The worst Treestand you ever had?

[KHALVERSON]

baker hands down
it ruined me on climbers till a few yrs ago
i could handle the occasional ride down back when i ws a teenager
wouldnt want to do it now

[Justin Falon]

TSS.

I received it as a gift for my birthday. I supplied the plywood and put it together. I set it as a semi-permanenant stand and not as a climber.

I put it up and hunted out of it ONCE. About 15 feet up a cottonwood tree, coming to full draw on a fat doe one October morning, the stand slipped about 4 feet down when I shifted my foot near the rear of the stand to brace myself for the shot.

I quickly climbed down, checked myself for battle wounds and left the stand there. That was 1987. The stand is still there, though much tighter because the tree has gotten much bigger. Only remnants of a platform exist from wood rot and squirrel feasts.

It was only last year that I discovered the Double Bull........

[ron w]

8' home made ladder stand, made from 2X4's. No place for my butt, not much room for my feet and only 8' high...so my feet were at 6'. I did kill my first deer [bow] from it with a compound.Learned a lot from that whole thing!!.....LOL!

[Roger Norris]

What was the treestand (70's) that you pushed up the tree with a pole, and then climbed up a rope ladder? Was that the Baker?

[RkyMtn Joe]

I've already responded to this thread once but have to say that all the guys who managed to slide down trees on their Bakers were doing smething wrong.  If you kept you weight out front it would not slide.

Before the handclimber came out I shimmied up and down trees just fine, but when the handclimber arrived, I really loved my old Baker. with a safety belt I could lean away from the tree and shoot in most any direction.  I loved my old Baker and still use it now especially on large pine trees.  I strap it on my back and hunt wherever I find a good spot.

Joe

[KSdan]

Originally posted by RkyMtn Joe:
. . .  If you kept you weight out front it would not slide. Joe

That is a Big "IF" to risk your life on. . .

[LimBender]

A homejob rebar ladder stand with road signage for the base, which was slick and leaning away from the tree, while sitting on a 20 gallon bucket and getting terrorized by mosquitoes.  Memories  

[Fletcher]

Originally posted by Roger Norris:
What was the treestand (70's) that you pushed up the tree with a pole, and then climbed up a rope ladder? Was that the Baker?

That one was sold by Bear.  There is one still in my shed.  Had plastic rollers on the chain so it would slide up the tree.  Didn't work worth a damn.

[rick7]

baker and it still gives me chills for those rides down those trees

[Pete McMiller]

Thinking about it, there was one I used that was worse than a Baker.  Don't know the name but it was a climber that had a flexible steel band covered in rubber that went around the tree and there was also a rubber covered "V" on the platform.  It was a borrowed stand and the one and only time I used it I got up about 8 feet before the elevator to the ground floor - I did use it the rest of that morning but I only put it up 2-3 ft.

[eminart]

I used a Baker from the age of 10 to about 14. Maybe my dad didn't love me? But, the one I had was actually one of the sit down/stand up climbers where you face the tree. I never had any trouble with it slipping. I think my dad liked me using it because it had the seat rail around me to help keep me from falling out. The tiny foot platform wasn't great for bowhunting though, and that's all we did.

But the worst stand I ever had was a Loggy Bayou. I don't remember the exact model but that thing was a death trap while climbing. It was great once you got set up because the seat flipped up and ratcheted to the tree. It was rock solid at that point. But getting there usually had me in a cold sweat.

[rastaman]

A climbing stand called a "fox squirrel" that came out around 1971 or so give or take a year. i bought it in Athens, Ga from either Dan Quillians archery shop or another local guy named Garth Fuller who had a shop in his house.  The original model had no rubber coating on the steel bands so it was very loud putting the stand up. There wasn't a hand climber with it at the time so you used your arms to climb up and then down the tree.  i usually left a good bit of skin behind. Eventually we learned to tape around the metal straps to quiet them, and the company finally put some rubberized coating on the straps.  i think i paid $29.95 for the first one that i bought.

[KSdan]

Originally posted by Pete McMiller:
Thinking about it, there was one I used that was worse than a Baker.  Don't know the name but it was a climber that had a flexible steel band covered in rubber that went around the tree and there was also a rubber covered "V" on the platform.  

That would be a Loggy Bayou.  Still have mine from 1983 when they came out. With the climbing aid I never had a problem.  But. . . first time before I bought the aid. . . ouch!

[Arwin]

I had two that I bought from garage sales. They were aluminum hang-ons that SQUEALED when temps got below zero. Cost me two doe, grrrr!!!!

[Wapiti Chaser]

Had my Baker come off my feet about 20' up a Beech tree       Left quite a blood trail from my hands on the ride down ! Also climbed up in an old wooden stand once that I found in the woods. Without warnind it fell right off the tree. All I remember was throwing my bow and broad arrow on the way down so I wouldn't land them.

[awbowman]

Originally posted by LimBender:
A homejob rebar ladder stand with road signage for the base, which was slick and leaning away from the tree, while sitting on a 20 gallon bucket and getting terrorized by mosquitoes.  Memories              

Those were the days Will.  I can see your Uncle Leroy saying .... GET UP THERE BOY AND SHOOT US A DEER!!

[awbowman]

First Loggy Bayous with the band!  OMGosh I can't believe we climbed the trees we did with that thing!

[Roger Norris]

Originally posted by Fletcher:
 

Originally posted by Roger Norris:
What was the treestand (70's) that you pushed up the tree with a pole, and then climbed up a rope ladder? Was that the Baker?

That one was sold by Bear.  There is one still in my shed.  Had plastic rollers on the chain so it would slide up the tree.  Didn't work worth a damn. [/b]

Yep....I went bowhunting when I was 12 with an Uncle. He had one of those......I was 12, and treestands were a new thing, but even then I knew that was a scary looking contraption. I never hunted out of a tree until the LEM Loc-On became affordable. Probably about 89?

[jcprintz]

I've got scars on both fore arms from my Baker experience. I still pull it out when I teach treestand safety as and example of what not to use.

[waknstak IL]

I started out with a Baker Pro Hunter it was like carrying a half sheet of plywood around on your back. And yes the down the tree slides were memorable I remember sliding down a tree with the hand climber attached about 15 feet up. Hand to stand there and throw sticks at it to knock it down.