Treestand Recommendations??

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I would go with a climber, had many in my life time, API, OL' Man, Buckshot, Summit, Amacker and even the old Baker slip-O-matic, tried most of them. The safest was the old Buckshot with the metal back bar, you could sit toward the tree or away from the tree, it's still as good today as it was 30 years ago when I bought it. You could lock the climber and foot rest in place with a strap and that stand wasn't going anywhere, it was a sit down stand up climber, all Aluminum. The next best stand was a tossup between the API and OL' Man, both were safe stands they both climbed good and I felt good in both. The Summit had problems on larger trees because of the back braces on the back of the stand that went to the arms, they would hit the tree if the tree was to big, other than that it climbed well. The Amacker was an all steel stand, had sharp gigs that dug into the tree and a metal back bar, if you locked the bar in place with a strap and seated the gigs in deep is was a good as the buckshot. The damn Baker slip-O-matic was as it name says, three feet up and slip back two, if you were lucky you may get 10 feet up turn around and sit down and at some time along take an unexpected ride down the tree.

With the choices you have posted I would go with the OL' Man, this way you don't have to use steps or climbing stick, slip on the steps or getting in the stand and fall. You will feel safer in a climber and you can take it with you when you leave without messing with all the parts you have to carry along just to get up the tree.

One tip, carry a screw in step along, you can screw in the step to help get into your climber on a big base tree.
 
Personally I like a fixed stand like the older Gorillas but you gave to either own the land or have permission to screw steps into the tree. Dragging a climber around during bow season is a noisy affair unless your hunting in very open areas. You could hear me cursing a stumbling thru the woods with the stand grabbing at every branch you pass.
The advantage of a climber is that you dont need a bunch of them. Just prep the area and your good to go. I need 8 or 10 fixed stands to cover all the wind and seasons. I always take the first three steps out of the tree and tuck them near by so no once else can climb up to hunt or trash my stand. Most of the guys I know like the climbers but it can be tough finding a tree that's straight enough or doesn't have a lot of branches to remove. Not something I like to do at 5am. Good luck and the best stand is a safe one and that means ALWAYS wear a harness.
 
I see I'm a little late to the party, but if you're considering a millennium, I can't speak highly enough of mine. I hunt from a M100 and next season I'm ditching all my old hang on stands (the kind with the Li'l stool seat) for the cam lock hanging bases and maybe one more stand so I can multiple stands already set. If you want to sit for extended periods you will not find a more comfortable stand. If you need stealth and mobility and don't mind discomfort I can also recommend ol' man climbers.
 
I'm way late but I'll take Mellinials over any fixed stand, quiet and comfortable.

Lone wolf for climbing stands.
 
Lol damn spell check.....millennium or how ever it's spelled.
 
I’m more of a ladder stand guy. I like double stands for two reasons. My son is getting old enough (6) to go in a stand and my daughter isn’t far behind and you can sit diagonally in them and have all the leg room you could need and can put your bag on the seat next to you. I’m a 260 lb very active guy and need to stretch out sometimes. I have a couple of climbers I got out of the steel dumpster at work and they stay in the tree with a ladder stick due to no straight trees without branches.
 
I have a Muddy climber, it seems to work well, but I found I am disappointed in the specs listed for it, which seem to extend to every climber. They all list minimum diameter, which for my stand is 9", but none list maximum diameter. Which turns out to be 20", and while I have access to a ton of trees where I wanted to hunt that are perfectly vertical, none of them are under 20" diameter. I never would have bought this stand if their specs listed a maximum diameter, and after looking around, this seems to be an industry issue, not just Muddy.
 
Summit Viper SD

aluminum, quiet, 20 lbs, extremely comfortable. I hunt in the winter, sit in it all day, sometimes 10 hours straight (except coming down for a leak or two)
 
I have an old API grand slam magnum supreme I bought 20 some yrs ago and a old summit climber someone gave to me.I like the API a lot.It's very comfortable and the padded bar hold my gun or bow infront of me when facing away from the tree, W the 2 pieces strapped to the tree I can stand and lean out if i need too.The API climbs quieter than the summit and is more comfortable too.The summit is bulky when packed and hard to sneak in dense woods, The API nests together and is easier to sneak. I always bring an empty gatoraide quart bottle to pee in. I sometimes leave the stand in the woods if I'm hunting far in the woods.I take it off the tree and hide it on the ground w sticks and leaves or in a thicket where it can't be seen.I always put the stand on the tree as tight as I can and still climb and most of the time I don't need to tighten the chain or cable when I get up the tree.
 
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