Deer stand mesh seat longevity

I am looking to replace my stand with a double so that my kids can start coming out. Seems that most of the options have mesh seats now, which I’ve tried and are amazing, but I’m wondering if they hold up when left out year round. Ive always had the all metal and just brought a cushion. The only all metal ones I’m finding have small dimensions and seem dangerous for kids when they just have a bar at the back.

Considering a muddy partner 2. The sales guy says almost all people leave them up and that his has been out 6 years – but he’s in sales. With this model I could flip the seats up and pop a contractor bag over them.

I’ve got a bunch that I leave out year long and they’ve been fine. One is going on 7 years, no issues.

I leave the stand portion out all year but remove the mesh seat, armrests, and gun rest cushion a few days after the season is over. I put that soft stuff back in about a week before the season.

I have had critters chew holes in the soft stuff on the stands so that is why I remove them.

My boy and I have a Hawk Big Denali two man stand which has the mesh seating. I leave it up year round. After three years I could not see any degradation. It’s been up four years now but I haven’t checked on it since last March.

I was concerned the squirrels would chew it up but they haven’t.

I got it for taking my boy out. It’s really roomy and very comfortable which no doubt makes it more enjoyable which results in more time in the stand.

My originally thought was to take it down after the season but it was so much work hauling it in and getting it set up, I just decided to leave it there. We preassembled the seat, feet, and the ladder sections ahead of time and carried them into the woods. That saved us a lot of time when we got to the woods to set it up.

I’ve been running muddy mesh seats on my river boat for 5 or 6 years. No issues with the seat mesh. The bolts like to rattle out tho. This may not be an issue when using them for hunting. Super comfortable seats for the money!

boone wrote:

My boy and I have a Hawk Big Denali two man stand which has the mesh seating. I leave it up year round. After three years I could not see any degradation. It’s been up four years now but I haven’t checked on it since last March.

I was concerned the squirrels would chew it up but they haven’t.

I got it for taking my boy out. It’s really roomy and very comfortable which no doubt makes it more enjoyable which results in more time in the stand.

My originally thought was to take it down after the season but it was so much work hauling it in and getting it set up, I just decided to leave it there. We preassembled the seat, feet, and the ladder sections ahead of time and carried them into the woods. That saved us a lot of time when we got to the woods to set it up.

I was checking those hawk stands out. They look very good and at a pretty descent price…would you buy again? Any complaints?

Hawk stands are very nice. Aside from Millennium… IMO they are one of the most comfortable ones out there. I have a few Hawk Kickback LVL’s.. They are comfortable enough for all day sits and squirrels don’t chew em. Id imagine the Ladder stands would have even more room and be more comfortable than the Hawk hangons.

I was checking those hawk stands out. They look very good and at a pretty descent price…would you buy again? Any complaints?

I’d definitely purchase again. No complaints. It’s quiet and doesn’t seem to squeak. Plenty of room for two adults or could fit an adult plus two kids. The shooting rail flips up and out of the way. I do remove the padding on the arm rests and shooting rail each year. It’s the only stand we have so I can’t say how it compares to other brands but I really like it. We got it at Cabelas.

Thanks all – sounds like it is the way to go. Even 5 years out of it would be worth it, but it sounds like they go longer.

Thanks for the positive reviews. I’ve been going just metal stands for years. My next stand purchase was going to be a mesh seat one. This reaffirms that thought.

I have 2 of these stands out. Going on year 4. Zero issues yet with critters wrecking things. Probably a little bit of roulet leaving them out, but so far so good. Way more comfy than the metal stands, you sit back into them better. Also quieter.

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tindall wrote:

With this model I could flip the seats up and pop a contractor bag over them.

That’s exactly what I do. After season I go around and flip up the seat and pulls contractor bag down from the top. Gorilla Tape the bottom shut. Keeps them like new and takes 5 minutes per stand.

Grouse

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Hey Grouse is that a Sniper brand tree stand?

gimruis wrote:

Hey Grouse is that a Sniper brand tree stand?

Probably. I picked up 4 tands on clearance 3-4 years ago from big box stores so not really sure what the particular one in the picture is or where it came from.

I have 2 of this particular model, whatever it is. They have the green silencer washers on all the bolts. I like the platform size of this particular model, easy to stand up and turn sideways with the bow.

I have 4 mesh seat stands total and when folded up, the seats all allow a trash bag to neatly slide down from the top. Then I just tape the bottom enough to keep the trash bag on, but still allow water to run out the bottom of the bag opening and I suppose this allows some ventilation as well.

I could just tell that if I left mesh seat stands uncovered. they’d be all eaten away by critters and weather within a couple of years. The mesh is stand-specific, so I’d assume not easy to get a replacement for. The trash bag option is an easy and cheap solution and should make the mesh seats last almost forever.

Grouse

Pailofperch wrote:

I have 2 of these stands out. Going on year 4. Zero issues yet with critters wrecking things. Probably a little bit of roulet leaving them out, but so far so good. Way more comfy than the metal stands, you sit back into them better. Also quieter.

I have the same exact Big River stand – same thing here. I just climb up and brush the twigs and acorn crumbs off and we’re good to go. Critters have left the mesh alone and it holds up year-after-year.