I recently purchased a new climbing stand, I only had two, and they were getting old like me. I wont get into how many hang on and ladder stands I have out. My problem is that no matter what I get I am never fully satisfied with it. I get it out of the box and begin wondering; why did they do it this way, or what were they thinking? It only gets worse when I begin using it. My first few times I sit in a treestand and conger up what my mind says would be improvements. Here is my recent purchase as it comes from the box. It's made by XOP; the sit and climb.
I'm going to show a few changes I have made to this stand, anyone else made any alterations, please share some of your ideas.

 The first thing I do to all my climbing stands is to replace the seat with a net type.  I like them much better than the big bulky ones that come with stands. They are light, comfortable, and easy to slide out of the way when standing. I never opened the package on the seat that came with my stand. But theirs did look nice!
[attachment=1]
[attachment=2]

My first hunt in this stand made me decide that the bar had to go! I usually don't have a problem with them, my other stands have one, but this one hit my knees on a small tree. I raised it, lowered it behind legs, but the straps that connects bottom to top prevents it from going far. This is my first experience with one that hangs down rather than sticks straight out. Some of you may educate me more on what you do if anything. I decided to remove the bar. Either I will use as hand climber or replace with a strap. I think I'm going to try using a strap. It can be unhooked on one side and moved out of the way.
[attachment=1]
[attachment=2]

Another issue I had was hunting a WMA last week and the area I hunted was a thicket with only small trees. I don't like climbing small trees but I found a decent sized Walnut amount several cedars that would help hide me. But what I learned was that the belt on these stands hits the bolt and stops it too short for using on smaller trees. I searched and found a modification on the tube that cures this problem. You just have to reverse the bolt that connects the swing up part to the base. The bolt doesn't go through both sides,  only through inside, but far enough to stop the belt. I simply removed the bolt, carefully not to loose the washer between the pieces, and turned it to the inside. It doesn't stick in far enough to hurt, just past the nut, on my wide top it is not in the way. Now the belt will go all the way through and fit smaller trees.
[attachment=1]
[attachment=2]
[attachment=3]

Now I'm looking for some ideas on a bow holder. My longbow doesn't do well sticking in the bottom even though it has a place designed to hold a bow. I think they were planning on folks using a different type bow. I did wrap the bottom edge with rope thinking I could use it. And to help avoid making noise if I bump it.

Really great mods., thanks for sharing them! I'm definitely going to try that trick for allowing the band to go around smaller diameter trees.

I've always used a 3 arm hanger that screws into the tree for hanging my bow but have been thinking about attaching a holder to my Lone Wolf somewhere. A fella recommended looking at the Third Hand bow holder and it looks like it will fit the bill of what I'm looking for and possibly yourself as well. They have a good video on their website demonstrating it's function.

Best add the disclaimer, that the very first mod you do voids any warranty the stand came with.  Doesn't bother me as I do mods all the time but some folks worry about such stuff.   

Quote from: BAK on December 23, 2020, 12:10:44 PM
Best add the disclaimer, that the very first mod you do voids any warranty the stand came with.  Doesn't bother me as I do mods all the time but some folks worry about such stuff.   

Thanks.
And yes I would say this is correct, any modifications made will likely void your factory warranty. And do them at your own risk. Neither of these bother me.
Something I am wondering about from you Lone Wolf or XOP users. Do you use the straps that connect the top and bottom together? Never did this on any other of my stands. But with the hand climber I see the benefit. Just curious as to how necessary they are with this climber. I am new to this type stand. Always used Loggy, Summit, Old Man, and yes Baker!

I use the straps that connect the top and bottom on my Lone Wolf. I keep them with maximum slack while climbing and then tighten them down when I get climbed up to where I want to be. It's a nice safety feature to keep the platform from falling out from under you in case something really bad happens IMO.

I have been experimenting with making a bow holder.  This goes on and off easily and fits nicely in my pack.  The angle of the slot could be changed for the arm angle of your climbing stand.
[attachment=2,msg2944143]
[attachment=1,msg2944143]
[attachment=3,msg2944143]
[attachment=4,msg2944143]

That's what I'm talking bout Creekwood! I enjoy the tinkering and trying to come up with something cheap, homemade, and serves the purpose. 
Even my bow quivers are partly homemade. On this one I made the top and used a $2.00 yard sale bottom. This was my 2020 Buck, but check out the fancy quiver, I made the bow also.
[attachment=1]

I've never used the straps between the top and bottom of the climber.  I usually tape around one of the holes right on the front edge of the stand to put my bow tip in it and rest the bow in a vertical or slightly canted position between my legs.

Too bad you didn't have a chance to try the stand before modifying it.  Could have saved yourself some money by ordering the seat climber and strap instead of the sit and climb seat.     

You do realize any modification no matter what will void any warrantees. Just a FYI

for Orion, those straps connecting top and bottom of climbers are useful.  I really didn't bother with them until I was up a tree and the bottom slid a bit and I was balancing in the top portion looking like OMG.  Since that day, I always connect the top and bottom of the climber.  As for modifications to a climber, I tend to place plastic hand clamps on a shooting rail and put my gun or bow in the V of the handles pointing up. 

Quote from: Bowguy67 on December 24, 2020, 04:23:39 AM
You do realize any modification no matter what will void any warrantees. Just a FYI

Yes, addressed earlier, thanks.

Good idea on the clamps double eagle.

 On a side note, I had a total of $10.00 in the stand before modifications, now I'm out another $29.00 on a net seat! This stuff is expensive. 

I like to keep both feet on the ground. I don't fall too far that way.