How Safe Are They? Types of Tree Stands

[LeeBishop]

What is the safest type of tree stand in your opinion?  

Ladder/lean-to stands?

Hang-on stands?

Climbing stands?

[Eugene Slagle]

I voted Ladder type because if you have them properly mounted to the tree & ofcorse use a safety line you are less likely to fall out of one.

[LeeBishop]

I mostly use lean-to stands but I think they are terribly dangerous. Basically, I rely on one poly ratchet strap at the top to keep it attached to a tree. If it fails, even with straps lower on the ladder, the stand can sway to the side and you fall from the tree.

I'm too fearful of hang-on stands for the same reason. At least a lean-to has a little weight taken off of the tree with the ladder.

I like climbing stands but the foothold straps, at least on mine, seem flimsy and tempermental. It can be tricky putting your big insulated boot through the loops while 25ft in the air after unlocking the strap of platform to the tree.

[LeeBishop]

Originally posted by Eugene Slagle:
I voted Ladder type because if you have them properly mounted to the tree & ofcorse use a safety line you are less likely to fall out of one.

To be honest, I have hunted in trees since high school and I never use a safety harness. The cheap ones that come with the stands look like they would rip off your testicles if you need it and the aftermarket camo ones from sporting goods supplies cost like $100-$150, which is out of the price range for someone like myself.

I just am cautious with every move I make and I change out ratchet straps after a season.

[danderson]

i say climber because with my summit viper, theres a total wrap around bar and you'd really have to horse around to fall out of it

[Tom1954]

I vote for the one where my feet are on the ground and I'm leaning against the tree.  Only thing safer would be for my butt to be on the ground while leaning against the tree.  But that would be a "tree sit" not a "tree stand."  OK ... more seriously, I second the Summit climber if used correctly.

[YORNOC]

The safety is in YOU, not the stand.  Whichever you use, you have to make sure its safe before you hunt. I like hang ons because mine are very small, and once installed, with extra 2500 pound ratchet straps securing it, no noise.Can fit into a dense hemlock with minimal trimming. Ladders are easily spotted by other hunters and are brutal to carry in. Climb ons make noise and cant be used on heavily limbed trees unless you cut them all down..

I'm not saying hang ons are better or safer. Not even close, just my preference for where I currently hunt.
They have to be checked every season, nuts tightened, straps replaced,cables checked,etc.
I must be safe climbing in and out of it. Sometimes I push the limit getting into one, and I will accept the consequences should I screw up in those instances.  Dont take anything for granted, check everything multiple times.

[LeeBishop]

Yeah, I don't sit in a stand unless I put a new ratchet strap on it. I was moving a stand once and I  went to tighten it, it snapped and it turned to dust.

Those 5-20,000lbs straps are NOTHING after being in the sun on a tree for a year. The UV rays decay the plastic and it turns to dust.

a $4 strap is worth keeping you from eating the ground with your face.

There are plenty of hunters that die from straps snapping from dry rot.  I think if you rely on that false sense of security then you will likely end up hurt or dead.

I use the "retired" straps for light duty after I take them off the tree for things like fastening dead deer to the rack of my ATV

[YORNOC]

Right! Me too, change every seaSON.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

I refuse to voe because I agree its the user not the stand.

Not to mention all makes and models are not equal.

[Jake Diebolt]

I just set an old screaming eagle today. Once the stand itself is set in the tree, it pretty well stays (they've literally hung cars from these things without coming down).

The most dangerous part of a hang-on stand is hanging it on. Speaking as someone who's afraid of heights, I wouldn't even think of setting a stand without a harness.

And the most dangerous part of any stand is climbing into it...in other words, human error.

I voted for ladder stands, fyi. I've only helped set a couple of them before, but I did a heck of a lot less hanging from the tree. That may make them safer, in my opinion. Mind you, I've never used climbing stands.

[xtrema312]

Ladders tend to be safe due to design, but the problem with them is they often get set and never maintained.  I set mine for two or three years and then pull them in for general paint and maintenance.  New straps are important, and I need to put a new one on one of mine this year the first time I go out hunt it.

Today’s climbers are very safe for the most part if you use them right and use the safety line as you go up and down.  One of the reasons I think they tend to be safe is because you see them all the time and notice stuff.  Few people leave them on a tree all season or all year.

I think my hang on stands are the safest and that is against the vote results.  Mine are very safe for a number of reasons.  I hang my stands and leave them out all season, but I pull them each year for maintenance and inspection.  I only use stands with two support brackets or cables that are independent.  One can fail and the platform will not have a total failure.  I only use hang on stands with chains so they can’t have strap failures from weathering or from squirrels to eat through.  The only exception is my Lone Wolf, but that is my pack in stand, and I never leave it out overnight so I know it is not weathering or has a bad strap on it. I also use two straps at all times.  

The hang on stand is only half the issue with that type stand use.  What you climb is also critical.  I don’t use screw in steps.  To many ways they can fail or you can miss them due to irregular spacing. If you do take a fall, they can cause serious injury.  I use stick ladders.  That way I have three points of contact at all times.  I only climb gripping the center so I have less chance of a step failure in my hand.  These tie on with much less tension than a binder strap and any one of the lines could break and not cause the ladder to fail because the ties are only bracing.  The top tie is the most critical, but at that point I am on the tree with a linemen’s belt.   Transfer is the most dangerous part, but can be done much safer if you use the linemen’s belt as soon as you get to the top of your ladder.  I have gone to 20’ ladders and still shunt about 16’ just to have more ladder to transfer from.    My kids are just getting old enough to want to go out, but not until I get ground to top of stand ropes on all stands they would hunt in.  I should be doing that for myself.  I plan to do it my next season.

[Tomas]

Lee,if you think 100-150 dollars is alot to pay for harness then you should price cheap wheel chair or casket.

[LeeBishop]

Originally posted by Tomas:
Lee,if you think 100-150 dollars is alot to pay for harness then you should price cheap wheel chair or casket.

That's great advice. I'll take my risk. I've seemed to make it 10 years without one.

I'd pick one up if they were affordable. I'm a broke indie filmmaker and I don't have the money for a $150 harness to use two months out of the year for a few years before I have to buy another $150 harness.

If they didn't price themselves out of the market then a lot more people would buy them.

They are ridiculously overpriced, just like camo clothing. The camo clothing is made out of the country and then they mark it up to designer clothing prices. It's ridiculous. I buy my equipment when it's on clearance at Wal-mart post-gun season.

[Night Wing]

This was an easy poll for me when I used to hunt from a tree stand when I was younger.

When one is afraid of heights like I am, a lean to ladder stand is the cat's meow when it comes to safety.    

[xtrema312]

When it comes to harnesses, don’t forget that a fall may kill you, but harness will kill you if you hang in to very long.  You must get on the platform, get your feet in some kind of strap to stand up, or you have to cut yourself down.  You don’t have much time before suspension trauma sets in.

[Tom Leemans]

They are all as safe as the operator makes them.

[arrowslinger22]

If, and this is a big if, I hunt in a tree, it would be a ladder stand.  I much prefer the ground for quite a few reasons.

[MI_Bowhunter]

While all stands are not created equal, I'm not sure any one is more dangerous or safer then the other.  If you are cautious and think about things just about any modern stand can be safe.

I always add an extra ratchet strap or two to mine once I get them set.  It makes them more stable IMHO, this applies to any style, even climbers.

[BowHunterGA]

Heavy and a bit cubersome, but to me, my tree lounge is undoubtedly the safest stand  I hunt from. I still wear my HSS vest but that stand is damn near impossible to fall from. With the bowhunting adapter on and when standing I guess it is possible if you lost your balance. Or if you got too excited and walked out of the stand. (knew a guy that did this once)

Oh, I also use locon type stands, an older Summit climber and an API climber. Feel safest in the lounger.