Illini002

Hi, I bought a new Summit Viper climber this year and I am getting use to it. However, I do have a question for all of you that use the Summit Viper. First off, do any of you put camo duck tape on the metal to quiet it done a little walking in through the briars??

Secondly, the boot straps, do any of you have trouble hooking them back on when you are up in the tree and ready to come down. The times I have practiced, it seems the right boot strap isn' t looped enough and I always have to bend down and put my foot in the loop. Kind of scary when you are 20 feet up in the air. Does anyone have any secrets or tips to get your boot back in the loop??

Otherwise, I am happy with my climber. I debated between that and the lone wolf, but I think the summit will be more comfortable for all day hunting, although probably not as quiet going in.

Thanks for any advice.

wilk

i sometimes have to bend down to put my straps on, but it dont bother me...
as far as the camo tape goes, i dont think i would put it on because it could mask a crack in the stand, not that im saying it will crack but you never know, i always inspect my sons and my own summit viper for cracks in the metal, cause you never know and when you are up that high, you want to make sure you have all of your bases covered.

hunter25

Haven' t put camo tape on my Viper, but that doesn' t like a bad idea. Anything to help.

As far as the boot straps go, the first few times I had to climb down was scary as hell...trying to balance myself out while I attempt to pull the strap back to fit around my boot. A little tip, move the top portion of your stand down just a bit, so if you do have to bend down the bar won' t be in the way...plus the bar will provide a little safety measure. I' ve also tried raising the top portion of the stand to where it' s not in the way at all...either one works fine.

vc1111

I don' t know why you' re " scared" if you have you safety equipment on properly. It is nearly impossible to fall out of a summit stand when the safety harness and life line are properly used.

Illini002

Thanks for the info guys. Yeah, I probably agree that tape would be good, but I probably better not, because of not being able to see any cracks. I just wish I could be more quiet walking in with it. It seems like any little brush up against a branch or something is magnified 100 times because you are trying to be quiet.

Thanks for tip on getting the strap on too!

As far as being afraid, it doesn' t matter if you have the safety harness on or not, when you are 25 feet up in the air, it takes some getting use to!

Michigan-Bow-Hunter

Here' s the deal, if you have your harness on, you can get leverage from that while putting your boot straps on. To quet mine, I took a 3ft rubber tie down and wrapped it around the bars the cable goes into then took a bolt and connected the ends. the rubber acts as a sound dampener and really reduced the carry and climbing noise caused from the cables.

rockytop

First, an arrow (broadhead end) is an excellent tool for pulling your boot strap up so you can get your boot under it but you need to figure that out before you let your bow down. Also, concerning the summit boot straps, I loosen mine as far as they go and when I put the boot in the straps, I point my toes as far up as possible. That makes it easier to lift the stand and the boots won' t come out. I don' t use the things that go behind the heel, to big a pain and as long as my toes are pointed to the sky, I don' t need them. I do make sure and have a connection rope between the bottom and top part of the stands.

Bowhuntrey

About the boot strap...i have a summit and I also use the safety harness to my advantage. basically, get enough slack from the harness to the tree so that when you lean back, the harness holds all of your weight while you reach back to fix the strap.

justhrowit

Chances have it you are' nt being that noisy when you walk through the woods. I think it' s all in your head. Because your trying so damn hard to stay quiet, every noise you make you think is a bomb going off. I know this feeling well. I can even hear my heart beat. I think a deer' s ear so sensitive it would' nt even matter. They can hear you if you are close.....considering calm conditions.

Dan B

I put camo tape on my Cobra to silence the carry and my safety harness would sometimes clang (the plastic leg strap thingymadoos ) off it when I would stand. Works for me. Never thought about the tape hidings cracks though. hmmmmmm.