What is a good cheap priced single man treestand. I dont mean dirt cheap but under $200.
308, don't know if you're looking for a loc on, or climber but here is an evaluation I wrote on a climber for another site I was active on, and a stand we currently use. Hope it helps you.
My son and I hunted with a new treestand this year, the Ameristep Grizzly 9500 Climbing treestand. Specs on the stand from the Ameristep site can be obtained by clicking on this link:
http://www.ameristep.com/treestands/climber.html Our objective,(which may not be anyone elses), was to find a fairly inexpensive stand that was reliable and comfortable, that we could leave in the woods, and not have it break the bank if it was stolen, as it is a hassle to drag a stand in & out every time along with a pack, gun or bow, etc. Not about to leave the $330 Lonewolf in the woods. I don't much believe in using a chain and lock, because I feel if someone is looking to steal a stand, they are already equipped with a bolt cutter.
We purchased 2 of them last January from Natchez Shooter Supply, on sale for 69.99 and was about 22 dollars shipping per stand, shipping weight is 50 pounds. Should this stand meet anyone elses criteria, it is currently on sale now at Natchez for the same price, here is the link:
https://www.natchezss.com/category.cfm?contentID=productDetail&brand=MC&category=26&subCategory=26&catLevel=1&prodID=MC9500The 2 big downsides to the stand, are that at 28-30 pounds, it is extremely heavy, and 2, it does not fold flat for packing it in, due to it's design. However, that wasn't an issue for us, as we would be packing these stands in ahead of time and if the distance is not to far, it's liveable to pack it in & out.
The stand is rated to be used on tress with a minimum diameter of 12 inches, to a max of 22 inches, and this presented an immediate problem for us, as the tree selected for my sons bowstand was about 8 inches in diameter. This problem was easily solved by drilling a couple of additional adjustment holes in the frame and worked out fine. They warn you about not modifying the stand in any way, but hell, you're warned about everything today to prevent lawsuits, and the stand is built like iron, so I didn't see any problem with doing it and tested it thoroughly. He reports it's very comfortable and easy to use a bow with. We also left that stand out in the weather from Sept 1st, till Dec 15th), the coat of dull greenish/gray paint it has retards rust very well, rust is almost nonexistent, and most prevalent near the additional adjustment holes I drilled, which weren't protected with paint.
We used the stands for six day firearm also. The color blends in faily well with surroundings, and they are not that noticeable while at ground level. Stand is extremely quiet sitting in it, or ascending or decending a tree, no creaking or metallic noises, no wobbling, twisting, etc. when moving around or standing up in it. The stand is also a pleasure to climb with, it grips the tree well, digs right in, and we experienced no slippage problems at all while ascending, descending trees. And that, despite the fact that we're not heavy, I am 5'10" and 140 lbs., and my son is a bit slimmer than I am and yet the stand digs into the tree and grips. The stand is easily the most comfortable treestand I have ever used, thick seat, padded backrest, padded arm and shooting rests, and seat is adjustable with straps for height within the frame of the stand. You can sit in it all day and you are totally comfortable. If you set the seat at the lowest adjustment it can go within the frame, the padded supports work out very well for resting your elbows for shooting a gun, assuring a rock solid hold. The stand is a pleasure to sit in all day, extremely comfortable. The gun can be rested across the front of the stand near the shooting support, however, it is metal. A few pieces of sticky backed foam rubber strips from the craft store solved that problem. The stand comes with a full body harness, and has straps attaching the 2 pieces together so in the event of slippage, you don't lose the bottom piece of the unit while climbing. Overall, we are very pleased with these stands, and if you have criteria similar to what we described for a treestand, I think you'd be very happy with this stand.
