I have the summit Viper. I am pretty out of shape and to be honest with you I don' t have any problem climbing. When I am out of shape, I feel it the first time in my lower back but after the first time it is no problem. I once had my release fall out of my pocket just as I got to the top of the tree and I went back down 25 feet and got the release and climbed back up and was set up again in 20 minutes from the time I started climbing back down. And I am 50 pounds overweight and 36 (got to lose weight before october!!). It is a great stand. just never ever ever climb smooth bark trees. Because it will slip. It never fell on me but it is no fun to have it drop 2 inches every time you put weight on it. And ALWAYS wear the harness that comes with it even when climbing and decending. And they are not kidding when they tell you to use the strap that attaches the top piece (the piece you sit in) to the tree when you get to your hunting height. It will fall on almost any tree once you let weight off it if you don' t strap it on and then you find yourself sitting on the platform. It happened to me twice. Otherwise great treestand. You can bow hunt and gun hunt out of it if you put the part you sit in lower for bow and higher for gun. It is very stable, I once got caught in a sudden rainstorm no time to climb down and it felt very secure. I have fallen asleep it in numerous times. No way to fall out, you would have to stand up and jump out. It is very very comfortable like 6 -8 hour comfortable. Stand up every hour and you can sit there all day (except you will fall asleep). The seat is 3 inches of foam and it hangs from the frame so nothing is pushing on your butt. And it has a padded backrest too and even padded armrests. When you stand up it is very quiet, mine has no screws on it, it is all welded. It is also only 19 pounds and not too hard to carry although I wouldn' t want to go a couple miles with it. Hope this helps!