Tree Lounge tree stands?

7Mag Hunter said:

X-2...Main selling point of Tree Lounge
was the stability, and that it is virtually
impossible to slide down the tree !!!
TL design wedges itself to the tree and
uses your weight to hold !!!!

I suspect improper set up (?) or lack of
knowledge of the TL......I had one for 5
yrs and enjoyed hunting out of it...

Click to expand...

Anything that starts with a downward angle that increases as the tree tapers is not virtually impossible to slip down a tree. There is a reason every modern climber uses an upward angle that decreases to level as the tree tapers. I had one and hunted out of others for over a decade until better / lighter options emerged and eventually my tree lounged ended up at the dump where it belongs.

I don't hunt out of climbers often anymore but when I do it's a Summit Viper or similar.

A smooth hard sycamore, a leveler on a light tree lounge and a major taper well over 20 feet up is the main combination that should have never been. Been there done that myself and now I avoid setting in sycamore trees
and also avoided the leveler after two trees.
Use a pine till you get used to a tree lounge for those willing to try one but please don't dump it!
I am a longterm fan of just about anything tree lounge.

Or you could just use a Summit - which will stick in a smooth tree much easier and doesn't need a leveler.

Buzz said:

Or you could just use a Summit - which will stick in a smooth tree much easier and doesn't need a leveler.

Click to expand...

I use a summit now strictly based on weight. The tree lounge does not "need" a leveler. Almost never used the wedge in over ten plus years. If your climbing over 40' up a tall straight pine or poplar you may need it, but otherwise most trees don't change in diameter enough to require it if you limit yourself to 25' - 30' high.

Yeah... pretty odd about them slipping. My uncle has two of them (in addition to other types/brands) that he still uses to this day. They are heavy but comfortable. He says that they can climb a steel pole (I believe they advertised it as such, too). We were hunting this past deer season and was talking about them (I was giving him the business about carrying so heavy a stand.)

As far as I know, he's never slipped in one and he's put those things in all kinds of trees.

I have one. Most comfortable stand to sit in. Even better than a gunslinger if you ask me. Heavy compared to todays new stands, but it was normal back in the day. I always stay away from slick bark trees with any stand. Sort of paranoid about them from using the old baker style stands back in the day when I was a kid. lol

They are good stands. Not as easy to climb with or climb down in comparison to a summit or an API, but you can sit for days in one. Great for an all day hunt.

Mine has the blocks

Mr Bya Lungshot said:

Just wondering about the angle adjusters that were made after the leveler. Anybody know someone who has used them? Did you like them?

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I got those long after I had the original stand. The two blocks that just move out of the way to the side unless needed proved to be the best and safest alternative I think. I used the wedge when I first got mine and just hated that - then went to an extra back bar when I knew I was going to get high or on a heavy taper tree - then went to the screw type that was recalled and finally the little blocks. The blocks add yet more weight to the already heavy stand but that works the best IMHO. I've been collecting TL's over the years when I find them cheap I always pick them up and I just set them up where I want to hunt ahead of time and leave them there. This because they are LOUD to set up and of course heavy. Once you set them up they are pretty quiet and I still think they are the absolute most comfortable stand. I think people that find them hard to climb with don't know the secret of how to actually climb with one (hint - it's not sitting in the hammock - it's cinching the bar up under you with a strap and climbing by sitting on the middle bar). I still find climbing with a TL my way is easier, quieter, and faster than the viper. When I went to WY and knew I was going to be on all day sits in very cold temps - for sure the TL went with me and the Viper stayed at home. I just slipped into a sleeping bag once I got settled up the tree and was able to sit all day very comfortably in 12 - 18 degrees and a steady wind. No way I could have done that in my vipers. For sure - Viper for portability but I'm never getting rid of my lounges. All of mine are the old style - I never liked the newer light weight version because it didn't look stout enough to me - and as it turned out I was right.

So how bout the shooting rail or carry bag?
Anybody ever used these and were they any good to pack?
Seems like alot of TL never had these options.

I love mine but use all of them as lock-on's with a ratchet strap have the shooting rail on two of em and it works well long as the buck is not in your hip pocket

wish someone would reopen and continue to produce this stand it was great . still use mine; remember to start out level on the ground and your will then have good angle as you climb up the tree. my biggest problem is find the right sized tree in our piney woods.

Buzz said:

Anything that starts with a downward angle that increases as the tree tapers is not virtually impossible to slip down a tree. There is a reason every modern climber uses an upward angle that decreases to level as the tree tapers. I had one and hunted out of others for over a decade until better / lighter options emerged and eventually my tree lounged ended up at the dump where it belongs.

I don't hunt out of climbers often anymore but when I do it's a Summit Viper or similar.

Click to expand...

TL stands were designed to be attached
at level position, to compensate for taper
of the tree as you climb....
When properly attached to the tree, they
are extremely safe and stable....

Sounds like some posters here may have
improperly attached the TL to the tree,
and had bad experiences....

There is a learning curve with any stand
and my TL came with a video to completely explain how to use it....

It's not user error, quite a few folks have ridden the newer TL stands down a tree. The older models with the square tube (the really heavy ones) gripped better than the newer models with the "D" shaped tubing and powder coated finish. Mine was one of the newer models and other than a pine tree it never gripped anywhere even close to the original ones. Not only that but the bow hunting adapter, especially on the newer ones felt about as stable as a spring board and I'm not even 180#. A couple of years before TL went defunct they changed back to the original square tubing. Due to product liability reasons, they never said they switched back because of numerous accidents, but I don't think it would be unreasonable to assume.

Unless I'm mistaken, ALL other modern climbing stands start at a position above level and finish up at a level or slightly above level position. Why is this? The answer is because they grip better and are easier to setup and use. Nobody has exactly come out with an imitation or bought the patents / designs since TL closed their doors have they?

If I am going to climb rather not have a heavy / cumbersome pain in the rump to put on a tree and use a Summit which is lighter, much easier to attach and a safer overall design.

It is user error in one way or another if you slip.
It cannot set itself. It cannot slip or move itself.
Unless of course you were to set it wrong in the first place.

Plenty of folks have seen and had different experiences. Simply put, there are better and safer options out there. The consumer market spoke and Tree Lounge is out of business.