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ladder stands? tired of commercial one!

I bought a custom made ladder stand from a local welder. It has made me vow to never get in a commercial stand again. Anyone else recommend a good ladder stand? He will build me some more but they are like $400

Photos, specs and details would be helpful!

Thanks

What is so much better about it than a commercial one?

Buy your own welder and make them just the way you want? Welding isn't really all that hard once you play around with it for a while.

Agree, some photos or description of why you like the custom one better would help narrow down commercially made model recommendations for you.

solid! the one i had made is solid, no flexing. its a tank

hmmm, my G-son is a welder. On the other hand, I have no problems with my cheepies either.

If you are a 300 lb. guy, you can appreciate a ladder stand that doesn't flex when you're climbing into it. I always used two man ladders because they're stronger and also for the extra room. Lot easier to set a pack beside you than under your feet. I've thought about building my own, but I use tripods mostly now if I'm hunting in the air. I back them up to a tree to where I'm almost against the trunk when climbing up, and wire or strap them to the tree also. That gives me a place for a screw in bow hanger, etc. Swivel seats, big foot platform, and I hang my pack on a screw in hook.

I was contemplating one that had a single leg with alternating steps like the sticks. The single leg of course would need to be supported and more vertical....almost parallel to the tree. Made a proto type out of wood but that`s as far as I got.

You can't come close to building them for what you can buy them for.

Field & stream outpost xl. Just picked one up for $135 shipped to house. Very comfortable & solid. This is the fourth one we bought. We added 5’ to the others out of conduit & unistrut.

I wouldn't buy a Field & Stream one for .50 cents

I've used some nice home-welded ladder stands. Very solid and great for hunting close to the road because they weighed a ton.

A Game Winner Warrior for $55 works for me.

As I get older I try to get smarter. Putting away some of the climbing sticks and headed to the "two person ladder stands". Lots of room to stretch and relax. Easy to get into. I can take beginner hunters along. Room for my backpack. I really like the Ameristep 18' two person model. $80.00 through Sam's club. A great value and the most comfortable stand. The easiest stand to assemble with good instructions. It has a solid seat with a real nice pad that goes over the metal. I can remove the pad at the end of the season. The shooting rail if far enough away that you can turn side ways. Other notes: I have one stand that cost more.... 1. fabric seat with a metal rail in between the two seats... very uncomfortable and I wonder if the squirrels will eat the seat. 2. The shooting rail is so close that you can NOT turn side ways when standing. This hurts my form when shooting straight away. Well that's about all. https://www.samsclub.com/sams/two-man-ldr-ameristep/prod21251305.ip

What I'd like to see is a ladderstand built on the base concept of a small aluminum extension ladder. That would be worth buying.

In the past 20 yrs I build couple ladder stands using 30 ft aluminum ladders, That way I could build 2 15' ladders. Angle iron frame box for the top. But it's so heavy it took 3-4 guys to put it up.

So made up a block and tackle rig and i can install the 150 lb stand by myself. I just use a folding ladder to tie the block and tackle rig off up on the tree and attach to the top of the ladder and pull away. I used double pulleys so the effert is like 10 to 1. So 150 pounds feels like 15 lbs in weight.

I have two 17' ladder stands, one single, one double. I use a lacrosse ball in an old sock to pull a static line through a convenient crotch and haul up the block. The free pulley hooks on the stand and up she goes. Reverse the procedure to lower the system down. Since I'm 78, the rig comes in handy for hauling a carcass up out of a 50' draw.

Well Ginger, hurrah for you at 78 still getting it done ! I hope I'm still doing it in another 6/7 years.

I have built many hang on stands out of aluminum and would have no problem building a ladder stand that could hold a house. The trade off is how heavy can you tolerate. If you are gonna use it on land you own, set it and forget it but, if it has to be "portable" that's a different story.

As Joe Shmoe if you can weld yourself you can prob buy the material for about the same cost as a finished ladder stand, but if you're not welding it yourself, sure get one made, but expect to pay $400. If that is worth it to you, go for it. A welder needs to get paid for his time, plus he'll mark up the material. Maybe he won't but welders make good money. It's not worth his effort to do it for nothing. Once you brace a commercial one they seem pretty solid to me.

Interesting no one has mentioned safety....

I've hunted plenty of home brew stands in the past....not anymore.

When Rivers Edge ( among other quality manufactures) can make rock solid and stable 16-21' ladder tree stands that meet industry safety specs for about $170, IMHO, there are No better options.

Mark

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