# Check your treestand for safety



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Check your treestand for safety 

http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/grpres...440.xml&coll=6

1013/06 By Howard Meyerson Press Outdoors Editor [email protected]

For archers who hunt from elevated stands, there is no escaping the fact that a full-body safety harness is the way to go. Fortunately, a few years ago, the archery industry began providing full-body harnesses with portable tree stands rather than the old swami belts. 

Those old tethered waistbands would keep a hunter from hitting the ground but often suffocated them while they hung by compressing their diaphragm to the point that he or she couldn't breathe.

Of course, a harness by itself is no guarantee of safety. But it can go a long way to help.

An analysis of treestand accidents done this summer by the Treestand Manufacturer's Association, a trade group that represents 37 manufacturers, said: "An overwhelming number of accidents appear to have resulted from the lack of use of a full-body harness." 

Check safety reports 

Common sense, good judgment, knowledge of how to rig them and self-rescue (in case of a fall) all are part of the equation that makes for a safe day afield. But there also is a question of product quality. There are ways to find out whether your treestands are safe. 

I did a simple Google search this week of "treestand recalls" and "safety harness recalls." It yielded a wealth of information about companies that are having, or have had, problems. 

For instance, the Primal Vantage Co. in New Jersey and their Michigan-based distributor, Ameristep Inc., issued a recall last March of 6,700 treestands. The company said the J-hook strap could fail and cause the stand to collapse, resulting in injury or death. Free repair kits are offered. The company hot line is (800) 374-7837. 

I also went to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Web site, www.cpsc.gov, which has product recall listings for all manner of stuff. A quick search turned up a recall by Bear Archery. 

The company recalled 2,000 of its U.S.-made compound crossbows last summer, five models because of faulty trigger mechanisms. The company recommended hunters stop using them and call (800) 467-2281 for a free replacement.

Harnesses made in China 

Summit Treestands, of Decatur, Ala., also recalled 106,000 treestand safety harnesses. The Chinese-made harnesses were faulty and could fail. They were sold with stands that cost between $200 and $300. 

Last year, a former industry giant, Hunter's View, recalled 500,000 of its Chinese-made treestand safety straps. It was the second recall for the Peoria, Ill., company, which pulled 30,000 unsafe tree stands off the market in 2001.

The faulty safety harness had been included with all of its 2004 model tree stands. The company says it is working to replace them. 

"Anyone who calls us with one of those harnesses will get a new one," said Don Elliott, the promotions manager for Hunter's View. "Anyone who has seen this on the Web can just call us." 

The company's recall hot line is (888) 878-0440. 

Yet another excellent resource for bowhunters is the TMA Web site www.tmastands.com 

That organization formed in 1995 with the idea of raising the bar on safety standards. It developed engineering standards which now govern its 37 company members, roughly 80 percent of the treestand industry. 

Its members submit products for testing at credible labs and get certified as having met the standard. A TMA watchdog program randomly re-tests member products bought off the shelf at a later date to assure the company maintains the standard. 

Those who enjoy certification can then put it on a label much like an archer's Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.

"Someone who sees that can know that they are getting a good, safe product," said Jeff DeRegnaucourt, of Rockford, founder of the TMA. 

DeRegnaucourt also is the head of the archery division of Burr & Company, an insurer for hundreds of archery companies in the U.S. He is one of the principal authors of the TMA accident report. 

"TMA standards have helped to eliminate some of the problems of the past," he said.

The TMA Web site gives archers a grip on the status of manufacturers. It contains several pages of TMA-certified products, a page of safe treestand-use practices, and listings of member companies conducting voluntary recalls. 

If a treestand or harness manufacturer is not listed, they either are not a member or are no longer a member in good standing. 

Such is the case with Hunter's View, which withdrew from TMA in 2005 after being urged to conduct what would have been its third product recall, this time on its 2005 safety harnesses. Its tree stands passed muster but two of its harnesses failed in TMA watchdog program tests. 

"We asked them to do another recall and they declined," said DeRegnaucourt, who is on the TMA board of directors. "We told them their continued standing depended on getting it fixed and they said they wouldn't do it. A member in good standing doesn't do this," he said. 

Hunter's View owner, Dave Smith, declined an interview. Its products still are being sold on the market. Its 2005 treestand and harness packages still bear the TMA lablel. 

But DeRegnaucourt said Hunter's View is no longer certified. 

"That's why you won't see it on our Web site anymore," he said.


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