Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Ladder stand to leave out year round?

Wondering if anyone had a suggestion on that? Because if where it would be going, it would be staying there year round. Honestly it will probably get more use throughout the year not deer hunting, just critter watching, than it will during deer season.

I realize doing that, straps and the like need to be monitored and changed periodically, but my concern is the seat. I stopped in a big outdoor store recently to see what ladder stands were looking like these days and everything I saw had mesh seats. (last ladder stand I bought was in 1988, it consisted of a 3/4" piece of plywood at the top of a ladder).

I can see the mesh being comfortable, but I don't see it holding up to the elements, UV and chewing animals. Are they made to take the seats off with relative ease? I have an old climbing stand with a material seat that's theoretically removable, but a bit of a PIA to actually do. I haven't really looked at any farther, even online, so I don't know what the options are, but I figured I'd throw it out there and see what folks say.

I leave mine out year round. I loosen the straps in the winter after the season to make sure the tree doesn't grow into the straps. I tighten them up again prior to the next season. The mesh seats, so far, have held up very well.

I leave mine out all year most of the mesh seats will slide off by removing two bolts.Most of the stands are made In China the paint doesn’t protect them very well I always paint a new stand before I put it out one other thing look and see if there’s any place the water will lay in the tubing I drill a hole in those places I’ve had stand freeze and split

Sh*tcan the mesh seats. Get a treated 2x10 cut to span the rails and attach. Do the back of your thighs a favor and round over the top edge with a router or route/cut a bevel along that edge.

Hit the stand with a can or two of Krylon before you hang it. Factory powder coat is garbage.

If you REALLY care about it replace the shiddy hardware it will come with before hanging.

If you're putting it in a forever tree forget ratchet straps, get some chain and a turnbuckle - back off a turn or two at the end of the season or tree will grow around it and she'll be locked in eventually.


Don't see a location but I've had water get in ladder sections and not be able to run out the bottom - freeze/thaw cycle swells or splits the bottom section of ladder. Only one bad enough I decided I couldn't use it anymore.

I leave mine out and add a new ratchet strap every year or 2. one of mine has 4 on it now and the oldest one hasn't popped yet.

I leave mine out all year but don't trust the nylon straps. I always add chain and turnbuckle to attach ladder to the tree.

Just cover the seat with a piece of a plastic tarp, mainly to keep the sun off. Add another layer as needed. Duct tape will work fine to keep it on.

Look for one that is powder coated and then paint it yourself.

Loosen the straps
Put spikes & washers in the bottom to prevent it from sinking in.

Surface rust, tube rust from dirt are your enemys along with tree frowth.

We double the straps.

Squirrels and bears are our enemy

I've got three that range from 5 to 20 years old and they stay out all year long. They're all made by Big Game Tree Stands.

My oldest stand, about 20 yo, had a nylon seat. Three years ago the seat rotted out and I replaced it with plywood. The seat still folds up.

The next one is about 15 yo. I had to move it last year because the tree that it was in was dead with another tree leaning into it (widow maker). When we unstrapped it the straps were rotten. Before we moved it, I went to Home Depot and bought a cheap pack of ratchet straps because I figured that would be the case. That one's seat is expanded steel.

The newest one is about 5 yo. It has the most comfortable seat I've ever seen on a tree stand. It's mesh. It's seat is still as tight as it was when I put it together. I'm sure that some day it will rot off and I'll just replace it with plywood or something.

I think that the latest model is the Big Game Hunter HD 1.5 Ladder Stand.

Plus 1 on the Big game 1.5. We have 7 or 8 and will be putting one more up this summer. Have replaced one seat where it split a little. All others were fine last season.

i have several which i leave up all year. mine are made by a bud of mine who owns a welding shop. they are fastened to the tree using a chain and a boomer. once the season ends i just flip back the boomer and walk away. for the op, i'd replace the strap with a chain, and i'd replace the seat with a piece of treated plywood. ymmv.

I wouldn’t replace the mesh seat till you have to it’s a lot more comfortable than the plywood.Plus you might be surprised how long the mesh seat lasts. I know my Big Game hd 1.5 seat was out 10 years before I started taking it off for the summer it was getting a little rough looking but still strong.

Those Mesh seats are a lot easier to replace than you think. I had one that was over 10 years old but it had a mesh seat. I found one on Amazon in about 2 minutes that cost $20 and that stand is now back up and running

I have some that have been out for 7+ years. I change the ratchet strap every year or every other year. I check the legs for fractures. These are inexpensive stands from Wal-Mart too

We’ve had some mesh seat ones out for 10 yrs no problem

This , replace as needed. Why replace something because it might wear out? As long as you can to the stand well before the season opens to check it out. Years ago I bought a simple ladder with a metal mesh seat. That was a very uncomfortable stand. I got a cushion and made it comfortable. A few years ago I wanted one like it to put up. I could not find a ladder with the same seat. Everything I looked at had a mesh or a hanging cloth seat.

Millennium two man stand. Once you have hunted out of one; nothing else comes close.
As stated above, good idea to loosen straps a little during off season. My old hunt club had one that had been up at least ten years and it was safe and sturdy. The mesh seats held up.

Make sure to check them in the fall before using them... lol!

Not cheap but worth every penny. Family Traditions! Mine are out year around and have held up extremely well.