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Best ladder stands?

deadeye

Active Member
What are your thoughts on the best ladder stands to bowhunt out of? Something safe that won't break the bank. Flip up seat to get closer to the tree would be nice. Also a decent platform would be good. Seems that is what is lacking on so many of them.

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No idea what brand so it's not a ton of help. But we have one that we have had up for years. Platform is a little wider than normal and also goes all the way to the tree, and the seat is a mesh type stuff that you can just slide back and it not be in the way to be right next to the tree.
 
X-stand. Clamps to the tree before you ever go up to add ratchet straps. Also light weight.
 
The hawk Denali is a very nice well built stand..seat dont flip up tho..I also have a rivers edge that's a nice stand and the seat does flip up but it has arm rests on it which I'm gonna see if I can take those off to make shots behind me better!
 
We bought a bunch of the 21 ft lockdown rivers edge stands from Boyd at buck hollow after looking at a bunch of them at the ATA show. Really like them. Like you said I also like to be right up next to the tree when standing. You can get pretty close in these but not quite as much as I would like. Super comfortable, very sturdy, big platform, and easy to put up.
 
We bought a bunch of the 21 ft lockdown rivers edge stands from Boyd at buck hollow after looking at a bunch of them at the ATA show. Really like them. Like you said I also like to be right up next to the tree when standing. You can get pretty close in these but not quite as much as I would like. Super comfortable, very sturdy, big platform, and easy to put up.

We've got a bunch of 20-21' River's Edge stands. Takes time to put them together, but man they are nice to sit in. One thing we do to make them a bit safer when putting up, is we attached the ladder 1/2-2/3 of the way up with a ratchet strap that goes around the tree (or 2 straps put together). This helps secure that top weight that wants to move on you.
 
We ended up buying a hoist or pulley system and use the wench on the wheeler to raise them up and this helps hold them tight against tree. We then use a small light aluminum ladder to go up back side of the tree to attach straps. Don't have to do this but its a lot easier for us and it takes no time and little effort to put one up. That hoist is worth its weight in gold.
 
I can't give you a great perspective on what brand to purchase, but I only purchase ones that have all metal seats (they usually come with a padded cushion) and footrest. I leave them up all year long and ones with wood or fabric seats won't last because the squirrels love them :)
 
I can't give you a great perspective on what brand to purchase, but I only purchase ones that have all metal seats (they usually come with a padded cushion) and footrest. I leave them up all year long and ones with wood or fabric seats won't last because the squirrels love them :)

Rope is a quick fix if you have any stands laying around with the fabric seats missing. I had a few with that problem and tied nylon rope to one side of seat frame and went back and forth to each side of seat frame until I had enough support for sitting on then tied it off again. Most comfortable stands I own.


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I have a couple Millenium L110's (21+ model) and also a mix of less expensive ladders (Menards/Sniper 16', Big Game Hunter 18.5' model, etc). The L110's are pricey but super comfortable. My issue is consistently getting a ladder stand quiet is almost impossible - even the L110's make some noise.

This is off topic but I am thinking about using more basic ladder - hang on combo setups. By that I mean one of those 14-15' cheapo ladders and then use a solid hang-on above that. I am 55 in a couple months and prefer the safer ascents-decents that ladders offer. Also, I can lean a ladder against almost any tree trunk and make it work. However, I really prefer a solid hang-on for eliminating stand noise. A cheap ladder from Menards at $45-50 gets me safely up to 15'. A larger Sniper hang-on for $45-55 hung above that gets me to 18+" and provides a safer method of transitioning into the hang-on stand. I think this might provide me the best/most affordable option as any true 18+' ladder available. I have one of these set-ups now and really like hunting from it because I can still position the hang-on between limbs/double trunks, etc, which is sometimes not an option with a true ladder stand.
 
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I have a couple Millenium L110's (21+ model) and also a mix of less expensive ladders (Menards/Sniper 16', Big Game Hunter 18.5' model, etc). The L110's are pricey but super comfortable. My issue is consistently getting a ladder stand quiet is almost impossible - even the L110's make some noise.

This is off topic but I am thinking about using more basic ladder - hang on combo setups. By that I mean one of those 14-15' cheapo ladders and then use a solid hang-on above that. I am 55 in a couple months and prefer the safer ascents-decents that ladders offer. Also, I can lean a ladder against almost any tree trunk and make it work. However, I really prefer a solid hang-on for eliminating stand noise. A cheap ladder from Menards at $45-50 gets me safely up to 15'. A larger Sniper hang-on for $45-55 hung above that gets me to 18+" and provides a safer method of transitioning into the hang-on stand. I think this might provide me the best/most affordable option as any true 18+' ladder available. I have one of these set-ups now and really like hunting from it because I can still position the hang-on between limbs/double trunks, etc, which is sometimes not an option with a true ladder stand.

When the wife (who isn't comfortable at heights) was hunting with me this is how I set up our setups. Used tree steps to get my stand above the ladder at the height I wanted to be at, but could also use sticks. Like you say the ladder stand made a comfortable climb on the way up.
 
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