The Huntmore 360 Stool – An End-Of-Season Review

[olddhaverstick]

#3273

If you’ve read my other posts on this subject then a lot of this will be old news but I decided to start a new thread instead of continuing to tack onto my original one. If you have not read my other posts about this stool and would like to, just search on “Huntmore 360” or my username, “dhaverstick”, and you will find them.
To give the newcomers to this topic some background, I started the 2009-2010 archery season with the purchase of a Huntmore Stool. I hunt exclusively from the ground wearing a ghillie suit and I needed a comfortable chair to sit on and one that would last more than a year. I agonized over the purchase for a month before doing it because of the cost involved and when I finally received the chair I was quite disappointed. It was heavier than I expected and I did not realize that I would have to put it together and take it apart each time I used it. The main thing I was concerned about, however, was that by the time I gave the chair a real-world test I would not be able to return it if I didn’t like it. Worried about being stuck with a $200 boat anchor, I returned the chair unused.
I posted a review about my initial impressions and was immediately contacted by Scott Hoffman, the inventor of the Huntmore 360. Scott is so confident about his product that he made me an offer; he would send me another stool as a demo and I could use it all season. All I had to do was periodically post an honest account of my experiences with the stool. At the end of the season I could buy the stool from Scott if I liked it or send it back if I didn’t. Seeing this as one of those “offers I couldn’t refuse”, I took him up on the deal.
Now it’s the end of Missouri’s archery season and it’s time for me to write my final thoughts on the Huntmore 360. At the beginning of the season I looked at the 360 as just another chair to sit on. And that’s why I had a big hangup about the cost of the product. However, after 3 months of carting it around, setting it up in all kinds of weather and sitting in it for hours on end, I now view the 360 as an integral part of my hunting gear. Back when I hunted out of trees, I didn’t think twice about spending $250 on a climbing treestand. It performed a function that I needed, it was comfortable to sit in, and I wouldn’t go in the woods without it. The 360 fits the same bill and it weighs less than half of what my treestand did. And I don’t need to wear a harness to sit in it safely. I think once a person quits looking at the 360 as “just a chair” then the price becomes less of an issue.
And then there’s the customer service from the Huntmore company. Every customer of Scott’s is important to him. He is constantly looking at ways to improve his product and he periodically sends out email bulletins to his customers with tips on the care and feeding of the 360. If you have any question about the stool, you can contact him personally and he is always willing to help you out. Scott is a stand-up guy who stands behind his product. In today’s consumer society, you don’t find that much anymore.
Okay, so here’s a quick synopsis of my season-long Huntmore 360 Experiment.

PROS: Two features stand out; the infinitely adjustable legs and the swivel top. I live and hunt in the Ozarks and there isn’t a level spot bigger than a postage stamp anywhere so being able to adjust the legs such that I can be level and comfortable was a huge plus. The swivel top allowed me to easily and quietly position myself for a bow shot several times during the season. No awkward shifting about; I just silently spun around so my body was in a better drawing position. The 360 is built like a tank so you don’t have to worry about it tearing up on you and if you do have some sort of problem with your chair, I’m sure that Scott would be willing to help you out. The chair is also quite comfortable and I had no problem with sitting in it for 4 to 6 hours at a time.

CONS: The only things I can really think of that would consistently turn people off about this product are its weight and its price. However, these both became non-issues with me after using the chair for a while. Think about my treestand analogy and you’ll see that 8 pounds and $200 is no different than what you get with any good climbing stand.

Long story short; I’m keeping my 360 and, Scott, it looks like I owe you some money.

Darren Haverstick

[Daniel]

#19140

Darren, I want to thank you for posting this again. I also like hunting fromt he ground and 2 years ago, I was sitting on a 3 leg non-swivelling seat. I had purchased this as a convenience from a Canadian Tire store here in Canada. Well after sitting motionless for approximately 1 hour, to make a story short, I injured myself. The story starts with the first doctor indicated a muscle tear and he was right. I am a big man and these three leg stools tend not to agree with me. Could you post about the comfort of the seat itself. Thanks

[olddhaverstick]

#19854

Daniel,
First off, the 360 is BIG! In fact, its size was one of the things that initially turned me off because I couldn’t imagine lugging something that size around in the woods. And when I first sat down in it, I felt like I was straddling a horse because the seat felt so wide. Now that I have used my stool a bunch, I appreciate the wide back and large seat pad because they are designed to hold a fully grown human with all his cold weather gear on. And since the chair folds up compactly, you don’t notice how big it is until you put it together. The chair is comfortable mainly because it is adjustable. You can get the legs set just the way you need them and you can adjust the seat pad a little by playing with the amount of tension you have on the three attachment straps.

Scott told me that the initial design of the 360 was a pound or so lighter than the production model. However, when they went to their first equipment show, all they had were 200+ pound fellers wanting to sit on it so they decided they had better beef up the chassis. The chair is rated for 300 pounds and I had a 299.999 lb friend of mine use my stool all morning the first day of our firearms deer season. He said he was quite comfortable and he even killed a nice 8-pointer while sitting in it.

If you are a big person who wants the comfort of a nice foldout chair but the freedom of movement you get from a stool, then I think you would be really happy with the Huntmore 360.

I hope this answers you questions!

Darren

[Mudd]

#24278

I guess I don’t do much shopping because I’ve never heard of it until this reading.
I have a stool I built that sounds a lot like what you’ve written about. I’ll do a search after I finish this post and take a look at it.

My stool only has one leg and won’t work for places where you can’t poke it into the ground and it doesn’t have a back on it. I think you could use mine as a jack stand to change the oil in your small car or economy sized pickup. My seat is very comfortable and doesn’t make any noise when being swiveled around. I built mine so the bottom can be removed and my other base which can be racketed to a tree can be used.
Mine too is a little heavy but not so much as to cause me to think of not carrying it to the woods.
I can e-mail you pictures if you have any desire to look at it.
Thanks for the good read!
God bless,Mudd
Roy L Williams

[oldtwohairs]

#27053

I’m a rather large fellow! That was one of the reasons that the 360 stool had me hooked the first time I sat in it!

It was very comfortable and you could swivel without the stool making a sound. Which I had never seen in any stool before. Plus the adjustable legs with the duck feet are awesome, especially in the marsh that I hunt on my property.

Heh “Mudd” If I’d known you had posted here I would have sent you a 360 brochure and a price list with that DVD I sold you.

Kevin Winkler

[Author]

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