Climber Tree Stands

With climber tree stands or as some people call them, climbing tree stands, a hunter can just backpack the stand to the best place for the stand. Of course the hunter will have to find a fairly large tree with a straight trunk and a minimal amount of obstructing limbs at the preferred stand height.

Climber tree stands come with a top part to sit on and a bottom part for the legs to rest on. They take a little getting used to in order to get up the tree to the level you want. It's not necessarily an easy thing to do but then just climbing a tree is not that easy to do either. From a weight perspective, you can expect the climbing tree stand to weigh close to 30 pounds.

In my opinion the best type of climber tree stands use a cable instead of a chain to attach themselves to the tree. You should also make sure that the stand is large enough to accommodate you and that the view is unobstructed with 180 degree sweep visibility.

Mother nature equips game animals such as deer with a lot of defense mechanisms. The most acute is smell but sight is also a strong factor. That being the case, be sure the stand cannot easily be seen. Some hunters believe that just because they are above eye level everything is okay. That may be the case but for example if there is a hillside near the tree stand location then at some point the hunting stand may actually be at eye level with the game. Also you don't want the place the stand on a completely bare side of a tree. It will surely be noticed as something new and something to be avoided by the game.

These types of stands are the best option when looking at all types of tree stands. They are relatively light (around 30 pounds) and can be backpacked in and aren't that difficult to move to a new location.

The combination of gravity and the cable or chain is what keeps the climber trees stand attached to the trees. Personally I prefer the cable type.

Watching a hunter raise a climber tree stand looks a bit like a caterpillar action to me.

Climber Tree Stands Cautions

Okay we know they are light and can be easily moved but we should also point out the biggest disadvantage of these stands too. They are smaller and not nearly as stable as a permanent tree stand. It can take some getting used to. They don't feel all that stable and it can be distracting until you get used to it. But after one deer hunt (or other type of game) you should feel comfortable in the hunting stand.

About the only other thing to mention is that somehow the best spots don't seem to have larger enough or straight enough trees to mount them too. I know it's probably just me and a little bit of the 'grass is always greener' syndrome. But just know that the perfect spot you find may not work for a climber tree stand.

Climber Tree Stands Safety

And as a last point I will mention safety. These stands are safe when used as they are designed and when used in conjunction with the proper safety harness. They are certainly not that difficult to use safely but you need to read, understand and follow all manufacturers instructions. And if you happen to buy a used climber tree stand you can find most instruction manuals online. When searching onlilne you may have to search for climbing tree stands instead of climber tree stands, since that's the most popular searched term for these types of hunting stands.