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Huntmore recently came out with a new version of their chair that is a bit smaller and lighter than their original model. I had been hearing about this “new version” for many months now so I was delighted to see that it was finally available. Scott Hoffman, the owner and designer of the Huntmore, asked me to give a season-long review of this new chair and I readily agreed. To make sure that I gave the chair its proper due, I lent my bigger chair to a friend of mine so that I wouldn’t be tempted to switch back if things weren’t working out.
Before I begin with my initial review, I want to cover some of the history I have with this product. If you search various bowhunting forums on my username, “dhaverstick”, you’ll probably find the reviews I did on the original chair. I have been a Huntmore chair user now for three years. I hunt exclusively from the ground in a ghillie suit and think of this chair as an essential part of my bowhunting gear. But that wasn’t always the case. Initially, I wasn’t a fan of the Huntmore but Scott convinced me to test drive one for a season and write about my experience. Between his fantastic customer service and the chair being a quality piece of merchandise, I became a convert.
The “Lil Huntmore” (Scott probably hates me calling it that) is basically the same chair but scaled down in size. The triangular seat is 16” on a side as opposed to 19” on the original. The back width is also a couple inches smaller and the chair weighs 10 pounds while the bigger version weight 11.5 pounds. The ground clearance of the new chair, though, is the same as the original. Both chairs use the same high-quality materials and are assembled in the same manner. In fact, Mr. Hoffman told me that the Lil’ Huntmore was his original design. It was only after he attended his first trade show with his stool that Scott decided to “beef up the suspension”. Apparently, most of the folks who tried his chair out were above average in size and pushed the weight limit that the Huntmore was originally designed for. He is marketing the smaller stool towards women, kids, and men of small-to-medium build. I am 5’ 9” and weigh 180 pounds so I guess I fit into one of those categories.
Like my original stool, I found the Lil Huntmore a bit stiff and uncomfortable right out of the box. I believe there were two factors that caused this. One was that the seat and back, I think, have a breaking in period. The second one was that I was sitting on both stools on a hard tile floor. I noticed that the chairs feel more comfortable if they are setting on the ground. Maybe that part is all in my head. All I know is what I feel.
I got my new chair about a month before Missouri’s archery season opened so the only use it got was when I sat in it while practicing my shooting. I did notice the difference in weight when I carried it outside but I did not notice any difference in comfort between it and the bigger chair. Of course, I only sat in it for short periods of time so I cannot say definitively that the comfort level is the same. When I get a chance for an extended time in the woods I will be able to make that call.
So far, I have been able to hunt in the chair only once. On the plus side, it was a successful hunt and I came home with a nice young turkey. On the minus side, I only hunted an hour (maybe that’s a plus too) so the chair did not get a thorough workout. I will be heading to my farm for some real hunting next week so the chair will get what’s coming to it then.
The new chair retails for $200 and the original model sells for $220. I know, I know, that’s a lot of money for a chair. But I always tell folks to look at it this way; if you hunt from a tree, a lot of you don’t think twice about forking over that kind of cash for a treestand. Well, this chair is like a treestand for ground hunters. It’s every bit as durable as any treestand you’ll buy and every bit as comfortable. Plus, the legs are infinitely adjustable and it rotates 360 degrees in complete silence. Add up all the money you’ve wasted on cheap, uncomfortable chairs that are hard to shoot out of and it will probably equal or exceed the cost of one of these.
To be continued…..
Darren Haverstick
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The first chair I had; I bought, didn’t like, sent back and posted about why I didn’t like it. Scott Hoffman, the owner of Huntmore, contacted me with an offer: He would send me another chair if I agreed to use it all season and write about it. At the end of the season, I could either send it back or buy it. I chose to purchase the chair. That was 3 years ago.
With this new model, Scott contacted me and said he was sending me a chair to test out and wanted me to write about it too. Mr. Stout is correct; the chair is gratis for providing the review. For most of you, this pollutes anything else I have to say and I certainly understand. But for those few of you who actually know me, you know that I don’t pull any punches. If Scott wants an honest assessment of his product, that is what I’m gonna give him…and you.
That being said, here are some other thoughts I have about the new model after using it on a couple more hunts. I have been turkey hunting in a blind some more and I have found two things about this chair that are different than the Generation I model I have. One of them I like and the other I am not so crazy about.
First, the good thing: The smaller size chair allowed me to tuck myself back into the blind’s corner more without the chair scraping the sides of the blind. This is a big plus when hunting turkeys and it paid off on the last hunt. I shot this hen at 10 yards.
The thing I do not like: My old chair has a seat that attaches to the chassis with 3 tension straps. It can be a little cumbersome fastening the seat on in the dark but the nylon straps that go around the U-shackles are quiet and the straps can be individually adjusted to get the feel “just right”. The new chairs have a seat that fastens on with 2 metal hooks and a tension strap. These seats are easier to attach but I do not like the metal hook going around a metal U-shackle. The potential to make noise is there and the hooks will rattle a little bit when there is no tension on them (ie. carrying the assembled chair around). I think Scott should look into putting a rubber coating on the hooks to quiet them down.
I have hunted in the new model chair for a total of around 8 hours now and it still seems to be comfortable. I will be going to my farm tonight to hunt for a couple of days where I will be sitting for 4 or 5 hours at a stretch. That will test the comfort of the chair a little more.
Darren
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