When you are using a bow or a crossbow to hunt, you want to get close to the prey. You need to make sure the animal doesn’t notice you.
What if you could surprise the target and they won’t even see you coming? Interesting right?
A hunting tree stand will help you do exactly that. It’s a tool which you used to hide in the tree. If you keep yourself out of the vision of your prey. You can easily lure the prey into your trap.
It will be over for Anakin when you get the high ground. To reach the high ground, you will need some help. The name of that help is a tree stand.
By reading the title you already know, we are going to talk about the best hunting tree stands today. Without further ado, let’s start.
Best Hunting Tree Stand or Climbing Tree Stand (Top List)
1. Summit Treestands Summit Viper Steel Climber
When it comes to treestands, Summit is one of the best in that. Summit Viper Steel Climber is a fan favorite, to say the least.
When it comes to suggesting a tree stand, viper steel climber will always be up there.
Viper steel climber is a heavy-duty tree stand. It can carry up to 300 pounds of weight. You will have plenty of room to take your hunting gear on the stand.
Viper steel climber features Summit’s QuickDraw cable retention system. It’s a technology that helps you to secure the stand on the tree faster and more securely.
The weight of the Summit viper steel climber is just 29 pounds. nearing the 30 pounds mark may not be lightweight for a lot of people. For that price and the power, it’s packing. 29 pounds of weight seems quite low to me.
Sure, if you carry it for a long time then you may face some back pain. For 1-2 hours carrying session, you should be more than fine. The bottom layer of the stand is quite sturdy and firm to land feet on.
The top seat is quite comfortable to sit on. The one complaint I have about this tree stand is regarding the top portion. I wish Summit would make the top half a bit wider. It’s enough for you to sit on, but there isn’t enough space for you to wiggle around a bit.
For the money, Viper Steel Climber is an excellent treestand. It’s on the budget end of the market and still carrying the high specs of high-end Summit treestands.
2. X-Stand The Jester Aluminum Hang-On Hunting Tree Stand
The name sounds a lot like X-Men from Marvel. Sitting on it won’t make you Wolverine. But it will definitely help you hunt like him.
The sitting position of it is like a regular chair. The bottom layer of this is wider and longer than usual treestands. That part for me automatically makes it a solid buy. I like to relax my leg and stretch them when I can. If the stand doesn’t allow you to do that, you may get cramps.
The weight capacity of the Jester is 350 lbs. Higher than Viper steel climber. The weight of the stand is only 17lbs. It’s super lightweight. You can carry it behind your hunting bag for days.
Don’t let the lightweight fool you, Jester is constructed from 6061-T6 aircraft-grade aluminum. It’s as durable as they can get. Making the Jester technically indestructible. Now you know how it has such a high tolerance.
There is no front railing like other treestands. To keep you safe, X-Stands includes a 4ft safety harness in the package. Both the backrest and seat is foldable. The portability of this tree stand is quite good.
The mounting system is rope-binding. You will get the rope necessary to bind the stand with a tree. They are quite flexible and sturdy. They won’t break even if you go over the limit a bit. The price of this stand is not that high either. X-Stands Jester is one of the best hunting treestands out there.
3. XOP Vanish Evolution Hang On Tree Stand
XOP Vanish Evolution is probably the most minimalistic tree stand on today’s list. Vanish Evolution is one of the most basic treestands that you can buy. There isn’t much going on the stand. The design is different than other treestands.
The color finish is mossy green. If you choose the right biome to hunt, you can go completely invisible in an animal’s eyes.
Vanish evolution can hold up to 350 lbs. I know it doesn’t look like it could hold that much. It is the truth, it can hold that much weight without even buzzing.
The seat on the top is made out of foam. One of the most comfortable seats you will ever see on a tree stand.
The strapping system is a generic backpack strapping system. This is one of the things that I didn’t like about this treestand.
Another major concerning part of the treestand is safety. There are no railings on the top half of the treestand. You will completely rely on the safety strap. If you are afraid of relying on a safety strap, I recommend you staying away from this.
I also recommend this because of the camouflage value it provides.That’s insane and quite unbeatable at this price-point. For hunting, camo is super important. That’s why it made our best hunting treestands list.
4. Millennium Treestands M100U Ultralite Tree Stand
M100U is another minimalistic treestand. M100U is the upgraded version of M100 from Millenium. It’s 20% lighter than the original m100.
To increase the portability and make it more backpack compatible. You can fold it down to flat. After doing that you can easily hang it in your backpack and carry it anywhere.
It’s fairly compact and lightweight. You won’t be facing any issue regarding portability that’s for sure.The bottom platform of this treestand is quite big and wide. You can easily stretch your legs a bit.
The upper half isn’t half bad either. Yes, I seriously said that. The upper portion is like a chair. But there is no railing in the front to keep you in check. You need to wear a safety strap while you sit on that chair.
It’s not filled with foam, but it’s quite comfortable and won’t give you back pain.M100u is capable of holding 300 pounds of weight. It’s constructed from rugged aluminum. As a portable hunting tree stand, it’s one of the best in the market.
5. Lone Wolf Wide Sit & Climb Combo II Climbing Tree Stand
Wide sit and climb combo II from Lone Wolf is made from one piece of cast aluminum. It’s durable and sturdy.It can hold up to 350 pounds of weight. That’s a lot considering how lightweight this treestand is.
The weight of the treestand without any attachments is 20 pounds. That’s super lightweight for a treestand with this much durability. For all the bow hunters out there, Lone wolf included a bow holder built-in.
The front railing can be moved up and down. When you are sitting up high, I recommend you to keep the railing down.
The bottom half of the treestand is quite wide and durable. You can see how much effort Lone Wolf provides behind their treestands.One concern of mine is, the pattern of the bottom layer is too wide. Small stuff can easily fall through those holes.
Inside the package, you will find backpack straps, one bungee strap, and stabilizing straps to set up the stand on any tree you want. Make sure to wear the safety strap always.
The seat and backrest are quite comfortable to lean on. It’s not made out of foam. But the material is quite soft and comfortable to sit on.
6. BIG GAME Hunter HD 1.5 Treestand
Big Game Hunter HD 1.5 is one of the tallest treestands on the market. It features a flip-back footrest and an easy to climb ladder. Big Game used aluminum to construct the treestand.
The bottom platform is wider than most other treestands on the market. It’s made that way to help you stand on the platform easily. When you hunt with a bow, you would want to stand, so you can put full force behind the shot.
Big Game understands that and they wanted to make the best hunting treestand you could buy. I doubt if it’s the best on the market, but there is no shame in declaring it one of the best.
I like Hunter 1.5 quite a bit for two main reasons. One, it has a ladder. Which makes it easy to climb and you don’t need to set up it way up in the tree.Two, It’s beginner-friendly. Someone who never used a treestand before can easily assemble it and start using it.
Hunter HD 1.5 can hold up to 350 pounds of weight. The one thing that most of you will hate about this treestand is the weight. This treestand comes at a whopping 60 lbs of weight.
That’s quite high for a treestand. Then again it has a built-in ladder. That weight and the ladder makes it less portable. Hunter HD 1.5 is more of a permanent thing. Install it a place where you go hunting often and forget about it. If you use python lock to secure the strap with the tree, pretty sure no one can steal it either.
7. Skunk Ape Tree Stands
Skunk Ape Tree stand is the biggest and most permanent tree stand on today’s list. It’s your little treehouse to hunt from. Well, maybe not a little.
Skunk Ape treestand is a ladder treestand. It comes with a ladder. For this one, it’s a 20-foot ladder. A 20 freaking foot ladder. There goes portability out of the window.
Skunk Ape is only recommended to people that are looking for a permanent solution. You can’t change the location every day.But once you set it up, you can take advantage of the 360° shooting potential.
The weight of the whole set is 95lbs. Making it the heaviest tree stand on our list. You have a lot of hooks and pockets to store many things on the treestand. You can leave your essential pack up on the top and use it whenever you want.
The creative freedom and potential of this treestand are huge. Just like the size of it.Skunk Ape treestand is not cheap either. If you are looking for a permanent solution, Skunk Ape is the way to go.
8. Millennium Treestands T-100 Tripod
T-100 is the second treestand from Millennium on today’s list. This one is quite different from the M100U. T-100 is a tripod style treestand. You don’t need to bind it with a tree to use it.
The tripod height is 10 foot from the ground. At that height, you can see any animal from a long away.Even though T-100 looks like it would be over 100 pounds. Surprisingly enough, it isn’t.
The aluminum construction of this treestand has a powder coat finish on top. It increases scratch resistance and longevity.
The seat comes with a moveable front railing. It will protect you from falling from the top. Don’t forget to wear the safety strap. The seat is a swivel-style seat. Meaning you can rotate the sit at a 360° rotation.
Even though T-100 looks like a permanent setup. It isn’t one. You can quite easily fold it down and carry it anywhere you want. Just make sure to follow the safety instructions.
9. OL'MAN TREESTANDS Multi-Vision Climbing Stand
Ol’Man Multi-Vision climbing stand is constructed from steel. It’s a compact treestand.As it’s made out of steel and not aluminum, it’s heavier than most other compact treestands.
The weight of this treestand is 29 pounds. A bit heavy to carry around that’s for sure. But the steel construction will also protect from drops and increase longevity.
You can carry a max load of 300 pounds with this treestand. That’s more than enough for you and all of your hunting gear.This is a 3 1 treestand. You can configure it in 3 ways. You can set it up as a classic Ol’Man straight bar style. Or you can install it using the reversible gun/bow rest.
Making it viable for both gun hunters and bow hunters. Ol’Man is an American based manufacturer. You will receive a top of line customer service from them. The design and angle make the Ol’Man a perfect choice for both fishing and hunting.
10. X-Stand Treestands Single-Person Ladderstand Hunting Tree Stand
The final treestand on today’s list is from X-Stand. Don’t worry the mutants aren’t taking over the world. At least not yet. Duke 20 is a ladder treestand. Meaning it comes with a ladder. Using that ladder you can easily access the top of the stand.
The 20 in Duke stands for the ladder height. Duke comes with a 20-foot ladder. It’s almost a two-story building worth of height. The portability is out of the question with this treestand. The accessibility of the seat is quite easy.
The seat didn’t feel bad at all. It’s quite comfortable and offers you a variety of angles to shoot from. The angled footrest is fixed. You can’t increase or decrease the incline of that rest.
There is a railing that will protect you from falling. I still recommend you to use a safety strap. The claw style grabber behind the sit will bite the tree quite well. Making it almost impossible to fall from the tree.
It can carry up to 300 lbs of weight. You can carry all of your hunting gear for sure, but I highly doubt whether you can store them all up there. That’s why you need a good hunting bag to compliment this treestand well.
Conclusion
That was the last treestand on today’s list. I tried to keep a variety between them. If you need more of a permanent solution, I got that covered too. If you are looking for a portable, lightweight, and compact treestand, I got you covered too.
These are some of the best hunting treestands that you can buy right now. Some of them are expensive but worth every penny in my book. Or else they wouldn’t be called the best, would they?
If you have any questions left, whether about any of the treestand or off-topic. Don’t feel shy, just make sure to ask. I would be more than happy to help you.
