Public land Setup?

What king of setup do y’all use. Bow hunting I carry in a summit viper, gun hunting I usually hunt from ground sometimes I carry a treestand. But treestands can be very heavy after caring in a long way and if you kill means an extra trip. I have been thinking about using a tree saddle ,lighter plus if I kill I can make in and out one trip. I like the Aero Hunter Kestrel using screw in steps or carrying in sticks. What is y’all setups?

The spots I pick are tuff for many others, I use a climber, I attach a lock-on, a few gear hooks, then secure a drop rope for my harness. I let the rope hang next to the tree about 8’ off the ground. Then I only carry my climber bottom into the woods. I clip my bottom onto the same prusik as my harness so as I’m going up or down I don’t lose it.

I let these stay sometimes for several years, I’ve yet to have one stolen. I doubt anyone has even discovered them.

This is the setup I was thinking of getting and trying.

First of all, no way I'd sit a long time in that. If you're hiking in so far that carrying a normal stand is a chore, get some molle straps/belt and put on your stand and attach a small backpack to it to carry gear. Secondly, if you're hunting public land ya might want to leave the screw in steps at home instead of damaging someone else's trees.
Most people try to walk as far as possible to get away from the crowds, I killed several nice bucks hunting near main roads and gates. The deer weren't being harassed there.

True Kodiak06. I have a couple spots close main road and see some deer just other hunters hunt in same area to so I don’t getting hunt it much unless I beat them there. I feel more comfortable walking in farther anyways and seem to see better bucks. . I am going to invest in better straps for treestand.

I'm a larger framed guy so I have to find a climber that I can comfortably sit in for several hours, for me that's a Summit Goliath. The Summit Viper is the "regular size" folk climber. It weighs about 25 lbs and I usually strap a backpack or clothes to it which can run it up another 10 lbs or so. I took off the factory shoulder straps and installed the Molle II system like Kodiak mentioned above. Padded shoulder straps and waist belt. It makes a world of difference carrying my stand & gear in on my back. The downside to this stand for me is the bulkiness and trying to move through thicker woods. Hard to stay quiet at times.

I have an X-Stand Sit n Climb that weights about 12 lbs. You barely know it's on your back. I find it's perfect for an afternoon bow hunt in early season, when you aren't really trying to get to the woods until 3-4 hours before dark usually. Having an extra-wide rear end though it isn't comfortable to sit in much past that time frame and you can't make any mods (that I've seen or thought of) to make the seat more comfortable. Might be a great all around climber choice for some of you more narrow guys.

Thanks I definitely will look at the X-stand.

I go two different ways hunting public land. If I've scouted the area and j ow where I want to hunt I take my climber it's a summit viper aluminium. I have a molle 2 pack frame mounted to it makes it effortless to pack in compared to the backpack straps it came with. And have a small back pack i bungee to the climber for the walk in. I use my climber to get above the beach trees and under growth for a better view/shot. The 2md way is if I'm trying some where new I take my seat off my climber and take it with me. It's the wrap around seat that came with my viper when I bought my climber it was called the "ultimate viper ". I walk to i find a place I want to hunt kick the leaves back around a tree them unfold my seat and take the bungee that holds the seat open and to the tree and wrap it around the tree on the ground. That way I'm not getting my butt wet, it's comfy and warm. Depending on what public land it is on his far I go from the road. Some places will have a dead end road off a couple main dirt roads on WMA and I've hunted with 200yds off of those side roads and some places I've went over a mile in. For me it all depends on the deer sign, foot traffic, vehicle tracks on the side roads, food source human sign like climber marks on trees, spot where leaves have been kicked out where people sit etc. When I look for a new spot to hunt on public land I use a topo map to find funnels,saddles, and steep hills with long ridges, when the terrains is ruff like that alot if people aren't going to hunt it

I have changed my setup in the past 5 years. I only hunt public land. First I had a summit viper classic. Bulky, heavy, but comfortable and durable (i went over 5 years of heavy use without having to replace a thing, never slipped once on a tree). Easy to re-sell. Great product overall. Would recommend.

Next I went to a summit viper crush. Has footrest and I added a third hand archery bow holder (you can climb with your bow in the holder which is awesome). I also added grip tape to the plaform and replaced the backpack straps with Alice pack gen ii straps which was a modest improvement. Ultimately I do love this stand for general purpose bow or gun. Still bulky though which is the major downside and more uncomfortable because weight isn't nestled against your back.

This past year I tried the hang and hunt approach. Three aerolight sticks and a millennium m100u. I did not like this setup. Trying to pack everything together with a ratchet strap was cumbersome, noisy, and weight distribution when carrying was extremely uncomfortable. Long distance like 1/2 mile or more was not enjoyable. I also had multiple scares trying to hang the stand quickly while wearing a lineman's belt. It just wasn't working for me when my summits were much safer and faster and fewer things to lose.

I recently picked up a used lone wolf sit and climb. My first impression was this thing is way over-priced at nearly $450 msrp. I got it for $275. It is slowly growing on me though. It folds flat which is great both for backpacking through thick cover and weight distribution. It weighs a lil over 20lbs. It doesn't climb as well as the summits; it has smaller teeth to bite the tree. You'll need to replace the traction belts with the xl traction belts because the standards are too short for a lot of climable trees. The xl belts should come standard. The backpack straps suck. I replaced them with some padded straps and chest buckle, huge improvement. Extremely packable now. The seat sucks. I replaced it with the hazmore net seat, cuts weight and more comfortable, modest improvement. I have an older flc attachment pouch zip-tied to the bar which holds my pull rope, quick and easy to get out. Also has the footrest and stabilizer straps, which is huge comfort and safety improvement. We'll see if it holds up or I go back to the viper.

I throw my Summit Titan on my back and pack as light as possible. Pull rope and everything else I need goes in my pockets. If it won’t fit, I don’t need it.

I carry a loc on limit...2 muddy sticks and a rock climbing harness. I use an 11mm dyneema static rope lanyard. I carry bout 10 lbs of stuff stand gear and all.

I tried hunting out of a Treestand again this last season. Absolutely miserable. I hate Treestands.
Back on the ground this year.

With a rifle I just hunt from the ground. With my bow it's either a LW Alpha and 4 of their sticks or a Millennium M7 and sticks if I'm having to hump it a long way back in there. I've cut my pack down to only stuff that will fit in my pockets and strap my layers to the lock on. I carry only the bare essentials that I need to hunt for ever how long I intend to be out there. UNLESS I'm going deep into public land. Then I try to bring enough food and water to get me through the night in case I get stuck there for some odd reason

If I’m going deep, I’m toting my x stand sit and climb. Actually if I’m using a climber at all, I’m probably using it. The only exception is places where I may have a real long rifle shot.

Just bought me an X-stand sit and climb. Sportsman guide $105. Weight is only 11 lbs.

For the price and the weight, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Also, I weight about 270 and felt very safe up in the tree. Once you get the stabilizer straps cinched down it is solid. Hope you enjoy.

Atoler, you're the one that got me onto the X-Stand sit n climb. Was a great recommendation.

I went with a LW Assault II with an additional cushion for the seat; already had me some LW sticks. Weighs is only 11 pounds, very quiet, and small-framed for getting in deep. Last year I had the M150 Monster that weighed in at roughly 20 pounds. The M150 was very, very comfortable (perfect for the all day sit) but difficult to carry, and even more difficult to sneak into the thick stuff without waking up the whole county. So far, very happy with the Assault II; will still use the M150 on my property where it can stay up all season. I looked at the saddles but didn't think I could pull off an all day sit in one.

Last year summit viper classic. Great stand as far as climbing goes but for me it uncomfortable, bulky, noisy. This year I’m going to try a hang and hunt with a lone wolf alpha II. I haven’t hunted with it but so far I like it. It folds flat, light weight, quiet, and I can put in almost any tree.

I hunt mostly public land. Everytime i hunt im in the tree before light and sit there all day til dark. So i carry a lot of water, a can coke. Ham sandwhich, chips, little debbie snacks, apple, bannana and a peanut butter n jelly sandwhich for around 3pm. I eat a big breakfast so im not starving until about 11am. I put all my garbage in a zip lock bag that comes from my sandwhich. I pee rite before i climb about 75 yards from my tree so i wont have to fiddle around much.

I use to own a summit classic which was steel abd weighed 28 pounds. It was very comfortable but heavy. I strap my backpack on the rear of my stand. My pull rope is tied to my stand so it never comes off. I replaced the factory straps with padded straps like alice straps but lighter weight. I also sold that stand and bought a summit viper sd which is aluminum and weighs 18 pounds i think. Its weigh lighter. About 10 pounds lighter than the classic but identical in design. Im gonna check into swapping my seat to the net seat to cut weight and noise. But that net seat wont be as warm when that wind hits your backside.

In my back pack i carry food, water, map, gps, extra batteries, small roll of toilet paper, drag rope, gut knife, latex gloves, lighter, fire starter, small flash light which im gonna trade for a head lamp. Gloves, mask, cell phone. About 8 cartridges. And my pistol with clip full. My main problem is water weight. I learned to carry a lot of water cause if im way back there and have to drag one out i run through water. I hunt alone. All that crap allows me to spend the night if i have to. Im gonna start hunting from the ground more. If i hunt from the ground then i can get deeper in woods and im not stuck in that one tree all day if i decide to move somewhere else. With my old summit classic i could walk with all that crap on me for 1 mile or just over a mile then im done. Because i still have to walk back as well. I can go 2 miles with my viper sd but it still sucks.

The Ol' man Multivisions are my favorite stands for for public land. They're big enough to sit comfortably but do fold flat and are reasonable light ( mine is an older model around 17 lbs). To me they are some of the quietest climbers on the market and easy to manage.
To keep a lot of weight off my back I carry a fanny pack with all my hunting essentials ( release, rangefinder, pull up rope, etc) then depending on the hike I have started carrying a small duffle with my change of clothes and scent free field wipes.
Ive started walking in with basically a light t shirt, gym shorts, and my rubber boots. once I get in a good ways I wash off with the wipes, and get dressed. I may only walk 150 yards in my actual hunting clothes.

Ive gotten really interested in the Tree Saddle setup lately too. It seems like a good idea but like Kodiak mentioned, id need to find a better way than screw ins....

I got some climbing sticks I would use if I get a tree saddle.

What kind of sticks did you settle on?

I already have these. Will try these first if I get a tree saddle.

Didn't even know about those type of sticks - thanks for sharing. I like that they have foot rest on both sides; a tad more weight though.

Yeah a tad more heavy but very stable and rock solid in tree. Good price to.