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I'm returning to bow hunting/tree stand hunting after a hiatus of about eight years. I'm in my late 40s now. In the past, while I was in my 20s and 30s, I never used any safety equipment when setting up tree stands, and I never wore a safety harness while hunting, even though I fell asleep more than once in my tree stand.
Returning to the woods this year, I set up my first tree stand without using any safety equipment. The experience was a little unnerving, especially taking that first step off the ladder onto the tree stand. I was clinging tightly to the tree, but I'm not certain that I could have held myself up there for very long if the strap had given way and the stand fell off of the tree. I couldn't believe that I used to do this all the time without any safety equipment.
Before putting up any additional ladders or tree stands, I bought an HSS harness with a lineman's climbing strap. I also bought HSS life lines for each tree stand that I planned to hang. All I can say is, "Wow!" I can't believe I used to put up tree stands without this stuff. It took a little getting used to at first, but once I got the hang of it, it sure was nice using the lineman's climbing strap while hanging tree stands. Once I got the ladder and a life line hung up, I could use the life line and the climbing strap when setting up the tree stand. Using the climbing strap allowed me to use two hands while hanging a tree stand without having to worry about falling to my death. If you don't use a harness with a climbing strap when hanging your tree stands, you really should give it a try. It's not only safer, it's also much easier to hang the tree stand.
The life lines are also pretty slick. Once you get them hung up, they're a breeze to use. It's nice to know that if I miss a step in the dark, or I fall asleep in the stand, I'm not going to fall all the way to the ground.
Returning to the woods this year, I set up my first tree stand without using any safety equipment. The experience was a little unnerving, especially taking that first step off the ladder onto the tree stand. I was clinging tightly to the tree, but I'm not certain that I could have held myself up there for very long if the strap had given way and the stand fell off of the tree. I couldn't believe that I used to do this all the time without any safety equipment.
Before putting up any additional ladders or tree stands, I bought an HSS harness with a lineman's climbing strap. I also bought HSS life lines for each tree stand that I planned to hang. All I can say is, "Wow!" I can't believe I used to put up tree stands without this stuff. It took a little getting used to at first, but once I got the hang of it, it sure was nice using the lineman's climbing strap while hanging tree stands. Once I got the ladder and a life line hung up, I could use the life line and the climbing strap when setting up the tree stand. Using the climbing strap allowed me to use two hands while hanging a tree stand without having to worry about falling to my death. If you don't use a harness with a climbing strap when hanging your tree stands, you really should give it a try. It's not only safer, it's also much easier to hang the tree stand.
The life lines are also pretty slick. Once you get them hung up, they're a breeze to use. It's nice to know that if I miss a step in the dark, or I fall asleep in the stand, I'm not going to fall all the way to the ground.
