Tree Stands: What are your preferences?

[Ilikebigbucks&Icannotlie]

I'm thinking about getting a tree stand for next fall. I've never tried one before, and have absolutely no idea about what works best. Also any tactics that people might use while employing tree stands would also be helpful. Thanks in advance.

[stixnstones]

API makes very good treestands for i have two of them. They do the trick for me.No problems.

[Hagen]

Never really used one, I know last year walmart was blowing em out for cheap 50$ for a 15 foot ladder stand, comparable one going for 150ish at crappy tire and plain jane ones for 20 or 25 bucks........worth keeping an eye out to see if they do it again this year

[Shop Lord]

Self climber, self climber, self climber.

[swamper]

I never use one, have this fear of falling asleep and finding myself hanging in midair by the safety strap. Not a good thing for an old fat guy.

[jakerazer]

The Summit Goliath self climber is great! It's easy to climb the tree's, It climbs very quietly, The seat is ultra comfy and the stand is reasonably light being made out of aluminum.
I think Summit and API stands are the best. Make sure you choose the approprate stand for your hunting style. Archery stands are different to gun/crossbow stands.
Stay away from the cheap Gorilla stands. The seats are really uncomfortable. It is almost impossible to spend most of the day in one.

[Rainwater]

I have had several and the Crowsnest is the cats meow, it has a metal poke you insert in the tree and then you can hang it in many different trees. It's quiet, super light and comfy. Windfeather Archery in Cranbrook can get them for you. Around $130-140. Extra tree pokes are $15.

[Sideofabarn]

I just picked up a gorilla treestand from Wallyworld today, at $44.99. Comes with a safety harness (an ominous sign perhaps?). Word of caution, if you are a larger gent 300+, then this one is apparently not recommended for you. They are charging around $4 for screw in steps too. Hope this helps...

[BlacktailStalker]

I Have the Summit Razor X5. 100% happy with it.

[Ilikebigbucks&Icannotlie]

Thanks guys. Hey, this reminds me of what happened to a guy I knew years ago in the Campbell River area. It's a real good safety wake up call for people who use tree stands. Anyway, this fella I knew was out in the pre-season setting up a few stands. It was real hot out, and darned if he didn't fall out of the stand and bugger up his hip and leg really good. He had his dog with him, and he managed to coax the dog to go home without him (How many loyal, loving dogs would do this willingly?). Anyway, I mentioned that it was real hot out, and he lay there for about six hours in the hot sun. Said the worst part wasn't the pain, but that he was so darn hot and had nothing to drink. Lucky for him the dog went home as told, and people knew something was wrong when he showed up without the master and went looking for him. They had a general idea of where his stands were, but not exactly. The dog did the rest and led them to the poor guy. He had a pretty good limp after that, and had to use a release as he messed up his wrist too. If you stand hunt, don't put it up higher than necessary (I'm told this is about 12 feet). Anybody can correct me on this if wrong. Also, make sure people know exactly where you are in case this happens to you - Think of giving them GPS coordinates if you have one. Have a safe hunt next year!