Brand · Blinds & Tree Stands
XOP-Xtreme Outdoor Products makes gear for hunting from a tree on the move: XOP saddle harnesses and platforms, hang-on tree stands, a hand climber, climbing sticks and safety harnesses. Here's the thing: XOP builds most of it to bolt together. Sticks clip to stands, platforms take stick attachments, and several listings are full systems in one box. So the real choice is saddle or hang-on first, then how much weight you'll carry in. (I sat in my first tree stand in 1974. It was a plank and a prayer. This is a different conversation.)
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XOP stands for Xtreme Outdoor Products. On this site the brand covers five product types, and nearly all of them are for the hunter who walks in, climbs, hunts and carries everything back out:
XOP's own site also sells packs, ropes, aiders, replacement parts and apparel. The grid above sticks to the gear types this site covers.
The values in the grid come mostly from Amazon listings, and the grid marks them. Where a listing doesn't name a value, the grid shows a dash. The stand weights I quote below come from XOP's own product pages, not from listings.
A saddle is a wide strap seat you hang in, tied to the tree with a bridge and a tether. You stand on a small platform or on a stick step and lean back into the saddle. The saddle hunting guide explains the parts and the setup.
XOP describes the Mutant as a saddle harness built for all-day hunts, with a breathable mesh seat, quick-connect buckles, an adjustable bridge, MOLLE attachment points and reinforced lineman's loops. The listing in the grid names a waist range and a weight rating, so check your waist measurement over hunting clothes before you order.
Jess's take: "A saddle fits like a pair of jeans. Measure your waist in the clothes you'll wear in November, not in July."
The platforms are where XOP's lineup gets detailed. From the maker's own pages:
The listings name platform sizes, and the grid shows them where they're given. A bigger platform gives your feet more room to turn for a shot. A smaller one packs flatter. The saddle platform page compares platforms across brands.
Several XOP listings put the whole kit in one box. Per the listings in the grid:
XOP says FULLRUT is built for hunters stepping into saddle hunting who want a complete system from day one. A full kit saves you guessing which rope goes where. It also weighs more than any single piece, and the listings name kit weights. The saddle hunting kit page covers kits across brands.
These are the bigger seats. XOP describes the ION as a treestand built for long sits, with a fully leveling mesh seat, a seat cushion, a cast aluminum platform and a Quick-Lock system that turns the seat into a shelf for carrying gear. The MHS ION puts the ION, X2 climbing sticks, pack straps and J-hooks in one box. XOP says that system shines for short moves and preset spots.
The Rubicon is a compact hang-on with a leveling mesh seat and the same Quick-Lock shelf, per XOP. The Air Raid Evolution sits in the middle of the range, with a larger platform and a seat cushion, per XOP's lineup blog.
The listings in the grid name platform sizes for most of these, and XOP's MHS ION page calls the ION's platform its largest.
XOP describes the Vanish Evolution as a light, compact hang-on with a fully leveling seat and platform, a tight V taper for heavy cover, and accessory hooks cast into the frame for binoculars and gear. XOP's blog calls it the entry point of its hang-on range. The grid lists it in more than one listing, so check which version you're looking at.
Here XOP starts quoting weights, and they're the maker's numbers:
Every ounce off the stand is an ounce off your shoulders. It's also an ounce less platform under your boots. Rule of thumb: decide how far you walk before you decide how light you need. A stand you carry 200 yards from the truck doesn't need to weigh what a stand carried two miles needs to weigh. (Knees keep their own logbook. Mine reads like a complaint file.)
The Revolt is XOP's hand climber. A climbing stand walks itself up a straight, limb-free tree in two parts, seat and platform, so you don't need sticks. XOP lists it at 11.7 lb, with a cam lock system and a traction belt, and says the seat and platform connect into one unit to carry. The climbing tree stand page covers how climbers work and which trees suit them.
The hang-on tree stand page compares hang-ons across brands.
Climbing sticks are short sections with steps, strapped or roped to the tree one above the other. XOP's own stick guide sorts its sticks by how mobile you are. From the maker:
The grid also lists Ultra Series Single Rotating Steps and a set of 34-inch aluminum climbing sticks. The listings name step style (single or double), pack count and stick length where they're given.
A single step gives you one place to put a boot on each side of the stick. A double step gives you two levels per stick, so you climb more height per stick with a smaller move between steps. The X2 and the Ride listings name double steps. Fewer sticks, less weight; more height per stick, more reach between steps. The climbing sticks page explains step spacing across brands.
XOP says its Ultra-Lite full-body harness is ASTM tested and certified for hunters up to 350 lb, conforms to Treestand Manufacturers Association standards, and comes packed in the box with any XOP treestand you buy. The grid also lists the Holiday Hybrid Harness. XOP describes it as a harness built for hybrid hunting, with a wide waist belt, adjustable leg loops and reinforced tie-in points.
The TMA safety guidelines are short and plain:
My one opinion on this page: set up the whole system at ground level before the season, harness and all. The TMA guidelines say to practice installing your stand and using your harness at ground level, with a responsible adult present, and to learn what it feels like to hang in the harness. If you can't recover or get out of the harness on your own, hunt from the ground.
Check your state wildlife agency for any rules on leaving stands on public land.
A saddle system packs smaller and lets you move around the tree. A hang-on gives you a seat and a bigger platform. XOP sells both, and the Super Fly Hybrid sits in between. The hunting saddle page and the tree stand page lay out the trade across brands.
Short walks and long sits point to the ION, Rubicon or Air Raid. Long walks point to the ROAM, SWAY, Fly or Super Fly. The maker's weights above do the sorting.
XOP builds its stands to integrate with its sticks, per its product pages. If you buy a stand alone, check the stick attachment points and the strap or rope system before you mix brands.
A stand, a system and a kit can share a name. Read the components line in the listing. The difference between an ION and an ION Mobile Hunting System is a set of sticks and the straps to carry them.
Both brands make gear for mobile hunting from a tree, and they get compared often. On this site the differences are in the range:
If you hunt only from a saddle, compare the two on the harness, the platform and the rope system. If you want a hang-on in the same kit, that's on XOP's side of the grid.
From the maker's own pages:
Clip in before your boots leave the ground. Stay clipped in until they're back on it.
What the maker states is checkable: XOP says its Ultra-Lite full-body harness is ASTM tested and certified for hunters up to 350 lb and comes packed with each treestand, and it backs every metal component it builds for life. Whether a stand suits you depends on how far you walk, how long you sit and whether you hunt from a saddle or a hang-on.
It depends on the kit. Listings in the grid describe the Edge Mutant System with an Edge platform, Mutant saddle harness, bridge, tether, lineman's belt, carabiners and prusiks, and the Full RUT Mobile System adding X2 climbing sticks, cam straps, a pack and J-hooks. Read the component list before you order, and buy what's missing.
XOP's own stick guide calls the X2 a stick for hardcore mobile hunters packing deep into public land, at 26 oz per stick with a 10-inch step. It calls the X3 a semi-mobile stick at about 32 inches and 2.6 lb per stick, for outfitters and landowners who leave sticks up on home ground.
The Air Raid Evolution is an XOP hang-on tree stand. Its listings in the grid describe a cast aluminum build and a hang-on design, sold alone or as a full system. XOP's own blog places it in the middle of its hang-on range, with a larger platform and a seat cushion.
The product grid on this page links to XOP-Xtreme Outdoor Products listings on Amazon US, filtered by type: tree stands, saddles, saddle platforms, climbing sticks and safety gear. Check that the listing names the exact model year and the parts in the box before you order.
