Ground seat think I found the solution for all you ground pounders

[Bill Carlsen]

Had a successful sit last nite on my new Shappell chair. A young buck came into the oaks but never got closer than 25 yards only because he insisted on staying on his side of the tree. I had a shooting lane on my side but he just drifted off in a different direction.

The chair worked like a charm. So good I'm getting a second. It is plenty stable and the adjustable legs are a snap to set. The chair is smaller than my Double Bull chairs but plenty comfortable. My back was unscathed. Never had a swivel seat before so this was really neat to use. It was dead quiet when I needed to turn…swivel works great.  When the deer showed up there was no shifting around to get into position. When his head went down to feed getting into a good shooting position was simple. As he worked around me I could easily move with him without detection just using my feet to swivel my body in into a comfortable position. It is light weight and easy to carry. We have about a 3/4 to a one mile walk in to our property and I am hunting on the upper end so it's closer to a mile. No problems with carrying the chair. The bag, on the other hand is a different issue. Noisy to carry because it is not soft and scratches loudly as brush hits it. It is canvas-like so noise is an issue. Also getting it into the bag at closing time was way too noisy for me. However, a trip to the fabric  dept. should put an end to that. A few minutes on a sewing machine and Laura said she could do a new one in a few minutes. The leg pads on the bottom were a bit clanky but I think some mole skin or velcro should end that issue easily but can also be dealt with my being very careful and is really only a problem getting the seat back in the bag.

Hope this review helps. As I said another one will be ordered today. As for durability, time will tell but the seat has been all I hoped it would be….just needs a new bag and some moleskin on the legs where the pods "clink".  For me it is a keeper. Cant  beat the price.

I also think big guys may not be so comfortable. I am down to 160#'s so weight is not a factor for me. However, I did wonder if bigger men or women would be as comfortable as I was.  What I don't know is if they make a "magnum" size. Easy enough to find out if you need to know.

[Keb]

Go review, it's not the cure all but, it's the best thing I have found.

Money wise, weight wise, swivel wise, and with a back.

I may take the feet off mine and put racket balls on them, cut a slit in the ball and slide it over the feet.

[Keb]

I carry nine in my back pack, I use a badlands 2200, the bats wings have a slot for a tripod, the chair will fit it the that wing in that spot.

Pretty slick, I can carry everything deep into the public land, debone my meat and carry it out with my badlands.

[The Ole' Bowhunter]

I have used the hand-climber section of my Lone Wolf climber which works great however, I do like the looks of the Shappell Chair, especially because it rotates 360 degrees...which would work great in my ground blind.  I'm thinking about getting one...maybe even two.

[The Ole' Bowhunter]

Forgot to say "Thanks" to Adam for the tip about the Shappell Chair.

[Onehair]

Bill, through that bag in the washer with some tennis shoes and see if it softens up.

[DamselflyFarm]

I received my Shappell chair yesterday and will ue it this evening for the first time. I am looking forward to having it in the blind. Haven't owned a swivel chair until this one.

[Ray Lyon]

Haven't been in the woods yet with mine but thanks for the review Bill. It seems spot on with my initial reaction.

[Mark Normand]

Good stuff guys, I've been spending a lot of time roaming the woods and needed just this type of chair. Just ordered the Shappel.

Thx!

[Mark Normand]

[Talondale]

Just tried the Millennium chair this weekend and was really impressed.  It is super light and dead quiet.  Very comfortable.  Drawbacks I saw were you can't use a leaning tree and a larger tree that would really break up your outline is out of the question unless you extend the strap. But a 24" diameter tree is doable.  I like it as an addition to my set of tools.

[Bill Carlsen]

Ray: The only thing I haven't figured out yet is how to quiet the pads on the  bottom of the legs. I put some velcro on the pad where it hits the leg and it helped but then realized that another  "problem" was that the holes for the mounting bolts in the legs themselves were too big for the bolts making them loose and noisy. Wrapping the threads with some dental floss may fix that but I suspect a slightly bigger bolt will do it best even if it means opening up the hole in the pad to accommodate a larger bolt. I think I have decided that using a nylon strap is the way I will go the rest of the season. The carrying bag is easy to duplicate with a softer material but it is really a minor issue.

[Bill Kissner]

I ordered the Shappell chair last week and received it this morning. I took it out, extended the legs, and when I sat down, it promptly deposited me on the floor flat on my back. The leg behind me  folded just below the swivel. Believe me this isn't built for a heavyweight. Going to return it and buy another Walkstool.

[Keb]

I had my 1st sit in my modified shappel, passed up a dandy 8 at 7 yards.

I did get some noise from mine. I removed the seat tubes and put a thin layer of duct tape on the screws holding the seat tubes on, put them back on, seems to have cure it.

Anyway, had th buck been bigger it would be season over, I had to set in a place with no cover, just the way it was, other than that minimal noise worked like a champ.

I think a guy could do the duct tape thing on the leg tubes too, the legs that extend are a big loose fitting but once pressure is on them that is not an issue.

I tried a thin layer of tape on the but tape was to thick.

I'm super died that chair broke

[Keb]

I'm surprised

[DaveT1963]

I just oredered mine based on these reviews.  I still prefer my Hammock seat when I set up a blind with a good tree - however, this seat will provide options of hunting weed fields with no trees.  Thanks for bring this seat to light.

[KentuckyTJ]

I saw this thread the other day and was in need of an additional ground stand so I bought a Shappel seat. It arrived the other day and Its inaugural hunt was last night.

     

I agree with others that the bag is very loud but I dumped it and simply stuffed the seat into my backpack for the walk in. The feet pad noise didn't bother me as when you set it on the ground it makes no difference. I liked the feet pads as it has been raining alot here and the ground was pretty wet but those feet pads kept the chair legs from sinking into the dirt very well.

For the price, this seat is made very well with lots of feature of a higher priced seat. I like the leg extension option for raising/lowering seat level and for use on uneven terrain. The seat itself isn't as comfortable as the lazyboy in your man cave but your lazyboy isn't able to be stuffed into your backpack.

I also agree for the larger hunters this seat wouldn't be a good choice as the horn of the seat does ride pretty high in your junk and the seat itself is fairly small. After a few hours my bottom fell asleep but I have never set in a small seat where this hasn't happened. That is just what you get with these small, lightweight portables.

With all that said, I had a buck come through and the swivel was silent and the seat would have done its job if I still had a buck tag and he didn't wind me. Hehe.

     

If you are 180 lbs or less this is a great seat and I would recommend it.

Thanks Adam for posting this.

[foxbo]

X2 on the Millennium chair. I bought one a couple of weeks back and it is the most comfortable hunting seat I've ever tried. Super lite, totes easy, sets up quickly, etc. I installed backpack straps on mine. I actually look forward to sitting in it, it's that comfortable.

[Yellow Dog]

Originally posted by Bill Kissner:
I ordered the Shappell chair last week and received it this morning. I took it out, extended the legs, and when I sat down, it promptly deposited me on the floor flat on my back. The leg behind me  folded just below the swivel. Believe me this isn't built for a heavyweight. Going to return it and buy another Walkstool.

Bill, exactly my thoughts. Ordered mine on Sunday and it was on the porch when I came home from work tonight. Opened the box, pulled it out of the bag and promptly planted my butt in it. OUCH! Awful unstable and I thought I'm going to need a cup guarding the goods to sit it this thing. As I was packing it back in the bag to send it back I realized there was a little piece of paper jammed in the bottom of the stuff sack. Instructions! Life is better now that I found out there is a lock for the legs and seat to keep them securely spread out and in place. Much better now and no cup needed.

                     

[elkken]

Yellow Dog .... I did the exact same thing, we are men and men don't need no stinking instructions. I was not loving my new seat until I began packing all the stuff back in a box and then I found the same little piece of paper       telling me how to lock the legs and seat arms in place. Now I am happier            

I like the silent swivel and will give it the out in the woods test later today.