TeeJay

I own a climber.....hate it. It is a older one, but ya climb a tree and then you cant even sit in it without your feet pointing at the ground. The tree gets smaller towards the top and then you have to readjust, pain in the arse. Under certain conditions yes they work great, for a all around stand i would take a hang on.

Rammer

The 2 man took about 20 minutes to put together with air tools. My dad and I put the legs on it in the field, then we lifted it up an put it against the tree. It wasn't bad at all to put up, as long as you have a buddy help ya we had it up and ready in 5 minutes.

SilverBullets

i have a older climber to, unless u hunt in a area with good strait trees, do not get a climber cuz u wont be able to use it very well, id get a big hang on stand if i was u!

ButchA

Climbers have their benefits. Their mobility is the greatest aspect to them. The downside is you have to have a straight tree.

As far as stability and downward angle of the platform, etc... You have to set it up at the trunk so the top section and bottom/platform section are both at an angle so the ends are higher then the teeth section that bites into the tree. As you climb, and the tree gets narrower, the stand will equal out and balance out and be perfectly stable and squarely aligned to the tree.

I love my Summit Viper X4 and won't leave home without it!

TeeJay

I have tried all that butch, the problem is where i hunt up here in MN all the trees taper to much or they have to many limbs. I have found a few big Norwaus up north they work good in but around home a oak, a 30 ft pine or a maple just dont cut it. I stick with my hang ons. Under 50 lbs. for the stand and 20 ft of climbing stick. Yes i will set it up about as quick as most poeple will get a tree with a climber, and definetly get down quicker.

danimal9

I have 3 treestands, a ladder stand, strap-on stand and a climber.

Since I moved, I don't have a place to hunt with the ladder stand, since it is a 2-3 person job to put this one up, therefore it stays in the garage collecting dust.

I reallllly do not like climbing trees or using the screw-in steps. However the strap-on stand is very light and is useful in a few places where I hunt. It has a small platform which is great for carrying threw the woods, but isn't so nice once you are up in the tree. Therefore it also collects a lot of dust.

The climber that Ihave is a Summit Viper.At 21lbs, it really isn't bad to carry into the woods (Idid replace the carry straps with good quality padded straps). If youare not familier withthis stand, it does havethe bar in front of you.You sit on this bar asyou ascend/descend the tree. The bar also serves as a rifle/bow rest.

Now as for it being in the wayfor bowhunting....It hasn't been sofar, you just have to plan ahead a little bit and set the seat a little lower, so when you stand up the bar is below your bow. Two weeks ago, I didn'teven stand up to shoot the doe, so the bar wasn't and issue then either.

I also like the bar in front of me to add a little security while in the tree.

I hope this helps..