Big guy wants to go mobile

[Kraftd]

Thanks for all the feedback especially on the sticks (size 15 shoes). I am torn between a climber and Hang on/sticks. I think the hang on will be more useful in spots. Do any of you stay in the 12' and under range?

One thing you will pick up the longer you hang out here is stand height is very site specific. In the hills limiting yourself to 12' may be a major disadvantage, and I'd probably start thinking more about ground sets, but very often in swamps/marshes I'm under 12' and able to get really good cover around me. Honestly, two sticks may be my most common set in swamps.

If it were me, and I was truly trying to go mobile, I'd avoid the climber. Very dependent on the type of terrain, but if you're already limiting yourself a little in stand height, the climber could further limit your options. Usually when I'm sitting low I'm in a nasty tangle of a tree I can get some cover from, which a climber would not work for.

There are some GREAT ground hunting threads on here if you poke around a bit. I would start there. That's as mobile as it gets IMO. Look for some of the stuff Lockdowm and JoeRE have posted in particular. Joe's 2015 journal and Lockdown's 2016 journal in the journal sections should have some great ground hunting advice.

[Jonny]

Thanks for all the feedback especially on the sticks (size 15 shoes). I am torn between a climber and Hang on/sticks. I think the hang on will be more useful in spots. Do any of you stay in the 12' and under range?

One thing you will pick up the longer you hang out here is stand height is very site specific. In the hills limiting yourself to 12' may be a major disadvantage, and I'd probably start thinking more about ground sets, but very often in swamps/marshes I'm under 12' and able to get really good cover around me. Honestly, two sticks may be my most common set in swamps.

If it were me, and I was truly trying to go mobile, I'd avoid the climber. Very dependent on the type of terrain, but if you're already limiting yourself a little in stand height, the climber could further limit your options. Usually when I'm sitting low I'm in a nasty tangle of a tree I can get some cover from, which a climber would not work for.

There are some GREAT ground hunting threads on here if you poke around a bit. I would start there. That's as mobile as it gets IMO. Look for some of the stuff Lockdowm and JoeRE have posted in particular. Joe's 2015 journal and Lockdown's 2016 journal in the journal sections should have some great ground hunting advice.

I agree with this. In my climber, I usually end up needing to be 18'+ off the ground just cause you don't find straight trees with no branches in a thick nasty area. You could sit on the edges of thick areas and use a climber on a straight tree, but then you usually will end up seeing deer past shooting light. A hang on lets you stay lower because of the tree you can get into. So for that, I would suggest a hang on.

Kraftd is right on looking into joe and lockdowns journals. Some of the best info I have seen on ground hunting. Plus, as deer catch on to hunters and how we do things, some of the biggest deer might never walk by a tree big enough for a stand during daylight.

[headgear]

I'm not a huge guy 6'1" and 205 but I use to be about 240 so there are times you wonder about your equipment. The biggest issue for me was always the climbing sticks, they just wear out a little over time and things loosen up. If it were me I would build my own custom sticks and just beef everything up a little bit. The stands are very solid and straps are equipped to lift cars so those aren't huge issues but the sticks seem to be the weak link from my point of view.