Lone wolf. Sticks and alpha. Vs climber??

[Bullfrog 1]

Anyone use the three sticks and hang on over a climber?  Thoughts? On advantages of both set ups?  Thanks. Bill

[Steve Kendrot]

Sticks and hang on can go anywhere the climber can, but the climber is limited to straight boles trees. If you can get only one, it's a simple answer. I find the hang on less comfortable for a long sit. It's also limited in height unless you carry more sticks. If you get lots of straight trees, the climber is great, but the hanger is more versatile.

[KSdan]

Like sticks and hang on.  FAR more versatile and I hunt portable- so every time in I set up and take down.  10 minutes or less.  Takes no more time than a climber. A couple screw in steps in my vest gives me 3-4 more feet easy enough when I need it.  I also modified the seat ht. and cushion for all day comfort.

[tracker12]

I have both and use both spending on the situation.  I was strictly a climber but with my trad gear I like the ability to stick a stand in a crooked multi trunk tree that affords me a little more cover and concealment.  Plus I do not go very high with the stick bow so 3 stks work fine.

[mh2324]

I can give you first hand experience on both a Lone Wolf Alpha and a Summit Razor climber. Used to have 2 LW stands which I liked a lot when I could leave them in the woods set up on private land I hunted at the time. Great to get into the woods and have everything ready to go and just climb and hunt. As far as comfort they left a lot to be desired but I suppose comfort varies from person to person. The Summit climber is extremely comfortable but I do find it a little cumbersome to lug around and kind of time consuming to get situated in once I'm in the woods. Both have their goods/bads. If it's for short sits I'd say get the LW. If it's long stints in the cold I'd say the Summit just for the sake of comfort. I'm personally moving away from trees and focusing on the ground. More fun and less decisions! Good luck.

[mpauls]

I put in over 200 hours on my LW assault and sticks this year with no issues. Love the mobility of this setup. I use 3 sticks and keep about 3 steps in my pack as well in case I need more reach or have to get over an odd spot in a tree. I also setup and take down every time in a matter of minutes.

[Bowwild]

I'm in the hang-on camp 99% of the time. My favorite hang-on is in fact the Lone Wolf Alpha.

I hunt edges and limby trees are the rule. The climber just doesn't work well there.  However, I have actually used a climber (base only) as a hang-on when I needed more stands.

[Orion]

I use LW hang ons or a LW climber depending on the situation.  Lots of aspen/birch where I hunt so climber works very well.  I can get up a tree faster and quieter with a climber.  However, I also hang a number of stands so I can hunt one or another depending on wind direction.  Once up, steps and hang-ons are quieter and faster than a climber, of course.

[Mr. fingers]

I like a hang on when it is prehung . But as far as setting up the morning of or the evening of I like my lone wolf hand climber combo. I usually have a tree Pre selected. Straight trees are not hard to find where I hunt and I usually pick one that has some sort of back cover. It's nice for trying new areas before committing to a more permanent stand. I only have one set of  4 gorilla sticks and they are not light and either is the gorilla stand  i own so setting these up tends to be a little laborious. It's very solid once set up though.
 I don't like  dealing with a line mans belt up and down the tree to grab another set of steps as just as noisy as a climber or more imo.And on bigger trees getting the step straps thrown around the tree can be a pain. Especially 20 ft.up. then back down the tree to grab your pull up rope for the stand and then pulling the stand up getting it secure. Then climbing  back down to hook up your gear. To you pull up rope. Then back up again attaching the safety belt pulling the gear up getting it all hung. That a lot of commotion.
I feel a climber is safer and easier and faster  only 2 pieces.  Both around the tree. Hook your rope to your gear. And up you go. Your hands and feet are always on the stand and the stand to the tree.  Get to you desired height  hookup the safety belt pull up your gear. Hang it and done. The other plus to a climber is you can turn it it the  tree any time  to change the direction your facing.

That said I think the lone wolf sticks and ultralight hang ons  could be worth a look.  A saw a pic in a mag of a guy hanging his steps and he had the stand on his back while doing it didn't look very safe to me.

[Bowwild]

I hunt private land only. In most cases these days my stands are all pre-hung, most before the season begins. On the occasions where I've been a visiting hunter I have taken and sometimes use a climber.

Way back in the 70's I hunted a place that was 120 miles away. I used a Baker climber in those days. I buried the stand after each hunt under leaves and branches in case a trespasser came through.

It wouldn't even occur to me to try to set up a hang-on in the dark on the AM of a hunt. It often takes me well over an hour to set these up and a lot of banging around.

[German Dog]

I have both of the Lonewolf hang on with sticks and also the Lonewolf hand climber.  I use the hand climber the most cause it's faster, easier, make less noise setting up, and I beleive it's safer.

Down side is you need a fairly clean tree to climb. However, i found even with my hang-on it's still easier to trim and small limbs rather than try to work around them while hanging sticks and stand.

Best thing to do is take a look at your hunting spots and see what trees you have the most of where you want to hunt.

another thing is you can use a climber and stick combo. It doesn't pack together like the hang-on and sticks but is most of your trees are climber trees and still want to have ability to use that stand on non climbing trees then just carry in the sticks with you and hang your climber.

[maineac]

I have not tried the sticks or steps and hang on as a pack in pack out set up.  It just seems like a lot of gear and ups and downs as Mr Fingers stated.  Every piece of equipment is a potential clink clank or other noise as I separate, pick up, hang or adjust. My viper has enough little noises and I only have to separate two pieces and attach each. A few times I have had a tree that would have been a better set up if I had sticks, but not often. As others have stated I have usually picked out all my trees long before season, or on a scout. If it needs a hang on I come in a set a permanent set of steps and the bracket for my hang on.  I just got a summit open shot for Christmas.  Have not had it on a tree yet, but it is certainly compact and light for getting back into distant or thick areas.

[njloco]

Long time climber user, killed lots of deer, back in 2008 I decided to spot and stalk from the ground, at the same time I realized,  what do I do if I come across a really good ambush spot with lots of sign ?, I bought three lone wolf climbing sticks but realized real soon that I only needed two. I attached them to my Loc on light ( 7lbs. ) and then I put my small back pack on that, the Safari tough quiver gets attached to the right side of the stand.

Now with this set up, I can spot and stalk, easily drop everything if I have to, but also get up into any tree fast and easy, if I find a real good spot, or get down out of a tree if there is no action.

[Crash]

The answer to your question is going to depend on the area you hunt.  I have both, the LW stand and sticks and a Summit climber.  I have to take my stands in and out each time since I hunt public land and don't feel like donating my stands to anyone else.  I switch back and forth depending on the area I am going in to hunt because I am familiar with the area and know which is the best type for where I am going that day.  I think if I could only have one or the other, I would go with the hang on stand.  Once you get used to it, it's not that bad.  I carry the stand up the tree on my back and use my lineman's strap for safety.  I only have to come back down the tree once to attach the pull up rope to my bow.

[Altiman94]

I use my sticks and hang on 100% over a climber.  I actually had a lone wolf climber and sold it because it wasn't being used.

Reasons being:
-Hang on is alot more versatile as far as the trees you can get it in.

-No side rails to worry about the bow limbs hitting

-I can get it on crooked/slanted trees a lot easier

Disadvantages:

-More to carry
-Slower to put up
-Harder to put up in the dark

In my case, the advantages greatly outweigh the disadvantages.  If you hunt in a woods where most of your trees are climbable, I would maybe rethink my recommendation.  I just happen to not.

[Tajue17]

well yesterday with my hand climber I could not find a tree fat enough to climb, I have the XL straps and if a tree is too small the straps will only go inside the lower section so far so where I really wanted to be I couldn't go and had to go about 40yds from that run.  with a hang on I could go anywhere!

also, what I don't like about the hand climber is the seat doesn't move out of the way (older version)  and I wear pants with cargo pockets that are usually stuffed with things,,, so when I'm standing on the platform and go to turn around to say look behind the tree the dang seat gets in the way of the cargo pockets and kind of puts me off balance,,,,, I guess its all good just little things you eventually get used to.

with a hang on I guess you have to fumble with sticks,, not nearly as quiet as the climber.  

I got used to the climber once someone showed me how to climb with one and now I love it,,, is it better than the hang on,,,,,,,,, yes and no which means now I want a hang on too!!

[SELFBOW19953]

I use strap on steps instead of Sticks.  The steps needed to go the same height as Sticks weigh about the same.  With steps I can go up any tree and around any limbs-quick and quiet (I have climbed a tree with this set up when I could see deer within 100 yards).  If I choose to leave my stand (which I seldom do)  I jut take the last 4 or 5 steps with me when I leave.

[German Dog]

Originally posted by Tajue17:
well yesterday with my hand climber I could not find a tree fat enough to climb, I have the XL straps and if a tree is too small the straps will only go inside the lower section so far

Here's how to fix that problem.  Take the bolt that holds the square tube to the platform and reverse it so the head is on the inside of the tube and this allows the strap to slide all the way through and stick out of the platform bottom.  

This also makes it nice so when you pack up the stand you slide the straps all the way in so when you back pack it the straps don't stick up grabbing every tree branch as you walk.

The third benefit this does is allows you to set the strap to the farthest out setting on one side of the stand so no matter what tree size you put the stand on you only have to adjust the one side.

[Butchie]

I also have both the Alpha hang on and Alpha hand climber.  I use the hang and sticks on a lot while the climber gathers dust.  Seriously considering selling the climber as I just don't use it anymore.  The hang on can be used in all situations, not true for climber.

[KSdan]

I have read these types of threads on TG before. My 2C. . . I do not have exclusive grounds so I never leave a stand. I rarely hunt the same stand twice (virtually ALL mature deer encounters have been first time on a stand). I also have a limited budget so one stand and sticks is all I use.  I easily had over 50 sits this past fall (2 states)- all were portable and 85% were the first time on that stand for the fall.  Many were scouting on the fly- then setting up (had some great deer encounters like this!). I go up a tree in ONE fluid ascent in under 10 minutes- EASILY!  (There is NO REASON to go up and back down, make unnecessary noise, etc.) A turkey vest with all gear accessible, a modified stand with 2-4 sticks on my back (with backpack straps and hip belt), and my bow is all I need to hunt. (BTW- Using a vest and the stand/pack wt. on my hips allows me to easily scout and shoot my bow if needed).  This would be impossible for me with a climber (been there- done that).

Also- I have hunted with over 2 dozen friends in the past 15 years.  The guys who come here to hunt KS with me MUST learn this method. Most all have had mature deer encounters. Many are dumbfounded they did not hunt like this before.

Be creative. Think out of the box.  Don't make it harder than it needs to be.

Dan in KS