to stand. Not bad at all to walk in a significant distance with this setup. After you use the sticks you will work out the kinks on hanging your stand. I like sticks too bc you can move them around to fit the tree and do not have to stick to a perfect straight line like a latter. Just my 2 cents

[Mint]

Matt, get a "Hunt Comfort
' seat for Lonewolf; I bought one and use it for my wedgeloc stand and is very comfortable. it wasn't cheap but it was worth it to me. I can sit in my stand for four hours or more easily with it. It is made with foam and a gelled cushion also and will last a lifetime.

[ChuckC]

Truth be told,  I much prefer the lock on or hang on style with four of the LW sticks.  I can get as high as I need to go here and I can do it fairly quietly (and quickly).  Best is, I can do it in nearly any tree.  Where I hunt, primo straight climbing trees are not generally found in primo hunting spots.  That is another reason why I have been hunting from the ground in my ghillie for a number of years.

I own both climbers and lock ons