RE: is a summit viper xls a good choice
Anything from Summit will be of excellent quality and would be a good choice. In the past 5 years I have used 3 different brands of climbers.....Summit Bushmaster, API Grand Slam Supreme, and my current climber is the Lone Wolf Alpha Sit & Climb. The other two stands are now expendable since I bought the Lone Wolf. Each stand had its advantages/disadvantages over the other. What it boiled down to was purely personal preference.....what I like/dislike in a climbing stand.
I would suggest for you to either try some of your friends climbing stands out or go to a sporting goods store where you can compare stands side by side and make your own choice.