I am also from the Albany N.Y area and hunt exclusively State land. Don't be fooled there is a lot of it in NY. I have taken many nice bucks here. This year I shot a really nice 6 point. 9" G2's, 16 spread. Last year a nice 8 scored about 110".. not monsters according to Pike co., but nice non the less. I have a Summit Viper XLS. Great stand.. you can't go wrong. But, hunting State land is a different game and you have to be prepared to hike long distances to get out of the crowd and even a 19 pounds it gets real heavy around that 1 mile mark. I just bought the Timbertall Baby Lite. 12 pounds. I would sacrifice comfort for mobility and ease of use. I will keep you posted. I am going to use it during the late season where you have to get into those thick thick areas. But you made a good decision with the Viper for all around hunting.

JoeQuiver