Climbers use a cantilever concept and typically have two sections, a top and a bottom. In years past it was not uncommon to be obliged to dangle from a tiny top section by your hands, or bear-hug a tree with no top section, while lifting the bottom section a little, then locking it onto the tree by standing on it, and then raising the top section (or hugging the tree a bit higher) to start the process again.
It didn't take hunters long to learn that these methods were for the birds. The best type of climbing stand is still the kind that allows you to sit on the top section, facing the tree, and use your legs to raise the bottom section, which you have hooked to your feet (or your feet are hooked to it) in some manner. Then you lock the bottom section onto the tree with your weight, raise the top section and lock it on with your weight by sitting on it, and repeat.
Advantages of the climber include portability, ease and speed of setup, and flexibility - it's easy to move around a tree so the sun doesn't shine in your face, or to get a better view of a game trail. Disadvantages usually include a lack of room and/or stability when compared with other types of stands, and to use it you must find a straight tree of the proper size, in the right place.
The climber is still my all-time favorite type of tree stand for most hunting conditions.
- Russ Chastain
