Treelounge arrived yesterday!

JimT

JimT

New member
In case you don't know, TreeLounge is selling their basic stand for $200 right now. They've been at that price since December. I ordered the basic stand, plus gun holders, plus large knobs for $250 delivered.
My first impression: heavy!
I took it out of the box yesterday and sorted it all out. It comes with a pretty nice safety harness. I watched the video and figured out how to tie up the stand with the cinch strap.
My current impression: heavy but very manageable.
Once I got it assembled, stacked, and strapped, I put it on my back and it felt surprisingly light. Probably because it's flat and fits right up against you.
It's turkey season now, so I won't be getting it on a tree soon. But, once I do I'll post back on how it climbs and such.
Jim
 
I have an old one, bought back around 88 or 89. Killed a pile of deer from it. It weighs a lot more than the new ones. I'm not real fond of carrying it long distances any more, but it is a great stand for long hunts.
 
Ours may weigh the same, Stu. As I understand it, the original owners sold the company and the new ownership changed to a lighter stand. I saw the different stand in the video. The walls of the largest section are bowed out, the middle section is ribbed on top or something. Well, the original owners have now purchased the company back and changed the design back to the old heavier one. All the sections on mine are rectangular. They've also changed the leveler because the screw type was unsafe.

Jim
 
I had one of the older ones and imo it is the best treestand you can buy! Very sturdy in the tree and extremely well made, you will like it. Almost forgot it is very comfortable as well, which is a big plus for hunting all day.
 
Hadn't heard about the ownership change. The sale email I got the other day had a picture of the new stand. As much as I like my stand, as I get older I'm nearing the decision to sell it & get something lighter to carry, even if it's not as comfortable for all day sits.
 
I think I posted this in a JimT thread a few months ago about the treelounge but I'll review. The common perspective I hear from most owners is "Too heavy-Too big". The tree lounge was the greatest thing since sliced bread back in it's day. It's good for long hunts and good for use in places where you can use the stand in a particular tree for half the season... otherwise I hear nothing but complaints.

The stand does feel light when you first mount it on your shoulders but it gets really heavy as you walk. It also poses more of a problem with brush, fences and such than most stands. It's all trial and error, I hope you kill a lot of deer from it. My guess is the more you hunt, further you walk and more often you move stand locations the better Summit stands will start to look!
 
I plan to buy a SUmmit Viper, but:

I've used them, and found them to be incomparably far worse in regards to brush & stuff. If you're hunting a prepared site where you have taken the time to trim a trail in, fine. Go somewhere new where you have to penetrate brush & that wedge shape making the cables stick out behind you snags and catches every possible bush, weed, limb & twig. Every deer within a mile is going to know you're there.

The new folding designs should be a huge improvement in this area. I have not used one of those yet. But the notion that a TL is big when carrying compared to a Summit is absolute manure.

One thing that's odd to me is that the Viper is cataloged as having the same weight as the new TL. Somehow, the Viper feels much lighter, even if they do weight the same on the scale. I haven't figured that one out yet.

The Viper has a clear advantage in speed of setup & takedown over the TL. The TL wins for total comfort if you're into all day stands. However, the Viper is comfortable enough that all day sits are doable in it.

A lot comes down to how you hunt. If you mostly sit all day, the TL is your friend, even if you have to carry it quite a ways. If you typically hunt 3 to 4 hrs, then get down, and eiether go home or move, and maybe set back up in a different spot for the evening, the Viper wins for light carry and fast setup/takepdown.

Nice, if you can afford both, to use the one most suitable for the hunt at hand.

BTW, the TL pack works quite well with the Viper, both for carrying & up in the tree.
 
Jim, one thing I'll suggest is that you practice with the stand. Learn how to use it, then load up as if you were hunting & pack it in & set up, come down & pack it out. The TL is different in how it handles than almost every other stand out there.

Compared to a Viper, with the TL most of the work in climbing is handling the top. The foot climber is nothing, very little effort. With the Viper it's reversed, the top takes little effort but the bottom takes more. At least it seems that way to me, with a huge amount of experience with the TL and relatively little with the Viper.

I also find the Viper a bit noisier than the TL in climbing. So far. This is only after trying on a few trees, and the noise on any of them can vary a lot depending on the tree. Pines are noisy, for example, bc the bark makes so much crunching noise and it flakes & falls off the tree. Beech are real quiet, oaks are somewhere in between.

But every stand has its peculiarities, and time spent finding and figuring out how to cope with them this summer will pay off once hunting starts in the fall.

If you do not have one, get a light that you can wear on your head. A hands-free light is far superior for treestand hunting, when you set up or come down in the dark.
 
Stu, I've got a little secret on the cables for the Vipers. I tuck them up into the tubes all the way and sinch them down with the cable locks... they don't snag on briars anymore. Much, Much less trouble with the viper than the TL.
 
The TreeLounge will be my gunstand. I mainly gun hunt on NSWC Crane. The nice thing about Crane is that there are gravel magazine roads EVERYWHERE. I seldom hunt more than 100 yards from the road. So, even if it's heavy, that's okay, as I won't be packing it far. This last year, I hunted (on base) exclusively from a camp chair. It has it's limitations, but it's also perfect if I'm on a hill in the middle of a powerline (where I shot my 10 point, from my chair). I want the TreeLounge to hunt in places where there is more undergrowth and I can't see if I'm in my chair.
Stu, the reason the Lounge feels heavier is because it is. I don't think they count the foot climber weight in their advertised weight. It seems like if you read their FAQ it will list the foot climber weight.
Yup:
Quote:
Q: How much does the Tree-Lounge weigh?
A: 18.6 pounds

Back To Questions

Q: How much does the Foot Climber weigh?
A: 7.3 pounds



http://www.treelounge.com/faq.htm#1
So you're actually toting about 25lbs of stand. It's deceptive advertising on their part, but I knew it going in.

Jim
 
JRB, that's a good idea. Whenever I do manage to buy one, I'll be spending a little effort on the best/quietest ways to carry & use it.

I'm leaning towards the newer folding model. Like to know how well it will hold up over time, it'd suck if the bushings went bad in a few years and it becomes a noisy stand.
 
I have one of the older models, all square tubing!
I feel very safe in it and have never been in a safer stand!
I've shot lots of deer from it, but only with the bow, just didn't happen to see any when I was using the rifle!

One of my brothers wanted to borrow it quite a few years ago, so I showed him the basics and let him take it!
He said he liked it but complained it was too heavy!

Then they came out with the new model and advertised it to be lighter, painted and whatever else, and he had to have one.
Well on his first outing with the new one, he got up the tree and just got seated when he took a fast ride to the ground! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/angry-smiley-055.gif

My advice is, if you are going to get one of the new models, get the GRIPPER or whatever it's called! It goes on the bar that's behind the tree! It is used to grip the tree and prevent slips!

BE SAFE and good luck!
 
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