Lone Wolf Treestands long term review – a really long term
Ten years of climbing up and down and sitting in trees from September hot afternoons through January snow squalls has not hindered my want to deer hunt. Neither has the time or weather hampered my steady companion on many of these hunts, my Lone Wolf Climber treestand.
Last week while on an afternoon muzzleloader deer hunt, I removed my Lone Wolf climber treestand from my back and began the well rehearsed operation of setting up the stand and climbing one of my favorite trees. It was then I realized I have been hunting with this stand for ten years. It has been, and continues to be, a great stand. I could not have asked more out of a piece of equipment. Using quick math in my head, I come up with around 500 times I have climbed and hunted out of my treestand.
When I started to research treestands ten years ago, I went looking for a simple easy to use design that laid flat when carrying and was not too heavy. The Lone Wolf climber fit my criteria, but carried a cost a little more than some of the other stands on the market at the time. As a consumer, I look for simplistic quality. Think wool shirt over fancy new fabrics. I’m not one for glitz and fancy gadgets. The Lone Wolf climber seemed to fit the bill, so I ordered one and have never regretted the purchase.
Over the last ten years, I have spent many all day sits from dawn to dusk twenty-five feet off the ground. On one hunt in Ohio, I spent four days in a row sitting all day in my Lone Wolf. However, the best part of the Lone Wolf is the ease at which I can carry it, set up and climb, making those quick morning and afternoon hunts doable.
I have been and remain a fan of climber type of stands over fixed location stands for several reasons. On each and every hunt I hang the stand based on the factors like wind direction and deer movement at that time of the hunt, unlike with a fixed stand that is placed at a earlier time and things could have changed since then. By using a climber, you avoid becoming complacent and hunt the same fixed stand location too often and when the wind is not quite right. It is very easy to talk yourself into “oh it will be alright” and hunt it. I also do not like to announce where I am hunting, as a stand left in the woods tells everyone else hunting the property where you are hunting and they may even use the stand when you are not around. Unlike ladder stands, I can adjust the height of my climber to what best fits the situation the best. I prefer to hunt 20 to 25 feet up in the tree when possible. At other times the vegetation may dictate hunting from only 8 to 10 feet off the ground. With an out of the box ladder stand, the height of the stand is fixed to 12 or 16 feet.
I have found my Lone Wolf to be very easy and quiet to use. So quiet in fact, that several times over the years, I have had deer walk up to, and even under me, while I am climbing up the tree. I remember one hunt where I climbed up using my Lone Wolf and once up in the tree saw three deer feeding close by. I raised my rifle and shot a mature doe without ever taking a seat.
Fads may come and go. Marketing ploys may attempt to influence us to want the newest and improved. But I can honestly say, simplicity of use and quality never go out of style and I have no complaints after ten years of steady hunting out of my Lone Wolf Sit and Climb. In ten years I have never had to replace a single nut or bolt or have I had the stand squeak spooking game.
