Baker Tree Stand Question

SWAMPFOX

Senior Member
I hunted for years out of the original Baker stand and never had a problem with safety. Always wore a safety belt, etc. Then I switched to an original steel Summit and still used the Baker from time to time.

Then I began to hear that the Baker stands were inherently unsafe. My question is: what was unsafe about Baker stands? Were they mechanically or structurally unsound?

I still have two and unless they have some safety problems due to the manufacturing process or structural problems I can't see not using them.

I'd appreciate any input based on others' experiences. Thanks.
 

gordylew

Senior Member
alot of folks on here are not old enough to know what a Baker stand is:bounce:. your dating yourself.
I think it was a design issue. they were well known for giving you an unexpected elevator ride down.
 

doenightmare

Gone But Not Forgotten
When yoy steped back close to the tree, it closed up and down you went.

Yep - had one go to the bottom of the tree with me 35 feet up - straddled the tree with the top piece banging me on the head the whole shimmy down. Killed my first deer in that incident.:banana:
 
Yep - had one go to the bottom of the tree with me 35 feet up - straddled the tree with the top piece banging me on the head the whole shimmy down. Killed my first deer in that incident.:banana:

Years ago, one of the guys in our club went up a tree in a Baker Stand. He was directly across the creek from the stand that I was in and I could hear him climbing the Pine Tree that morning. Just as he got to the top of the tree and moved his feet, the stand started back down the tree. He held on to the tree for deer life as it was one of the "hug the tree" models with no hand climber.
It made a ruckous as he came down the tree. Once he hit the bottom of the tree, the stand finally grabbed and then I heard a loud "Crack". It broke the stand in half.
He had ratcheted about 25 feet down the pine tree.
He was "OK" but looked like he had been run up and down on a cheese grater. He was scuffed on his face, arms and chest and had a mouth full of pine bark.
That was the last time anyone that was in our club used one. I do remember one of the guys in the club put one on a Pine tree behind his camper to sit a 5 gallon jug of water on to siphon into his camper.
BB
 

kvistads

Member
The first climbing stand I ever owned was a Baker with the hand climber. Never had a minutes trouble with it other than I just got too fat and heavy for it. The stand had a little fold-down stool to sit on which I usually used to rest my feet on while sitting on the platform. I kept my blades sharp and never had it slip like the other guys on here. It was a great tool to use back in those days and wouldn't hesitate to use it again if I didn't weigh so much. Thanks for the memories.

Russ
 

godogs57

Senior Member
I am 50 years old and suffered my first busted rear end courtesy of the Baker stand! 16 years old and climbing a sweetgum tree (bad idea!). Got up about 35 feet, settled in to watch the beautiful sunrise over the Oconee National Forest. About 5 minutes later, while just sitting there being still my stand said "ka-chunka-chunk" and ratched itself down, only about an inch or so. "Hmm....wonder what that was all about?" Another occurence in the next 3-5 minutes just like that! Starting to really get concerned and then all you-know-what broke loose and it just hauled butt down the tree and my butt hauled butt right along with the stand! I was trying my best to hold on to the rifle and the tree and ended up with five pounds of Sweetgum bark under my fingernails by the time I impacted the ground at approximately 95mph. Lucky for me that 16 year old boys are, for the most part, bulletproof. I survived with a busted up caboose two sore as the dickens arms. The stand was split in half and the store gladly replaced it.

That company is lucky more folks didn't get killed with their invention. No hand climber, no safety rails, tricky turnaround to get seated, can only stand on the edge (not near the tree!), no safety belts back then....Gawd, we were lucky back then.
 

Woody's Janitor

Senior Member
We had a thread a couple of years ago about the Baker and how many were left in the woods for anybody to get after they experience a wild ride. The thread had a lot of replies and the stories were funny. I'm glad no one got killed or injured badly.
 

1Baddad!

Member
Boy this sure sounds familiar. I was also a young lad of 16 who was using one of those fine Baker tree stands in I believe the year was 1978. I was hunting in Tide Swamp in Florida. I was using the model that only had a platform. You had to hug the tree and pull yourself up. What a fine invention. I climbed a pine tree. I think I was about 35 feet up. Was just pulling my feet out of the straps when all of a sudden the next thing I know I was hugging the tree for dear life 35 feet up looking down at my stand at the bottom of the tree. All I can say is I'm lucky to be alive. I slid down the tree, scraping my arms and legs the whole way down. At least I didnt break my neck!!! Now you wont catch me in my stand without my Hunter Safety System. I still wonder sometimes if that stand is still hanging on that tree...:crazy:
 

robertyb

Senior Member
I got one the first year they came out and added the hand climber portion when it later hit the market. I hunted out of it for about 20 years and it is in my garage right now still in excellent shape. I never had any problem with it.
 
Years ago, we used two old Baker stands to make very simple permanent stands. We leaned a 16' wooden ladder against a tree, put the Baker above the ladder, and lashed it to the tree with a heavy piece of rope. They were basically lock-ons, but no one we knew had lock-ons back then. We left that club after the 1989 season, so that tells you how long ago it was. We left both Bakers in the tree for the other club members to hunt.
 

Buckhead

Senior Member
I still have one also

Sits in my garage as a double back up to my other two stands. I have the hand climber model, so my story isn't quite as bad as the others. I was way up a tree and had the foot straps come loose and the stand fall all the way to the ground. I had to shimmy down the tree using the hand climber and a scissor leg lock. No injuries, but my favorite camos were covered in pine sap.

I kept using that thing until better models came along. 30 years ago, there weren't many alternatives. Baker ruled the roost in those days. There is definitely a trick to those stands. You have to keep weight on the far edge of the platform/climber. In other words, lean away from the tree. That way, the edge remains lodged in the bark. You have to be especially careful going up or coming down.

Even though I feel relatively safe in the thing, I doubt I would ever use it again. In addition to the gripping issue, they also squeak, are really noisy while climbing, heavy and uncomfortable.
 

7Mag Hunter

Senior Member
Had one for bout 2 weeks...Tree hugger to climb ...Just too
much work...Sold it and bought 2 Warren and Sweat "Specials"..
 
P

potsticker

Guest
Ive had them cut out on me several times.Dangerous to your chest skin because they were made before the hand climber part was invented, you had to hug the tree to climb.
My favorite baker story happened to a fellow hunter in our club. He was climbing out of an oak tree when at about 10 feet the stand slipped and unelevated him to terra firma. While still standing on the platform (checking if he had any ankles left) the hand climbing part cut out as well at about 15 feet. Struck him on the head, causing a 4" deep gash to his head. He wandered out of the woods and came to the truck. Our flashlights revealed a hunter covered in blood, boots squishing and all. We thought he was going to die, a little first aid and a bath he wuz fine. That baker (as far as i know is still in that tree.
 

Greg Tench

Senior Member
With the innovations ,comfort, and above all else SAFETY in modern day stands, I wouldnt even consider getting back in one of those death traps.
 

KDarsey

Senior Member
Yes Sir, I have ridden the Suicide Stand down many a tree. I also finally started using it as a camp table.
They really were good weight-loss products....if you could stand the bare arms and chests. And also taught me lots of new words!
 

SWAMPFOX

Senior Member
Tree Hugger

I bought my first one at Kmart and planned to use the tree hugging method of ascent. I found out real quick I didn't have the upper body strength. So then I bought the hand climber and used it until they came out with the seat climber modification kit for the hand climber. I have the Original as well as the Slim Jim model which they touted as better for bow hunting.

I never had a problem with mine collapsing. But I got a story about a weld breaking on the hand climber. My dad and I were bow hunting the Catonment area on the Camp Blanding WMA in north Florida one morning. The area had never been hunted and it was bow only. My dad had settled in and I moved on about 100 yards and was about 10 feet up when the weld broke on my hand climber. No problem. I tossed down the broken hand climber. Then I baled out, hit soft pine straw and did a tuck and roll. I walked back to my dad and told him my troubles. So he dropped his hand climber down so I could use it. Guess what? When his climber hit the ground, the weld broke on his. Now I got my 78 year old dad 35 feet up a long leaf pine and no way to get down. Long story short, it is Saturday and after checking out a couple of places in nearby Keystone Heights, I get a lead on a guy at the small airport who has a set up to weld aluminum. Talk about a God send. He repairs both hand climbers and I get back to dad around 2 pm and he's able to come down. Maybe some day somebody will write a book on Baker "experiences." :bounce:
 

whitworth

Senior Member
Ya got to be old

to remember a Baker Tree Stand.

I have a VCR tape from some twenty years ago, from the owner of the Tree Lounge, showing the disadvantages of the Baker stand.
Those Baker stands sure were a great selling tool.
 

Sylvan

Senior Member
You know if you put all your weight on one side of those things it will go down the tree like a cork screw.
 
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