Field and Stream 2-Person Outpost Elite Ladder Stand

I purchased the Outpost Elite two years ago and received some grief from my family for being too soft. The next year, I bought one for my Dad and this year, I'm buying one for my grandfather, that is how much they liked mine. Now to the review.

All of the pieces were in the box, which is of course a big deal. It even came with the tools needed to tighten all the nuts and bolts. I would recommend assembling it into larger pieces before taking it to the mountain, but not fully assembled and with none of the skirting on. We assembled it on the garage floor and were glad we did because if you drop a bolt or nut in the woods, good luck finding it.

Instructions for putting it up in the woods show it as a 2 man job, but that's two strong healthy men. We used 3 and could've probably used a 4th. Over the last 2 years, we've put it up 2 different ways. The first year, we assembled it completely, and followed the instructions to assemble the ladder, and pivot it up into the air. That's the hard way. What we found was easier is to attach the whole thing to your tree at ground level and attach the ratchet straps loosely to the tree. "Wiggle" it up the tree until you can put the first ladder on. Then carefully do the same thing for the next ladder section. That is where it's good to have more than 2 guys. This presents a problem when you get to putting on the third ladder, but we didn't do that the second year just because we didn't feel we needed to go higher.

The skirting isn't obnoxious and loud like you'd think and there are little straps to secure the windows when they're open so they don't flap freely. It comes with a felt covering for the floor, so the grips on your boots don't drag over the expanded metal and make a loud ringing noise (any noise is too loud in the woods).

This is a 2 person stand, but we hunt out of them by ourselves. I have room under the seat for a backpack on one side and a little propane heater on the other. It's not spacious, but c'mon, it's a treestand. It does have enough room for the basics plus some luxuries and I found the two pockets on the front very useful. It handles rain and snow well as I've encountered both over the last 2 years.

The bad I can think of is that the skirting is drying or cracking, but that is to be expected although we do put these up in early fall and take them down within a few weeks of when hunting season is over in December, so they're not up much longer than necessary for the deer to get used to them. The other thing I don't like is that the entrance is a bit akward the way it zips at the bottom and has two tie loops. It's make an opening that is difficult to get into especially with a gun or a backpack on your shoulder. Imagine the birthing process in reverse. Single point at the top and bottom and only expands in the middle.

This year, I need to order replacement roof poles because we lost one during removal of the stands last year, but that reflects poorly on me, not the stand. Overall, I love this stand and have no reservations ordering it for my grandather. He is 80 and we'll probably only put on the first 5 foot ladder section to get him up off the ground. We did that on my father's stand last year and it was nice because you could stand on the ground and your eyes were at floor level. You could put your gun, backpack, heater, etc. right up in there and climb the ladder with nothing on your back.

This is the same stand as the magnum I can swap out the blind with that stand as well. for the price this is an excellent value, the seat isnt the most comfortable but it works, the shooting rail is a little low so you have to really bear down with the long gun but overall this is an exceptional value, I picked mine up for [$] last year, I am going to buy another one. Excellent to take the kids hunting!

Hunted in this stand over the past weekend. It was foggy, raining, and winding. Took my girlfriend along archery hunting for the first time and she had no complaints. Stand kept us dry and out of the wind. Easy to put together and a friend helped me put it in place. Would not try to do it alone, but with help it was not hard.

This stand is well contracted and has pretty good instructions. very good fit with all the parts, no hammer required ;-) I put it together in the garage in about two hours and it's now ready to go out in the field. Looks like it is going to be great for hunting and can wait to try it out in the fall.

Assembled easily and went up on tree quickly with two of us handling the chore. Will supplement bench pad to increase comfort level for those all day hunts. Ample room for two and great for a single hunter.

it was pouring out and i went up in to my tree stand un ziped the window and a hour and 20 minutes later i shoot a 6 point buck it had no idear where i was

Large and spacious but need four men and a baby to put this up once the unit is together.Material the blind is made of is thin and roof started to tear once on metal.

I love the product itself, it is a great hunting stand.

One of the best stands ive hunted out of .