Agree with KSdan. Haven't used my climber in years.

I'm in the Lone Wolf Hang-on & Lone Wolf sticks camp... I have a Loggy Bayou climber & (2)LW Alpha with 3 sticks each. I hardly use the climber any more. Way more nimble with the Lone Wolf & sticks. Basic sets just need (3) sticks or in some cases only 2... In the event I need a fourth stick, I can take one from the other set OR I have access to one set to leave out & one set for "Hang & hunt"...

Perfect timing with this thread, I have been mulling this over myself, I have a summit viper climber but am limited to fairly straight trees and no limbs.  I have plenty of hang ons and sticks but not easily packed in and out.  Since i will be hunting state land pretty much exclusively this coming year since loosing the property I had permission to hunt...(not enough $$$$$ in the bank to try and buy when it came up for sale   ) A lot of good information here hope it keeps coming

Mr Fingers: "Get to you desired height hookup the safety belt pull up your gear."

It's a good idea to hook your belt to the tree before you start climbing and work it up as you go. It doesn't add more than an extra minute to climb. You are secured from the moment your feet leave the ground. Climbers are the most unstable when in motion.

I have the LW climber and hang on w/sticks. I like to set my lock on pre season and carry the sticks in when I hunt. The climber is for the areas I don't trust leaving a stand.

That being said, I haven't used either for the past few seasons. I have been doing a lot of ground hunting and am undecided if I ever want to go back up a tree.

I use both a Lone Wolf hand climber and two of their hang ons. They each have their advantages and I tend to use them differently.

The climber is really limited in this part of the country due to mostly hardwoods. I think this is a much better option if you live in a part of the country where strait trunked trees are the norm. I do like the simplicity of the system. I use a Black Diamond Alpine Bod mountaineering harness and it makes for a pretty slick set up.

I carry a Alpha hang on with a Hunt comfort seat if hunting from my canoe. The Hunt comfort seat helps greatly on longer sets. It also makes carrying the sticks awkward (not a problem in the canoe.

If I am carrying in on my back its the hang on Assault. Only two sticks for me, sometimes one. I will sometimes augment this with a single section of stick together climbing steps. I attach a single Lone Wolf Versa button and cache the section on longer treks. Just carry the strap in with me. The Assault is a little small for bigger guys , but I try to go light.

One big advantage of a hang on is the ability to hang the stand above the lowest limb. I have found you can get away with hunting a lot lower doing this.

This is my first year with the recurve, so I never climbed a tree (and loving it).

When using my climber it can be a pain when the tree trunk flairs larger at the bottom. A strap on step or two, such as Cransford makes comes in real handy. By getting the stand up above the wide part its much easier to adjust correctly. Especially if you tend to hunt over 15 ft.

Just don't forget your hand saw.

Do those of you who use the LW climber or hang on alternately notice any difference in weight when packing in and out? Any difference in setting up time wise?

18# for climber.  20# for stand and sticks.

I was never a fan of the LW climber, but I do use the LW sticks and hang-on. I really like the LW hang on. I found an air filled padded seat that I strap to the LW seat for more comfort. It makes a big difference.

I have an Alpha and Assault hang-ons, and use sticks with both.  I greatly prefer the Assault.  It's plenty big for my needs, and lighter.

QuoteOriginally posted by German Dog:
 

QuoteOriginally 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. [/b]

wow that's the first time I heard that fix to those 3 problems,,, thank you for posting this.

Not much of a difference in set up time between the climber and hang on to matter for a Lone Wolf.
Much more important to choose a stand that meets your needs.

I tend to not get in a hurry and go up quiet. If using a Lone Wolf hang on; the easy hang hook makes a world of difference.

The more often you use any of these portable stands the faster and safer its going to be. It can become so familiar that its easy to get careless.

I have the hang on and four sticks.  I love the versatility, but taking the sticks down after an evening sit makes me feel like I'm making too much noise and spending too much time in my hunting areas.  With a little practice, you'll be up a tree quietly and efficiently, but the tear down in the dark is what I'm not comfortable with.  I have multiple evening stand sites that I leave screw in steps up to get around this problem.  I do plan to buy a hand climber soon, as there are numerous climber friendly trees in my area.

Depends On where you hunt.  I have both. The summit climber is more comfortable,but that being said way easier to fall asleep in and no game is killed when your asleep. Also the top part of the Climber sticks out from the tree limiting some shots,and can also spin on you no matter how tight the strap is.
The LW hang on in my opinion is better. For whitetails, they tend to be in the thickest parts, and trees in the thickest areas don't usually grow straight. You can get a hang on in a cedar/hemlock tree.
I have spent many hours in both. Get one of each who knows.

I've used this method for the Lone Wolf hang-on with four climbing sticks. It works great!

http://youtu.be/76EVLGJ-9L4

QuoteOriginally posted by Tajue17:
 

QuoteOriginally posted by German Dog:
 

QuoteOriginally 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. [/b]

wow that's the first time I heard that fix to those 3 problems,,, thank you for posting this. [/b]

Another thing I do when packing it up is I do not loosen up the wing knobs and fold the stand flat. Just slide the platform strap in all the way like I said before then the handclimber section you slide in about half way or so and then you just hang the handclimber section onto the platform section and then use the black webbing straps to cinch the two peices together.  In other words the handclimber belt will be sitting on the platform inbetween the platform belt and the base of the platform.  If oyu can't figure that out let me know and i'll get a photo of it.  doing this also creates a "pocket" on the stand for your small backpack or fanny pack to sit in while you pack the stand out.  My bison gear lost river pack fits perfect.

german dog I think I'm following you but if you have a picture that would be great.  once thing I did do with mine was I got camo Hockey tape from the sports store and I went around all the black metal parts on mine which blends this stand in even more,, now other hunters don't even pick up on it unless the shoulder straps are hanging down,,,,,, speaking of which a lot of folks do not know that climbers with the shoulder straps hanging down and moving in the breeze draw the deer attention to look up,,,,,,, stretch those straps with a bungy prevents this.

Tajue17,   I'll try and get some photos within the next day or two.  

I also wondered about the straps moving around. Good thing to keep in mind.

QuoteOriginally posted by Tajue17:
speaking of which a lot of folks do not know that climbers with the shoulder straps hanging down and moving in the breeze draw the deer attention to look up,,,,,,, stretch those straps with a bungy prevents this.

Not like the old fashioned lanterns with the red blinking light I had hanging under my stand once. Must have hit the button but it was blinking and I wondered why every deer that came down the path saw me from far away.