i have a viper xls which i got last year. i love it. as far as the saftely belt issue, with my experience with it, it can' t go anywhere besides next to your neck while climbing up the tree. kinda annoying but not hurting my neck like you said, just rubbing on my collar thats all. do you have it connected to the end of the black rope that goes around the tree? for the cable around the tree. i hold the stand with one hand and rest it on my knee, then unhook the one side of the cable and basically whip it around the tree then catch it and hook it up. then i put the top part on the stand on the bottom section and just reach around and grap the cable. hope you understood this, easier to show then explain i guess.

kevin