[petey]

When I use my climber I have a rope that's 18'. I climb until my bow (32") is off the ground, so I'm roughly 21' to the bottom of my stand. That's a typical setup, but I'm in the big PA hardwoods and there's plenty of big tall straight trees that can go much higher. 18 - 20 feet is more than high enough in my opinion on flat open terrain. Back drop has a lot to do with stand height and placement also.

I've been hunting a scrape and rub line the past week and the stand I'm hunting in is a lock-on that's probably barely 15' (only because I ran out of tree steps) Thinking this may be an issue, I found out not so, since the placement of the stand is perfect. It sits on a 16" Red Oak that spits an old logging road. There is very dense cover on either side of the road, so by the time a deer steps out it's too late. I've also proven that this is high enough as I've had several deer come right down the road and pass directly under my stand. Normally I'm 5-6 feet higher, but am very comfortable with this particular setup being not as "high".

So my answer depends on the actual location of the stand and the setup. Typically, it's around 20 feet....but I've proven 12-15' works just as good even in high winds, depending on the actual location and what's around to break up your outline.

Also, note that I use my bow rope (which is just parachute cord) as a guage of how high I am when climbing up in the dark. WHen I feel the tug of my bow, I've hit 18ft!