First time in a ladder stand - not liking it

I bought a ladder stand at Dicks last week. I've been sitting her for an hour and have found a few issues. It's nowhere near as comfortable as my climber. It doesn't feel as secure as the climber either. Maybe it's because it's a cheap one, but it just feels unstable.

Make sure your straps are tight. A lot of times I use an extra ratchet strap in addition to the one provided by the manufacturer (especially on the cheap ones) in order to get a solid grip on the tree. Tighten to the point that the "teeth" are biting into the tree & that may fix your issue.

Yep the cheaper ones do have more movement than the better ones. Bought a couple cheaper double stands and it shake quite a bit.

Get your straps tight. Then stand on steps at top and twist to make the teeth dig in. Ratchet some more. Do this until you cant make any more progress. Get your brace right. Then pick the legs up and get them closer to the tree. If you can get the ladder to bow slightly out in the middle, it will not be moving much at all. You can make those things into rocks, but you have to pay attention to the physics. I also runa strap from tree to the brace.

I'll second the recommendation to check and secure the straps. Most of the time I'll replace the straps that come with the stands with a better grade of ratchet strap. It they're put up correctly, they shouldn't move at all.

X2 about twisting the stand back and forth once you think you get it initially tightened down. You should be able to do that a couple of times, tightening a little each time and it'll be pretty solid after that.

I am not bashing your purchase decision, but there are several manufacturers that produce very comfortable, very secure stands. Millennium is one. It is extremely comfortable and secure.

Banjo said:

I am not bashing your purchase decision, but there are several manufacturers that produce very comfortable, very secure stands. Millennium is one. It is extremely comfortable and secure.

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I'll have to check them out. Price is about 4 times what I paid. I'm going to need a comfy one when my kids start coming with me.

Banjo said:

https://www.sportsmansguide.com/pro...MI1ZfKnL7z1gIVmbbACh0j9QcnEAQYASABEgJYFvD_BwE

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I have that exact stand and it is my favorite of the buddy stands so far. I still haven't found one that the top bar of the seat back doesn't strike me uncomfortably across my shoulders. My grandsons love it because they're shorter and the top bar is more of a neck rest for them. I guess I just slouch too much. I'm used to the chain-ons and climbers with sling seats where I can lay back and take a nap.

I have a Millennium L220 which has the bigger platform and double rail ladder. It is rock solid and extremely comfortable.They are expensive but using it for many years to come it was a easy choice for me.

I've never had a comfortable ladder stand. I've always preferred my summit viper or traditional climber from now to jan 1.

I have several cheap ladder stands from Dicks. It's hard to make them more comfortable but easy to make them more secure. All of my stands are rock solid with no wiggle at all in them. The reason is that I add two additional ratchet straps to the stand in addition to the one that comes with it. For a 15' stand, I have ratchet straps at the 5' and 10' heights along with the strap that comes with it at the 15' height. I think the stands could almost be considered dangerous if installed according to the directions that come with it.

You’re better off building one in my opinion.

I love my Muddy - The Huntsman. It's a single, but very comfortable, very light & very sturdy. The seat on it is way more comfortable than a cushion on expanding metal. The coating on it is great and holding up well, and it doesn't squeak at all.

https://shop.gomuddy.com/the-huntsman/

Looks like they have good offerings in doubles as well.

https://shop.gomuddy.com/product-category/double-two-person-ladderstand/

The field and stream XL 17' ladder stand for $149 is the best single man stand for the money IMO. For a two man and comfort, Millennium L220.

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Ldsoldier said:

You’re better off building one in my opinion.

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Sure if you have the equipment and skills. I don' t have either.

brownisdown said:

The field and stream XL 17' ladder stand for $149 is the best single man stand for the money IMO. For a two man and comfort, Millennium L220.

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My son and I were checking the Field and Stream stand out yesterday and I was telling him what a good deal it was for the cost. Heavy duty with a large comfortable seat.

Dick's stores are divided into regions and while all give managers some latitude to wheel and deal some give managers a lot of latitude to make deals. Keep in touch with the department managers as the season progresses and try to make a late season deal at a good price reduction. When we were raising five boys on our NY farm I needed a heap of good quality large two person stands and got a great deal of 5-6 of them and a few hang-on stands at the very end of the big game seasons. They were going to mark them down 40% or so and I got them for about 60% off retail. I filled my F350 to the top of the cap and had a few on the ladder racks heading home....

Our son in law was a store manager for Dick's at the time at the original Dick's store in Binghamton, NY and although he worked two hours away he gave me heads up on how to go about making that deal. I had to go to two different Dick's that were about 20 miles apart but in two different regions to find one that could/would wheel and deal. The Dick's in my home town, Auburn, NY wouldn't/couldn't make the deal, the two stores in Syracuse a half hour away were in a different region and could make the deal.

And for the hunter education instructors, most manufacturers offer discounts that often beat the sale prices in the stores or online. If you need info on that shoot me a PM. I'll be at a military vehicle rally in GA for the next 6-7 days so it might be a while before I reply though.


Lance

Homebrewale said:

I have several cheap ladder stands from Dicks. It's hard to make them more comfortable but easy to make them more secure. All of my stands are rock solid with no wiggle at all in them. The reason is that I add two additional ratchet straps to the stand in addition to the one that comes with it. For a 15' stand, I have ratchet straps at the 5' and 10' heights along with the strap that comes with it at the 15' height. I think the stands could almost be considered dangerous if installed according to the directions that come with it.

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What length of straps do you use? I'm only finding 6' long versions. The tension straps that came with it are routed from the platform, around the tree, and down to the bottom rung of the second ladder section. They are much longer than 6'.

ArmyMutt said:

What length of straps do you use? I'm only finding 6' long versions. The tension straps that came with it are routed from the platform, around the tree, and down to the bottom rung of the second ladder section. They are much longer than 6'.

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All of the Field and Stream stands I bought from Dick's just had one ratchet strap. It also came with two black thin ropes that you used to help hoist the stand to the tree. You tied the ropes to the platform and crossed them behind the tree and tied them off on one of the rungs closer to the ground. Here are some instructions. Step 7 is what I'm talking about.
https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/c0e92c_8acb6ac61a0547d5a45c6f91fb42a5b2.pdf

Now if appears they come with straps, not ropes. Maybe someone is thinking about safety now. What I do is take two 12' straps and attach at the 5' and 10' heights. At the 10' height, I attach one hook of the ratchet strap to a rung, toss the other end of the strap horizontally around the tree and then connect the hook from the other end on the same rung as the first hook. Then I tighten the strap to get rid of the slack and ratchet it tight. I repeat the process at the 5' height.

Here is one set of 12' camo ratchet straps from Home Depot with a 500 lb working load.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Keeper-1-in-x-12-ft-Desert-Camo-Ratchet-Tie-Down-47382/207097485

Or you could cruise on over to a site like ratchetstraps.com and order exactly what you want. I change my stand straps ofter and if you can't figure out how to order exactly what you want call them and explain what you want. They will make whatever you ask for.


Lance

A good quality 2 person ladder stand is like hunting off the couch.

I have a few cheap narrow ladder stands out that do the job, but not as comfortable, I always use an additional good quality strap on all of my tree stands as a backup

brownisdown said:

The field and stream XL 17' ladder stand for $149 is the best single man stand for the money IMO.

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Agreed. I have 2, and I add 2 extra ratchet straps around the foot and arm rests, but they are rock solid. Love em.