I am heading back to Illinois this year again in one month and want to buy a climber before i go. This year i could not afford the lease i had last year so i will be forced to hunt public land. Due to not bein able to leave your stand in some areas and wanting to be very mobile and get as far away from others as possible i need a climber. Light weight, comfortability and ease of set up and take down are my main concerns. I will pay more for the best!! I mainly bowhunt so i am assuming a stand that has the fold away front bar would be best.. I hunt 99% out of portable hangons so i could use some help in pickin out the best climber for my needs. I have looked at the lone wolf alpha sit and climb and the summit viper ss so far. What would you guys reccomend and why. Thanx for the help

No experience with Lone Wolf.

I own a Viper and a Goliath. Love both. The Goliath is a bit heavy though. That is why I bought the Viper. Don't know why I need two climbers, but.......

You will not be disappointed with the Summit Viper.

Just bought the Lonewolf Hand Climber. LOVE IT.

I have the Summit Goliath and I love it. I like the extra room in the stand and it's not too awful heavy.

if it was me I would would go with the summit bushmaster.... its roomy but yet still light.....It is also quick to get up a tree....

I have a Lone Wolf Alpha hand climber and an Alpha hang on with 4 sticks. Both are portable and if I had to choose one, I'd choose the hang on and climbing sticks. The hand climber is lighter but it limits the trees that I can climb. If I'm scouting and hunting in the same trip, I'll take the hang on/sticks. If I have a straight tree picked out, I'll take the hand climber.

I've had an equalizer for 4 years now and other than replacing the seat with a summit seat, I'd hunt from no other climber. The fact that you can adjust your level on the fly is a feature I'll never go without again.

I have the LW hand climber and I love it. One of the best hunting purchases I've made in recent years. I've even affixed a Gerber foldable hand pruning saw to the bottom of the seat so that I can cut small branches on my way up if I need to.

The stand is lightweight, very durable, and extremely quiet to hunt from.

My vote= LW!!

I have an old API, and summit (cabelas model)that I bought last year. The API is very quick up the tree, and backpacks much easier but the summit attaches to the tree much easier and is very comfortable ,especially on all day sits.

Do any of you guys have a problem with the front bar on some of these stands like the summits do? Anyone using the LW alpha sit and climb?