I had my first experience with my Viper this past Saturday. It was so windy that I probably should have still hunted instead of sitting in the stand, but at least I got some experience in. I learned that I hung my pack up too high and it blocked my “rear left view”, which cost me a doe that I should have had. I stayed in the stand all day (dark to dark), and probably stood for about 4 or 5 20-minute sessions. I could not believe how comfortable the Viper is. You’re talking to a guy that can’t sit still in a movie theater for more than 10 minutes without getting shifty. Pretty amazing.

The thing I am trying to figure out is “in and out logistics.” I set up my stand the night before, then rode my bike in the next morning with my gun and my pack on my back (it’s about a mile and a half into this spot). When I was done hunting and packed up the climber and my pack and gun together, I could not handle the way the climber distributed the weight across my upper back/lower neck (painful and would have probably caused some neck/back issues had I gone the whole way back like that). Once I got my gear back to the path, I dumped the stand and just road my bike back to the car to drop off my gun and pack, the rode back to pick up the stand. That was a royal PITA.

I have to say that I can’t imagine “sneaking” through the woods under cover of darkness with that stand on my back, and being able to “quietly” unpack and set it up. I feel like I climbed pretty quietly, but again, it was all set up from the night before. So, I kinda have mixed feelings about it. I really did like being up there and being able to see so far out. That is one heck of an advantage.