I've never used an equalizer tree stand but I've used the lone wolf hand climber. The lone wolf is quiet and packs flat. It's a great stand.

The summit I have is the open shot hand climber. It's light (14lbs) and much less expensive than the lone wolf. So, when it comes to climbers, I'll buy the summit.

Lone wolf is where it's at for climbing sticks and hang ons tho'. You can get up into a tree with a set of Lone wolf sticks and a stand almost as fast as you can climb with a climber... and you don't have to find a climber friendly tree.