I vividly remember the hunt when I had my first run-in with a Lone Wolf treestand. It was 15 years ago, but I remember it like it was just last season. I followed my buddy, Chris, down a trail to film an afternoon hunt at a piece of property he had leased to bowhunt deer. Chris had a Lone Wolf climbing stand strapped to his back. I carried a different brand that, at the time, I felt was the best treestand on the market. Several times on the hike in, Chris snapped his head back at me and gave me a dirty look over the noise my stand was making as we walked in. No matter how hard I yanked on the straps and shifted the stand around, it clanked and rattled around every time I planted my right foot on the ground.
I was already feeling like a rookie as we strolled up to the trees that Chris had selected to hunt from that afternoon. I did my best to quietly unstrap my gear and put the stand on the tree. It wasn’t pretty…or quiet. With cables clangin’ and bangin’, I finally got my stand locked on to the tree and stepped onto the platform to make the climb. When I finally looked over to see what the holdup was for Chris, I realized he was already inch-worming his way up a tree just a few steps away. I honestly never heard him. My stand made plenty of unnatural noise every time I shuffled to reposition my stand as I climbed. Chris’ stand never made a sound other than the subtle sounds of the stand’s teeth sinking into the bark. It was on that day I knew I had discovered the best treestand on the market. I remember thinking, “One day I will own one of those stands.” Many years have come and gone, and I finally made the move to be a Lone Wolf hunter. I bought my first Lone Wolf treestand, the Sit & Climb Combo II, last season and have been blown away at how well Lone Wolf stands are constructed. Here’s a few features that will allow you to hunt safe and solid with Lone Wolf treestands this season.
Light & Tight on Your Back
One of the negative things about hunting with a climbing stand is the chore of packing it through the woods. Many of the climbing stands on the market today are big and bulky. They don’t pack well. You can’t hike through the woods without them knocking you on the head, bouncing off the back of your legs, and many other incredibly frustrating factors that come with them. But that’s not the case with Lone Wolf climbing stands. Due to a collapsible stabilizer bar that’s easily moved in and out of place with the help of a hinge knob, Lone Wolf stands pack as tight as any other climber on the market.
There’s no awkward loads that hinder your hike through the woods. Lone Wolf climbers fit nicely to your back, without the bulk due to a slim 4-inch profile. Mobility is the key to moving with whitetail deer during the rut. And at just 20 pounds, the Sit & Climb Combo II allows you to take off and go wherever the hunt leads you.
Solid Design
I recently pulled my Sit & Climb Combo II out of the shed to conduct a little further testing on it. I knew it was an extremely solid stand the very first time I used it. But I wanted to take a closer look at what makes the Lone Wolf climber stand out among any other treestand on the market.
I remember taking a 10-foot plunge down a tree with my stand many years ago as its slick rubber-coated band failed to function properly. Fortunately I came to a stop before hitting the ground. It could have been much worse. You won’t have to worry about this type of failure with Lone Wolf Climbers. The Lone Wolf climber is quickly and quietly attached to the tree with the aid of Lone Wolf’s patented Traction Belts. Unlike any other attachment system, Traction Belts are simple and easy to handle. There’s no frustrating tree hugging required to get this one on the tree.
As the name implies, the Traction Belts grab the tree with great holding strength. There’s no slipping, shifting, and sliding like you’ll often find with other stands. The Traction Belts are designed for trees 6”-19” in diameter. The rubbery teeth of the Traction Belt grabs tight and snug to the bark for an incredibly secure hold.
Accidents happen each year because hunters simply assumed their treestand was working right or that it was properly locked into place. Lone Wolf takes all the guesswork out of mounting the stand to the tree via a simple and secure locking system for the Traction Belt. The Traction Belt slides into the stand’s stabilizer bar and is locked into the desired position with the stand’s cam for a rock solid hold. You simply flip the cam down to lock and secure the Traction Belt.
Statistics show that most accidents occur while hunters are climbing in and out of their stands. Standing and maneuvering for the shot presents another moment in the stand that you’ll want to be confident with the gear you stand on. Lone Wolf climbing stands are as solid as any stand I’ve yet to see. In fact, with nothing more than the Traction Belts, I liken them to what you might find in a lock-on stand that’s been secured with ratchet straps.
Every treestand manufacturer has their opinion on the best design for locking the stand tight to the tree to avoid slipping. Bottom line, nothing holds to the tree like teeth. The Traction Belt combined with the rugged teeth built into the Sit & Climb Combo II make for a solid and secure hold that will not budge. This stand is simply superior when it comes to tree holding ability.
So just how rock solid is this Lone Wolf platform? I wanted to push it a little further to see. At ground level I stood completely on one side of the stand. As you’ll see in the picture below, even with my 220 pounds hanging off the side of the platform, the stand never budged. I remained level despite my jumping and stomping at a variety of different points on the platform.
Safer Platform
The engineers at Lone Wolf took safety a step further with the design of this 30”x19.5” treestand platform. Not content with simple adhesive traction “stickers” that eventually wear out or peel off, Lone Wolf built teeth into the platform for solid footing, rain or shine. Boot holding traction comes standard with this climbing stand, no doubt.
The platform also features a built-in bow holder for minimal movement when the moment of truth arrives. How many times have you been busted raising your hand up to grab your bow from a hanger? It happens all the time. The built-in bow holder on the Lone Wolf platform requires minimal movement. You can hunt with confidence knowing that you’ll be safe, and ready for the shot, when hunting from a Lone Wolf climbing stand.
Lone Wolf treestands aren’t cheap. But neither is a Cadillac. If you want the safest, quietest, and most dependable treestand on the market, check out a Lone Wolf.
Take a closer look at the Lone Wolf Sit & Climb at the video below…