Who is guilty of....

[tcook8296]

3 hours ago, Pathman said:

TC, unfortunately you ignored one of the major warnings that the manufacturers mention in their instructions, which is not to climb a slick barked frozen tree, yes you were very lucky indeed. 
Yes, if you step too close to the tree with a Viper you can dislodge the bottom section, which is why you shouldn’t do that, and also why you have the straps holding the sections together, but on an icy tree the top section won’t grip either, and down you go, as you experienced. 

Never had a lone wolf slip on anything. 

Slick frozen trees are common in winter time. 

So you are saying the stand should not be used below freezing?

Even strapping the top and bottom together would not have stopped that Viper bottom from dropping out. Imo the steel cable with yokes is a very poor design. Everything needs to bite that tree. Also the adjustment on thevsteel cable is not as fine as it should be. 

Ive been treestand hunting for 40 years. Never had a stand drop to the bottom of a tree because of where I stood. If its part of the platform you should be able to stand on it. 

 

[Lunatic]

10 minutes ago, tcook8296 said:

Never had a lone wolf slip on anything. 

Slick frozen trees are common in winter time. 

So you are saying the stand should not be used below freezing?

Even strapping the top and bottom together would not have stopped that Viper bottom from dropping out. Imo the steel cable with yokes is a very poor design. Everything needs to bite that tree. Also the adjustment on thevsteel cable is not as fine as it should be. 

Ive been treestand hunting for 40 years. Never had a stand drop to the bottom of a tree because of where I stood. If its part of the platform you should be able to stand on it. 

 

I had a climber with a steel strap drop on me about 5' once. very scary and I hurt my back. I am now using lone wolf sit in climber, about 10 years of heavy use.  and never once I experienced any slippage, cold, wet or whatever. LW has a great system.

Edited November 15, 2019 by Lunatic

[tcook8296]

23 minutes ago, Lunatic said:

I had a climber with a steel strap drop on me about 5' once. very scary and I hurt my back. I am using lone wolf sit in climber and never once I experienced any slippage, cold, wet or whatever. LW has a great system.

Lone Wolf are probably the best as far as climbing , descent and stability as far as any climber I have used. I have used an Api before and that one seemed good also

The lone wolf teeth really bites into the tree and the upper belts have a much more precise adjustment. Strap the upper and bottom together and its rock solid. 

Im swithing over to ladder stands now. That incident really turned me off to climbers. Most of my hunting is usually  solo, I prefer it that way. Im much more conscious about treestand safety now. 

Ladders I feel much safer and I know its not falling down if its cold or raining/snowing out. 

I hunt and see some of my best deer in the worst conditions. Thats when I hunt. I need to concentrate on the hunt and making the shot, not where Im standing and whether the stand is going to fall when I move   

Bottom line is you need to be strapped in as soon as possible when hunting  .The sooner the better  Every set up is different and if you are hunting elevated, you need a harness on

Edited November 15, 2019 by tcook8296

[Slayer1962]

I do not remember what its called but i have a flexible strap that goes around the tree. It has metal inside and it holds the tree just about any size. 

When you climb you spread the strap out slide it up the tree and let go. He strap snaps back around the tree. This is attached to my fall harness before leaving the ground .

A friend told me about it i ordered it and use it . I wish i could remember the name i will text him. 

Very easy to use 

[newjerseyhunter]

31 minutes ago, tcook8296 said:

Slick frozen trees are common in winter time. 

So you are saying the stand should not be used below freezing?

 

 

Climbing a tree in below freezing weather and climbing a slick frozen tree are two different things. Personally, if I came across a tree that had so much ice on it that I felt it was interfering with how my equipment anchored to the tree I definitely wouldn't proceed. 

[hunterbob1]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Muddy-Outdoors-Magnum-Pro-Padded-Adjustable-Treestand-Harness-System-

[tcook8296]

2 hours ago, newjerseyhunter said:

Climbing a tree in below freezing weather and climbing a slick frozen tree are two different things. Personally, if I came across a tree that had so much ice on it that I felt it was interfering with how my equipment anchored to the tree I definitely wouldn't proceed. 

I didnt say tree had ice on it. It was below freezing and more of a smoother bark tree. 

Im just letting other people know about my experience with the viper. Its a popular stand. Take it for what its worth but Ive been climbing trees for 40 years, Ive logged a lot of hours in tree stands and this  incident is one people need to be aware of. If you step too close to the tree the stand is going down

Edited November 15, 2019 by tcook8296

[hunterbob1]

7 minutes ago, tcook8296 said:

I didnt say tree had ice on it. It was below freezing and more of a smoother bark tree. 

And they think  hunting is easy.Honey how was your hunt?Well look at this,what's ya think?

[Pathman]

5 hours ago, tcook8296 said:

Never had a lone wolf slip on anything. 

Slick frozen trees are common in winter time. 

So you are saying the stand should not be used below freezing?

Even strapping the top and bottom together would not have stopped that Viper bottom from dropping out. Imo the steel cable with yokes is a very poor design. Everything needs to bite that tree. Also the adjustment on thevsteel cable is not as fine as it should be. 

Ive been treestand hunting for 40 years. Never had a stand drop to the bottom of a tree because of where I stood. If its part of the platform you should be able to stand on it. 

 

I don’t want to hear about your 40 years of experience (it’s apparently time to start beating some of you up when it comes to safety!), i also have 40 years experience, so let’s cut the BS and take responsibility for  the mistake you made by ignoring the warnings about frozen trees. 
Your question “so your saying the stand should not be used below freezing?” Is disingenuous to say the least, you know damn well i didn’t say anything about below freezing, i said “frozen tree,” which is what you described. There’s a huge difference between cold temps and a tree that’s  ice covered and frozen. If you climbed an ice covered tree, and then blamed the equipment for your fall, that’s about as irresponsible as you can be, that’s why i say your comments are disingenuous.   
I’ve  hunted in as cold temps as we’ve ever had in Jersey with my climber, the rough bark of an oak or similar barked tree does not freeze unless it’s covered in ice, the climbers still dig into the bark just fine no matter the temps. 
Remember the OPs premise of this post, honesty about your setups? So let’s be a bit more honest with each other in the interest of safety, and not make this a pissing match about who knows more than the next guy! 
If my tone is a bit rough.......too friggen bad (I now some of you were expecting an apology there weren’t you?😁), because if I can get you to realize the error of your ways, and one of you doesn’t take a swan dive from your stand, it will have been worth it, whether you agree with me or not. 
 

if any of you chose to ignore the reality of all this, well, you’re grown ass men and women, you can make your own choices, but at least you are a bit more aware of the potential for disaster, I suggest you think about it very carefully!

[tcook8296]

No offense, but you talk to people like they are stupid. I wont even delegate a conversation with you. 

[bucky]

[Pathman]

27 minutes ago, tcook8296 said:

No offense, but you talk to people like they are stupid. I wont even delegate a conversation with you. 

No offense, that’s funny. I’ll leave it at that...

[Nomad]

I climbed a tall ladder today to clean my gutters.   No safety belt or harness.  Call me crazy.

[gobblergetter]

21 hours ago, Pathman said:

Have you used the Wingman a lot? Any pointers or suggestions on using it?

I have one but haven’t used it yet, but I believe i will now. 

I use it every time I go up a tree.

At first I struggled with two issues.... First was adjusting the slide mechanism up or down the strap to accomadate the size of the tree. I solved that easily by useing my reguiar safety rope and prusik knot, then attaching the wingman to that... Simple and quick.

Second was rolling up the strap after every hunt and having it hang to the ground while hunting.

Again , simple solution. I now leave the strap rolled up and in my side (open) pocket of my hunter safety systems vest. If I fall the strap unrolls about twice before falling out of my pocket and enrolling ahead of my descent. How do I know ? Tested it three times from various heights of a ladder

[hunterbob1]

1 hour ago, tcook8296 said:

No offense, but you talk to people like they are stupid. I wont even delegate a conversation with you. 

He's nicer in person!