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Muddy vs. Lone Wolf

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bigbuckhunter88

PMA Member
Looking to get a stand to hang and hunt out of. Most of our stands on our home farm are hang ons that are out there for the season, so I'm looking for a hang and hunt set-up in case I want to be mobile or hunt public. What are the pro's and con's between the two stands? Also, the sticks? I have a climber and that works good, but only in certain situations with the right sized tree's and without trimming anything on public. I've looked at both brands, but want some input from people that have used them. Thanks.
 
I prefer the LW stand. It is easier to set up. The Muddy seat is more comfortable, I just slap an old gorilla seat on LW. I prefer the sticks as well because they are longer and you need less to get up to the same height. Plus they weight less. Some complain about the buckle noise on the sticks but I never had a problem with it. If your worried about it you can get 2 inch bicycle tube and slide it over the buckle and cut to length so it fits over buckle. If it were to come in contact with metal the rubber will prevent it from making noise.
 
I have a Muddy Hunter Pro and love how easy it is to pack and set up.. I think the Muddy sticks are nice but limited in the size of tree they can get around. Lone Wolf has them there by offering extension straps. Otherwise, I think they are just as easy to attach to a tree as the LW's. Another thing to consider is you have 4 sticks and getting up a tree and managing 3 sticks on your back is a little more difficult than the LW's. It can be done, just takes some plannning. Ideally you want to plan your climb and setup without coming back down to the ground..

I seen a nice YouTube video of a guy demonstrating how he sets up using his LW sticks and he had some great pointers. Might not hurt to check that out..
 
Gorilla Scout hx w/ the Muddy sticks. Lone Wolf sticks get in the way because they're too long. The mini sticks from lone wolf come in a three pack and leave me too close to the ground. The Muddy sticks have steps on both sides which make life much easier in my opinion. If you plan on anything over quarter mile hikes through brush, thorns, ravines, etc., the Muddys are the way to go.
 
I own both a LW Alpha/3 sticks combo, and a LW sit-n-climb. I used the alpha/sticks almost exclusively on public land. I can get up some pretty funky trees and don't have to search around as much for a tree. I can also leave the stand up overnight if I want to sit in the same spot for the morning hunt.

Never used any muddy products, but I'd definitely recommend the Alpha/Sticks combo. It packs together nicely and isn't that bad to set up.
 
I thought I'd want a bloodsport, but I just don't see how you can get those super tight to the tree like you can with the hunter pro and it's ratchet strap.. Sure it may be a little quicker to set up, but I think the pro hunter is safer and would be quieter and more stable.. I do love the sticks tho...
 
i own the muddy sticks, i like the steps on both sides, and i figure it gets me about 16 feet up the tree. if i want to go higher i carry some screw in steps and put them at the bottom then use the muddy's the rest of the way. only downfall is the muddys take 4 sticks to get to the same height as 3 LW's. and i just buy the cheap $35 dollar hang on's at menards, and they do the job. can't comment on the muddy or LW stands, but they look nice, just a little pricey for me.
 
IMO, Muddy doesn't hold a candle to the LW stands because the castings are night and day difference in stability, strength, and most importantly noise. For ease of set-up and adjustability to any tree, you won't beat LW. Also, the difference in quality between the two brands is what it is. You get what you pay for and no amount of advertising will change that!
 
ironwood said:
LW with four sticks. UCRs instead of straps. fast and quiet. I also use the UCRS on the stand.
Click to expand...

Mike do you make your own UCR's?

Sent from my Samsung Fascinate using IW
 
Todd, I'm curious if you've even hunted out of any of the new Muddy's?? I know by watching your video's that you have a ton of LW's. Just wondering if you've hunted out of a Muddy enough to justify that statement. I'm positive LW's are great stands, but there will always be something that comes along that will be better as we all know cuz we buy better stuff all the time.

I personally found my Hunter Pro to be sturdy, quiet, easy to set up, light and easy to pack, and comfortable. Adjusting my 200 pounds side to side on the stand resulted in zero noise or movement. I believe Muddy will lose out on the platform size to LW, but other than that, I don't think there is a huge amount of difference between them. In fact, I believe Muddy to be superior because of the one quick strap and the other ratchet strap that nails it to the tree very tight..

I'm sure there are some technical differences, but to the everyday hunter probably not all that noticable or important. Heck, once they make a longer rope option available, Muddy probably beats them in the climbing stick dept too..
 
I use 1 strap on my LW's and they work perfect. We set one up nearly every hunt for the cameraman. The compactness, ease of set-up, quietness of set-up, stability witha single strap, and the "tightness" of the overall assembly is why I use LW and nothing else. Have for 16 years now I think?
 
Ive never hunted a LW but a buddy of mine does regularly and I think they look amazing. With that said I own and film from Muddys pro hang ons and in the deep rugged terrain I hunt I like the fact that they have smaller platforms which makes them easyer to get through thickets with. I always strap one to my pack with the stiks and carry one so that the cameraman only has to carry the camera and film. We only use these stands, so we do that every day for every sit. Aside from size of tree allowing stik ropes to make it around, ive never had a tree I couldnt hang in. Muddys will hang in the goofyest of trees so that you can be in the tree you need to be in rather than the one the stand will work on. I also like the ratchet strap so when your in a goofy angled tree you know its sucked into the teeth of the stand tight. I have had problems with the bolt joints making noise on the stands but i took the bolts out, cleaned up the bushings then put a coat of bowstring wax on all surfaces and put it back together and that solved all noise problems. Id like to try a LW sometime but the muddy has been so good to me that untill it wears out there isnt any sence on spending more money to try them. Also with the sticks being shorter it makes it easyer to get around the thickets the same as with the platforms.
 
The problems you have noticed are the same problems with the other brand, which is why I wouldn't use them. Lone Wolf all the way! Tolerances are the tightest in our industry!
 
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