you are right,we are all different.one thing i learned as you get older,MORE ROOM WHICH MEANS MORE COMFORT is no.1 to me.yes, you can say weight of stand is no. 1 but if its that heavy, i will use cart to haul it around.i need cart anyhow to haul my buck out.so to me,weight of few pounds difference is not problem.
without knowing a lot about climbing stand, if i weigh say 210 pds and my stand was rated for 250,i would still go to one that is rated for 300/350..
so bigger to me to certain degree is better.
lately you can see that summit is going bigger with new TITAN.even small hunters are buying it and like more room even tho it may not be best size for what they want to do.
its like LONE WOLF stands,unless you get real wide one in seat it is not comfortable.then you have to get the SUMMIT surround seat to make it a great stand.
you could get SUMMIT stands with surround seat but they are little heavier by 2 pds or so but over 100 dollars cheaper.
both have different things that we like or dislike including price and both are very safe stands from what i read.
i am buying the SUMMIT 180 MAX as of now unless someone changes my mind.the price may be $259 on monday.dont know yet.
i am not fan of climbing stand having it so easy with my ladderstands but the LS is not working anymore on publicland here in wmu2g and i have to be able to move quick if i am going to get chance at buck now with herd reduction .

so i hope the climber is going to be good thing for me .we had 2 local guys die this year with climbing stands. both did not have safety belt on and both fell asleep and fell out both DID NOT HAVE RAIL ON FRONT.i am getting the RAIL on mine no ifs buts or ands and using my safety harness.
these deaths make you a little worried and both were younger than me......
if anyone wants to chime in if i am making a good move or bad one, feel free to comment.will make my decision easier as i was never a fan of climbing treestands................