With the saddle system craze still well and truly sweeping across the nation, there are those of us that have so far resisted. Whether you are hesitant to give saddles a shot, or have tried them out and found they just aren't for you, that doesn't mean you need to give up on mobile hunting. While saddles may provide the lightest option for trips to the woods, they can be complicated and uncomfortable in various situations and on longer sits. I'm not going to suggest you weld an elevated blind to the frame of a four-wheeler or anything, that would be moderately ridiculous and legally questionable, but there is a very comfortable middle ground waiting for you to discover. Enter mobile hang-on kits.
With this type of treestand kit, you are going to get everything that you need - for the most part - to easily pack, hike, and hunt. They include the hang-on stand (obviously), climbing sticks, and whatever you need to attach the sticks to the stand when headed to your spot. In the pursuit of safety, make sure you use the included safety harnesses, too.
Millennium Run and Gun V2:
The most affordable of the three options here, the Run and Gun V2 brings together everything Millennium has to offer. The lightweight and rigid mobility of the M8 hang-on stand, coupled with Vulcan climbing sticks and the stick quiver system, ensure extreme packability and mobility.
M8 Pro Lite Hang-On Stand: 300lb capacity | 9lb mass weight | 20" x 20.5" dimensions
Vulcan Climbing Sticks: 300lb capacity | 1.8lb mass weight each | 19" length
Stick Quiver: Attaches to M8 and carries up to 6x Vulcan sticks silently.
Full Body Harness, SafeLink Safety Line, and ratchet loop straps also included.
Click Here to view the Run and Gun V2
Novix Helo Hunt Ready System:
The Helo Hunt Ready System is the ultimate mobile hunting system. Novix’s smallest and lightest Hang On Treestand, the Helo Hang On, 32" Single-Step Climbing Sticks, and Quickstraps provide an all-in-one package that requires no assembly, so you can be ready to move as soon as this package hits your door.
Helo Hang-on Stand: 300lb capacity | 9.9lb mass weight | 26.5" x 16" dimensions
Single-Step Climbing Sticks: 300lb capacity | 2.2lb mass weight each | 32" length
Quickstraps: Used to attach your steps to the Helo stand body.
VersaStraps: Used to attach your stand and steps to the tree, press-lock style.
Full body harness system and back carry straps also included.
Click Here to view the Helo System
Novix Echo Hunt Ready System
The Echo Hunt Ready System includes everything you need to stay mobile in the whitetail woods. The Echo Hang-On Treestand, 32" Single-Step Climbing Sticks, and the new Quickstraps provide an all-in-one package that requires no assembly, so you can be ready to move as soon as this package hits your door.
Echo Hang-on Stand: 300lb capacity | 11.5lb mass weight | 30" x 19.5" dimensions
Single-Step Climbing Sticks: 300lb capacity | 2.2lb mass weight each | 32" length
Quickstraps: Used to attach your steps to the Helo stand body.
VersaStraps: Used to attach your stand and steps to the tree, press-lock style.
Full body harness system and back carry straps also included.
Click Here to view the Echo System
Why?
Less complicated than saddle systems and more 'carry-through-the-woods' friendly than traditional climbers and hang-ons, these mobile stand systems allow you to have a more traditional stand hunting experience without sacrificing the ability to 'Run and Gun.' Each of the kits I outlined come ready to go from the box and, provided you have everything else you need for a good hunt, this means you can get these delivered the morning of opening day and be good to go. This isn't a major reason to try one out, but it is nice that these companies have these kits available to us, just to keep things simple in an otherwise saturated and complicated market.
These open style hang-ons also have the distinct advantage over more traditional treestands in the sense that, for an archery hunter, they afford you much more range of movement and aiming. Without a cage or safety rail to limit your lean, with the use of a safety harness, and the ability to flip the seats up towards the tree for reverse, standing shots, these stands open up your possible shot angles to increase your chances of success in the woods.
As I outlined above, each of the Novix systems come with their own back straps, allowing you to easily sling the kit over your shoulders and carry it like a pack when the situation calls for it. In many cases, for all three, you can attach the stand to your pack via additional straps, or you can even attach your pack to the stand. Either way works. I won't lie and say these kits are feather light or anything like that - they aren't - but they sure beat dragging a climber around or, worse still, a ladder stand.
I know from experience that it can be a rough feeling when you find yourself sitting in a stand, waiting for the sun to rise, and when it finally does, the sun illuminates a tree just a short walk away that looks like it is twice the spot you set up a few months prior. With saddles this issue can be easily fixed - if you're a better, less lazy person than I - as you can just climb down one tree and back up another with not too much fuss. With a mobile hang-on stand system, it isn't all that much trouble, either. It might be slightly more work to get down and get set up again, but it's nothing that is really going to make you sweat (provided you are in better shape than me). Yet again, we find ourselves in a happy middle ground type of zone.
As far as the public opinion/cultural acceptance of certain saddl-y types of 'stands', you can easily roll up to your hunting camp, show off your 'traditional hang-on stand kit' and be on your way without anyone questioning anything. I know that I have had to spend dedicated time explaining and breaking down a saddle system to the more finely aged members of my camp in the past - whether or not they understood by the end is beyond me. So, I guess you could say these kits get 'boomer' vibe points or whatever (I am basically a baby boomer myself, so it's okay for me to use that word).
The sticks that come with each of these are also specially designed to be able to get you up funky trees just as well as straight ones. The Millennium ones have feet that dig into trees very well, and the steps themselves are short enough that they can be maneuvered on strange bends and curves and around branches. Similarly, the adjustable treads on the Novix sticks allow conformity on odd trees as well, even taking into account their longer profile.
I touched on it earlier, and it is something that some people need reminding of now and again. Use the safety harnesses and tethers that come with these stands. If your current stand didn't come with one, go out and buy one. It isn't that much work to put on what is essentially a pack-less backpack that is designed to prevent you from falling and severely injuring yourself, or worse.
I need to write more since ending on that note would have been way too dark for an article about treestands. These are light, packable, mobile, and exceptionally durable and well-built. Grab one and try it out, you won't regret it. If these don't suit your fancy, or if you already have sticks and just need a hang-on, go HERE for all the other hang-ons we carry.