How to Climb a Tree
Sometimes you’re looking for a particular climbing tree stand because it has a feature you want or need in your stand.
Heavier hunters who want to deer hunt or hunt other big game from a tree stand need tree stands for hunting that can take the weight of someone who’s a little overweight, and still leave them with enough weight capacity to safely allow them to bring their hunting accessories into the tree stand with them.
Permanent stands are often the best choice for heavier hunters because many models are made for two people hunting. However, sometimes nothing but a climbing tree stand will do, because of portability or other issues.
When that happens, the hunter needs a tree stand that’s got a hefty weight capacity, but that is still portable enough to make it into the woods and out without being a heavy burden.
That’s why I created a page on the Best Climbing Tree Stand website that highlights some of the best of the “Light-Weight Climbing Tree Stands with Hefty Weight Capacities.”
Do you want to know what’s new this year in climbing tree stands? Then you might want to check out the article “2020 Climbing Tree Stand Models,” where I highlight and discuss the newest climbing tree stands on the market.
If money is the main issue you’re looking at as you think about buying your first, or fifth, climbing tree stand, then this list of the “Most Affordable Climbing Stands” might be where you want to start looking for your best climbing tree stand.
I hope some of these articles make it easier for you to find just the climber stand you’re looking for. If not, let me know, and I’ll do my best to make it even easier!
Is the Rescue One CDS Safety Harness Better Than the Hunter Safety System?
The Rescue One CDS (Controlled Descent System) by Mountaineer Sports is a full-body harness, much like the Hunter Safety System, but with a distinct difference.
The Rescue One Controlled Descent System full-body harness addresses not only the problem of what happens if you fall out of your tree stand but also what comes next—how you recover from a fall quickly and how you get yourself to the ground safely.
These features make the Rescue One CDS unique and make it difficult to compare the Rescue One CDS to other tree stand safety harnesses. However, many people will still wonder how the Rescue One CDS compares to another popular tree stand safety harness system, so here goes.
Tree stand falls do more than break bones—they kill people. But it’s not just hitting the ground that brings on death. Suspension trauma caused by the body’s inability to properly circulate blood while the body hangs suspended in the air causes injury and death.
The Rescue One CDS (Controlled Descent System) is a tree stand safety harness system that helps prevent suspension trauma with a revolutionary fall recovery system built into the harness. The system allows you to lower yourself in a controlled manner to the ground (up to 30 feet), meaning you recover from a fall much easier and safer than you might otherwise.
In many ways, the Rescue One Controlled Descent System is similar to the Hunter Safety System. Most full-body harnesses share similar traits. However, the controlled descent ability built into the Rescue One is unique.
Another feature of the Rescue One CDS is that it can be repacked and reused, something that can’t be done with most other tree stand safety harnesses.
Both the Rescue One CDS System and the Hunter Safety System include instructions. The Rescue One CDS System includes a thorough set of instructions on DVD, giving a visual and audio explanation of how to prepare, put on, and wear the harness, and how to use the fall recovery controlled descent system.
You get a lineman’s rope, tree anchor strap, and 3 carabineers with the Rescue One system. With the Hunter Safety System, you must purchase the lineman’s rope separately, although most HSS vests include a lineman’s climbing strap.
Hunter Safety System vests can handle up to 300 pounds of a hunter, although a few models top out at 250 pounds and 275 pounds.
The Big Boyz Rescue One CDS has a maximum weight capacity of 400 pounds, while the Rescue One CDS II has a maximum capacity of 300 pounds.
Something to keep in mind, though, is the options you have with the Hunter Safety System. HSS offers several models to choose from, whereas with the Rescue One CDS, you have only one choice of style and design in two sizes and four camo pattern options.
Finally, HSS vests are generally less expensive than the Rescue One systems, though if you take into consideration that extras you get with the Rescue One CDS price might not be a factor after all.
It’s up to you to decide which system will work best for you, but after using both the HSS and the Rescue One, we’ve found ourselves choosing to use the Rescue One CDS harness most often.