Take a long, hard look at the Equalizer. I have one, and have hunted with it for about 5 years now. I also have an old iron Summit that I had from before the Equalizer. I haven't used it since .
The Equalizer is reasonibly comfortable and light to carry, and the backpack shoulder straps do not cut off your arm circulation. It is also a very easy stand to climb with. I don't end up sweating and spreading scent all over the place like I did with my summit.
The Equalizer can be very quiet to climb with, but if you get in a hurry it can be loud...if you bang the cables around putting it on the tree.
The leveling feature is outstanding. Simply outstanding.
The down side to the stand...the seat can get uncomfortable after a few hours sitting...but so can a lot of others. The shoulder straps broke on my stand after a few years at the point where they come together and attach to the loop that holds them to the lower foot section of the stand. I got my mom to sew it back up with heavy duty denim thread and haven't had problems since. Also, the rubber straps that hold the seat on can get cut if you stow the stand wrong, and the metal portions of these rubber straps can be noisy. To stop the noise, you can put some shrink tube over the metal portion...problem fixed. If the rubber breaks...you can buy a set from equalizer...or do what my brother did and sew up a few pieces of elastic material to replace the rubber straps. That stops the noise and the breakage problems.
The stand works great for a bow or gun. For rifles and muzzleloaders, invest in the shooting rail. (you can take it on and off) Take off the "back piece/rest", throw it away, and pad the metal bars with some foam piping insulation and some camo tape. Then you have one heck of a shooting rail when you want to install it.
Sorry for the long post, but I love this stand.
Last edited by BowBuilder; 11-06-2009 at 10:58 AM.