# What's your setup



## Sharp Charge (Jun 24, 2009)

I usually hunt with a Summit climber, I'm just wondering how do you guys set up your stuff to hump in for an all day hunt with a climber. 

Especially when I'm hunting public land, I hate to go in and out of the woods. I try to bring all my junk in at once and stay put till I'm done for the day or decide to move the stand to a new spot. So that means lunch, water, range finder, bino's, etc. But also when it's cold out and you're layered up and have a pretty good hike in, how do you guys carry in your warmer stuff to dress out in the woods? 

Maybe you're like me and try to tie on your outer layers to your platform, maybe you've found a cool trick that works. Depending how long of a hunt I've got planned, I found a way to rig up a waist pack that fits pretty well on the climber. I find it tough to rig a small backpack with a camel back in it, but have 1 option that works. 

I'll post up some pics in a little bit of what I found works with what I have. 

I don't think I've seen this on here yet so with opening day for deer less than a week away, let's see/ hear what you do.


----------



## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

I&#8217;m a minimalist these days. I got tired of carrying around a big back pack with stuff I *might* need, but usually didn&#8217;t. I have a small (maybe 6&#8221;x9&#8221 shoulder bag that I fit everything I need in. Range finder, a can call, rattle bag, a couple extra steps/bow hangers, my hat light, and any snack I might need. I like to take a couple apples because they&#8217;re a good snack and they quench your thirst at the same time. Binoculars are on a harness that I wear, and my grunt tube is attached to my coat with a retractable lanyard. Extra clothes are just thrown over my shoulder until I get up the tree, along with my safety rope. Everything else can be left at home or in the truck. I admittedly don&#8217;t spend enough full days in the stand, I usually break for a snack in the middle of the day. But I&#8217;m never more than a 10 minute walk and 5 minute drive from home, so it&#8217;s easy for me to do that.


----------



## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

Yea.. Carrying a lot of stuff gets heavy.. No doubt about it! Especially after killing a deer deep into public land and having to carry it all back, plus drag a deer! I spent the extra money on a lone wolf climber.. Very light.. I strap a small backpack with my gear onto the stand when I'm walking to /from. Just big enough for binocs, a couple calls, field dressing equipment,first aid kit, bottle of water and some snacks. I take an extra strap with me to hang my pack on the tree. Any extra layering is carried on the stand as well.


----------



## Weekender#1 (Mar 25, 2006)

Now those sound like a tough gig. I have 2 farms that ajoin my home, I only own a city sized lot. But I have permission to hunt about 1000 acres, I have 16 ladder stands up on the propertys and have left them up for years, I moved 2 around a month or so back. But I take nothing but my bow, maybe something to drink. Sometimes I walk from here or drive to the barns. Pretty sweet set up with bunches of deer. A creek and fencerows, a 5 acre woods the biggest, bottom land around the creek and it runs through the middle of it all. Between my son and myself the biggest is a 17pt, 5th smallest is a 8 pt. If they cut me off I have had a great run right next to the house and not much other foot traffic. With no woods only those that know me want to hunt it.


----------



## Mad-Eye Moody (May 27, 2008)

For those of us without a gold mine of land access, it gets tough.

This year is my first year hunting public land exclusively. Last night I strapped my climber stand and pack onto a pack frame to see how it would ride. My pack had my over pants, jacket, can and tube call, extra release, range finder, GPS, binoculars. Flashlight, headlamp, knife, hat, scent tabs, hand warmers etc.

Holy crap was it heavy! I will be ditching the pack frame. I ordered claw tree strand straps. I plan to tie in my extra clothes and carry my satchel with my necessaries in one hand and my bow in the other. My new bag is an old satchel. It has a range finder, GPS, Kleenex, headlamp and scent tabs. If by some miracle I stick a deer with an arrow I will go back, drop the stand and get the rest of my stuff and go back happily to track.

It is about a half a mile walk to where I am hunting,


----------



## BanksideBandit (Jan 22, 2010)

I hunt all public and am in the same boat. Most of the good public spots are long walks and sometimes an all day sit is easier than taking a lunch and making the hike again. I have a cheaper Gorilla climber too and its almost 30lbs I think, but it folds flat unlike the Summits. I have a pretty big bookbag that I hook to my climber and normally don't have a problem fitting all the snacks, accessories, and clothes into. My bookbag has a top part where I can roll clothes up and buckle 2 straps over it and it kinda looks like an army pack when I do. Most of the accessories I need at hand I put on strings and take out of my pack and hang either on my stand or on tree hooks. I hunt with a few buddies normally so when we get deer we will have 1 person carry the extra bows and the others drag the deer. I've seen ppl put their bookbags on in from of them instead of on their back in order to help balance the weight of the stand. On my spots that are a REALLY long walk it's pretty much big buck only hunting. Ide rather shoot my does closer to the truck.


----------



## Sharp Charge (Jun 24, 2009)

Ok, I took some pics before I had to leave for work tonight.

Here's the plain old waist pack on the basement floor. I do have 2 compression straps looped through the waist pack for rain gear or what ever. 










Now here's that waist pack hooked up to the climber.










Here it is from the other side.


----------



## Sharp Charge (Jun 24, 2009)

Here it is with the waist pack removed and the backpack hooked on. This particular pack has a quick release clip on 1 of the shoulder straps. I wish it were on both, this can make some noise if it bounces around. 











Here is how I secure my outer garments. Keep in mind this is affixed over top of the pack. I take an extra quick release cinch strap which you can use to better stabilize the climber if you want and run it through the sleeves of the coat and through 1 leg of the pants then onto the stand. 

In this pic, I just used my Sentlock shirt and pants but it works the same with the heavier stuff for when it's real cold out and you don't want to break a sweat walking in. I found this way works better than trying to tie the sleeves and pant legs onto the stand. They always seemed to work loose that way or stuff in the zippered pockets would become a pain.










From the other side; the buckle can be moved of course so you don't bash your melon in.


----------



## Sharp Charge (Jun 24, 2009)

Aside from what you see here, I just wear my Hunters Safety System harness in from the truck and adjust if needed at the tree. In my pant pockets I keep 2 full size screw steps and 1 small one. 1 big one holds the bag the small one holds my bow and the extra stays in my pocket in case I screw up and end up hanging in the tree. I can work my way down or prevent suspension trauma. 

Within the bags I really don't think I bring too much crap. Some food or snacks, water, grunt and can call, rattle bag, bino's, gps, trail pins, field dressing gear, some scent, extra gloves and hat, and some 550 cord and a light.


----------



## Sharp Charge (Jun 24, 2009)

Weekender#1 said:


> Now those sound like a tough gig. I have 2 farms that ajoin my home, I only own a city sized lot. But I have permission to hunt about 1000 acres, I have 16 ladder stands up on the propertys and have left them up for years, I moved 2 around a month or so back. But I take nothing but my bow, maybe something to drink. Sometimes I walk from here or drive to the barns. Pretty sweet set up with bunches of deer. A creek and fencerows, a 5 acre woods the biggest, bottom land around the creek and it runs through the middle of it all. Between my son and myself the biggest is a 17pt, 5th smallest is a 8 pt. If they cut me off I have had a great run right next to the house and not much other foot traffic. With no woods only those that know me want to hunt it.


You have no idea how envious I am, lol. I gained access to 700 acres a few years ago for a nominal fee per year. It's made up of corn and soybean fields with various thickness of woods and swamp within too. 

It's less than 30 min from home though so it beats the hour + run to the closest decent public land. The only draw back is the land owner lets quite a few people hunt it so I don't want to leave any stands up or trail cam's since I don't know who they are or how many. I also know there's occasionally an issue with trespassers.


----------



## leftfordead88 (Oct 22, 2007)

I have a front bag for my summit viper. It's made by summit and attaches to the front rail. Once you put it on you don't have to take it off. It packs fine with it on and you climb with it. It's just big enough to hold the essentials.


Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


----------



## Ozdog (Jul 30, 2007)

I alway's bungee corded all my stuff including my coat to the climber.


----------



## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

My situation sounds very similar to that of M.Magis. I have a short trip in to the house so I don't carry everything that I may need on rare occasions. I have a fanny pack for the necessities (folding saw, led light, deer tag, snack, can call, etc.) If I can't carry it in my fanny pack or my jacket pockets it usually does not go to the stand. I am fortunate enough though to have my hunting area on my property and it is usually less than a 15 minute walk back to the house to get anything I may have forgotten. My stands are already up so the only time I am carrying one in is if I decide to mix it up a bit and take the climber. I sweat way too easy and walking 500-600 yards weighted down is bad news for me.


----------



## BanksideBandit (Jan 22, 2010)

The problem I run into on many mornings is putting my extra layers on. By the time I cool down from my morning walk and climb, it seems to be right at first light and the exact time that I do NOT want to be moving around. I try to leave early and walk slow taking a few breaks in order to not sweat as much.


----------



## Sharp Charge (Jun 24, 2009)

BanksideBandit said:


> The problem I run into on many mornings is putting my extra layers on. By the time I cool down from my morning walk and climb, it seems to be right at first light and the exact time that I do NOT want to be moving around. I try to leave early and walk slow taking a few breaks in order to not sweat as much.


I'm with ya. A few years ago I was meeting up with a friend on public land down near Conesville where he had been hunting for a few days. He set me up with a spot that was honestly about an hour walk in. By the time I got to where I was going to set up, I was stripping down to skin to cool off and set up my stand. Sure enough, the sun was coming up too. Doh! :!


----------

