Where can I see a picture of the Vulture by Ken Lewis?

Got friends who swear by them (great hunters too!). Even after coaching and many tips I still went back to the stand for typical whitetail hunting. I personally never got that comfortable and I felt I had to move too much to shoot.  As far as weight and portability there is only 8-10# difference which is negligible with backpack straps and a hip-belt.  Many times a stand actually fits the portable tree easier. I have kept mine for unique times- even considered using it with mountain elk hunting.

Dan in KS

I posted the mods over at saddlehunter.com

I don't use a saddle, but use something pretty close which is the Lone Wolf Assassin platform. It came with a seat belt webbing harness which I ditched and now use a modified rock climbing harness which weighs almost nothing. I can fit the platform in my pack along with 1-2 mini climbing sticks. It's nice because the whole setup (platform, sticks, harness, tether) weighs around 10 pounds and I can climb as high as I want to.

I've shot several deer from it in the compound, but nothing yet with the longbow. It's not an all day sit stand, more like 2-3 hours max. Once mid-October rolls around I switch to the regular stand. Sometimes late season I'll use it again, sometimes not. But it's great for September hunts when I'm walking in through several hundred yards of swamp and marsh when it's hot.

I have had a lot of 6-8 hour sits. The nice thing about this type of stand is it takes little movement to get comfy again. Just flex the knees to sit or stand, lean back a bit to stretch the back or now that I'm in my 60's lean my head against the rope for a short nap

Wow does time hide things.  First "saddle" deer.  Sorry about the tongue....

There are places where a tree stand just will not work. I prefer a tree stand if possible but I have shot deer from a tree sling.