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Post by indianajoe on Oct 25, 2017 16:52:27 GMT -5
I was wondering what most people have for the life expectancy of a treestand? I use mostly ladder stands that get new nuts and bolts every 2 or 3 years and new straps more regular than that.the ladder stands stay in the woods year around except for maintenance and inspection and getting moved . My climber gets inspected every use. All are getting up in age but appear to be in good shape. I always wear a harness and replace it according to the mfg.
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Post by swilk on Oct 25, 2017 16:59:08 GMT -5
I retired a few last year after about 15 years of service. In the time I replaced bolts and cables (replaced with chains).
I replace straps as needed.
I retired them because of the seats and because they are super heavy.
I'll use something till it's no longer usable.
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Post by beermaker on Oct 25, 2017 17:04:06 GMT -5
I was wondering what most people have for the life expectancy of a treestand? I use mostly ladder stands that get new nuts and bolts every 2 or 3 years and new straps more regular than that.the ladder stands stay in the woods year around except for maintenance and inspection and getting moved . My climber gets inspected every use. All are getting up in age but appear to be in good shape. I always wear a harness and replace it according to the mfg. Pretty much the same policies I follow with ladder stands. I will say that I saw a ladder stand in the woods (not mine) the other day that had the main ratchet strap dangling in the breeze. I hope some fool doesn't climb into it in the dark and get hurt. I notified the landowner and he was going to check with those who have hunted there in the past. My Summit is older than I can recall, probably over 10 years. I think I have replaced the cable wrap once and the seat three times. The seat issues are on me. Squirrels and mice just love them when left in the woods. |
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Post by bill9068 on Oct 25, 2017 18:43:40 GMT -5
I have 3 summit climbers, one I've had for 15+years its a viper model, then I have a 360 I use almost everytime I hunt, its about 5-6 years old. My third is a goliath I bought used as a backup, haven't used it yet.
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Post by firstwd on Oct 25, 2017 18:50:43 GMT -5
I've had one chain on break as I was testing it during install and it was less than 5 years old. I also have and use a different style chain on that I got used 25 years ago. As with everything in this world life expectancy varies greatly, depends on maintenance, and most certainly depends on your confidence in it.
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Post by swilk on Oct 25, 2017 18:54:32 GMT -5
I have 2 vintage Loggy Bayou treestands...one is about 25 years old and is the model before they had a padded seat. The other is about 20 years old and has the padded seat. Being aluminum they are both in really good shape just don't use them anymore.
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Post by firstwd on Oct 25, 2017 19:00:35 GMT -5
I have 2 vintage Loggy Bayou treestands...one is about 25 years old and is the model before they had a padded seat. The other is about 20 years old and has the padded seat. Being aluminum they are both in really good shape just don't use them anymore. I don't think my problem is keeping them too long, it's that I'm a sucker for hunting gear sales. I got two new stands a couple years ago, two last year along with two new blinds. This year I got three more stands. I have a 12 x 12 storage shed that is getting a bit stuffed |
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Post by swilk on Oct 25, 2017 19:04:45 GMT -5
Rural King had Summit Backcountry stands last year and I liked them....we bought a dozen and pulled our old stands and started using them. I plan to pull them each year and hope to get years of use out of them. The suspension type seat is pretty comfy and they use a hanging bracket so hanging them is a lot easier than what was replaced.
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Post by span870 on Oct 25, 2017 19:38:12 GMT -5
I have 2 vintage Loggy Bayou treestands...one is about 25 years old and is the model before they had a padded seat. The other is about 20 years old and has the padded seat. Being aluminum they are both in really good shape just don't use them anymore. Are they the ones with the band instead of the chain? If so that band goes for a small fortune on eBay. |
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Post by swilk on Oct 25, 2017 19:39:32 GMT -5
Both have the band...
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Post by scrub-buster on Oct 25, 2017 19:39:54 GMT -5
We put our ladder stands up in September and take them down as soon as we are done hunting for the year. We store them in a garage. It's a lot of work but they stay in great shape.
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Post by subzero350 on Oct 25, 2017 22:39:40 GMT -5
We put our ladder stands up in September and take them down as soon as we are done hunting for the year. We store them in a garage. It's a lot of work but they stay in great shape.  We do the same thing. Still have the very first ladder stand bought over 10 years ago and it gets used every season. It is still in excellent shape. |
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Post by M4Madness on Oct 26, 2017 5:13:21 GMT -5
I tried lots of different climbers back in the 90's, but I've been using my API Grand Slam Lite for at least 17 years now.
I do have four hang-on stands out that I don't pull, but I do move them to new spots annually. Each has two ratchet straps, and I do take those home after season, leaving the stand's factory strap to hold them loosly on the tree until the next season.
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Post by tynimiller on Oct 26, 2017 9:20:03 GMT -5
We hope to switch out cables on half our fleet this off season with chains, check bolts, add nylon washers on all the cheaper Guide Gear ones we have...my new Hawk or Ameristep ones are of higher quality but will still get looked at, checked over and spot rust treated and painted if needed.
Steel stand frames will literally last longer than any of us will if we do our part for all the connectors, chains/cables and such.
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Post by laughery11 on Oct 26, 2017 17:13:44 GMT -5
There is one ladder stand on my family’s property in Indiana that my grandma’s brother put up 25 years ago, It is still standing and in relatively good shape. The tree splits and has three main trunks that have grown around the stand. It is pretty comfortable to sit in but it is hard to adjust to a moving deer. I have killed my three biggest deer in that stand or on the way to it. If it ever get unsafe to hunt it will be a sad day for me.
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Post by onebentarrow on Oct 26, 2017 17:37:51 GMT -5
Till some one steals them. I still have an old baker in useable condition
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Post by esshup on Oct 27, 2017 12:13:28 GMT -5
Haven't thrown one out yet.......
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Post by gillgrabber on Oct 29, 2017 10:45:07 GMT -5
I had an older Bear River tree stand which I thought was in good shape. I wasn't sure how to "test" the chains or bolts except to give them a good yank and make sure the nuts & bolts were tight. While hunting with my young Son one year I put the stands next to each other in the same tree. A few hours into the hunt we heard a strange "creaking" noise and began to wonder what it was when the seat on my Son's stand snapped off and caused him to collapse onto the stand down where his feet were. The weld on his seat had snapped in half. He was OK but just a little shaken up as was I. All I could think was "Thank God it wasn't the bolt holding the chain onto the stand". I liked those stands as they seemed pretty sturdy and quiet but I stopped using them after that and bought some new stands from another manufacturer. We had never left the seats up in the tree longer than a few days while hunting. They were stored in my garage out of the elements the rest of the year so I thought they were well maintained and didn't expect this.
A close call and a lesson in not trusting your gear to last forever.
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