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11-04-2004, 01:50 PM
#2
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Omaha Nebraska USA
Posts: 530
RE: Opinions on Summit Climbers
Hi Jim,
This site is full of of satisfied Viper owners, and a quick search will uncover many posts about them and the Pythons. I read them all and used them as a basis for buying the new Viper. I, however, am not as glowing on my review of it, as I posted on another thread and will include after these first few remarks.
For safety and comfort, Summit stands rank at or near the top. I can't complain about either. If those are your top concerns, which safety should be of course, then you can hardly go wrong. But other stands offer both as well. However, there are a few things that have caused me some aggravation with my Viper, which are:
I am a new Summit Viper owner, and I have to say that I have been a little bit frustrated with it. I bought mine on September 12th and have used it maybe 8 times so far.
They are very comfortable, but there are some draw backs that I have found that annoy me in the morning when I'm trying to set it up. The first are the three hooks on the two bungee cords that on this thing. There are two hooks on the bungee that attaches the seat back to the tree and one on the bungee that you use for locking you feet into the stirrups. They simply get caught on everything while you're trying to unpack it and get it set up. I am constantly fighting those things and cussing them under my breath as I try to get it packed or unpacked. Other stands have hooks as well, I realize, but they tend to stay out of the way. On the Viper you have to pull the seat through the bottom stand when you pack it up and unpack it. While doing that, the hooks catch on everything on the stands and make a small racket to boot.
The climbing cables are nice, but they bend in every direction with equal ease, so trying to get them wrapped around the tree and grabbing them on the other side can be a bit of a chore, because they want to bend downward and not necessarily swing easily around the tree. Maybe I was spoiled with the old metal band of my Loggy. It only flexed one way so getting it to swing around the tree was a breeze.
The other small complaint I have shouldn't really be a complaint, because it speaks to their safety, but the 'V' bars grip so well into the tree that you sort of have to fight it sometimes (probably 50% of the time or more) to get it to let go of the tree while you're climbing. After wrestling with the hooks in the early morning, this is the sort of thing that just pushes me closer to the edge of frustration.
However, to be fair, when I finally get it up in the tree and sit down, I start to forget about my frustration as I sit in a seat more comfortable than many chairs in my house.
That's my 2 cents. I was hoping that the Viper would be my last treestand, but I don't know if that's the case or not. The bad part about buying treestands any more is that there are few places that will actually let you 'test drive' a couple. They're all hanging up on a pole in the show room and all you can do is look at them.
-Brad
PS. One other small frustration is that the climbing cables stick out from your back and below your butt as you're backpacking the thing, and if you're hunting rough terrain with a lot of deadfall, small saplings, thick brush, etc. they tend to get caught on this stuff every now and then, yanking you backwards and throwing you off balance.
This site is full of of satisfied Viper owners, and a quick search will uncover many posts about them and the Pythons. I read them all and used them as a basis for buying the new Viper. I, however, am not as glowing on my review of it, as I posted on another thread and will include after these first few remarks.
For safety and comfort, Summit stands rank at or near the top. I can't complain about either. If those are your top concerns, which safety should be of course, then you can hardly go wrong. But other stands offer both as well. However, there are a few things that have caused me some aggravation with my Viper, which are:
I am a new Summit Viper owner, and I have to say that I have been a little bit frustrated with it. I bought mine on September 12th and have used it maybe 8 times so far.
They are very comfortable, but there are some draw backs that I have found that annoy me in the morning when I'm trying to set it up. The first are the three hooks on the two bungee cords that on this thing. There are two hooks on the bungee that attaches the seat back to the tree and one on the bungee that you use for locking you feet into the stirrups. They simply get caught on everything while you're trying to unpack it and get it set up. I am constantly fighting those things and cussing them under my breath as I try to get it packed or unpacked. Other stands have hooks as well, I realize, but they tend to stay out of the way. On the Viper you have to pull the seat through the bottom stand when you pack it up and unpack it. While doing that, the hooks catch on everything on the stands and make a small racket to boot.
The climbing cables are nice, but they bend in every direction with equal ease, so trying to get them wrapped around the tree and grabbing them on the other side can be a bit of a chore, because they want to bend downward and not necessarily swing easily around the tree. Maybe I was spoiled with the old metal band of my Loggy. It only flexed one way so getting it to swing around the tree was a breeze.
The other small complaint I have shouldn't really be a complaint, because it speaks to their safety, but the 'V' bars grip so well into the tree that you sort of have to fight it sometimes (probably 50% of the time or more) to get it to let go of the tree while you're climbing. After wrestling with the hooks in the early morning, this is the sort of thing that just pushes me closer to the edge of frustration.
However, to be fair, when I finally get it up in the tree and sit down, I start to forget about my frustration as I sit in a seat more comfortable than many chairs in my house.
That's my 2 cents. I was hoping that the Viper would be my last treestand, but I don't know if that's the case or not. The bad part about buying treestands any more is that there are few places that will actually let you 'test drive' a couple. They're all hanging up on a pole in the show room and all you can do is look at them.
-Brad
PS. One other small frustration is that the climbing cables stick out from your back and below your butt as you're backpacking the thing, and if you're hunting rough terrain with a lot of deadfall, small saplings, thick brush, etc. they tend to get caught on this stuff every now and then, yanking you backwards and throwing you off balance.
11-04-2004, 02:05 PM
#4
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Morgantown, WV
Posts: 808
RE: Opinions on Summit Climbers
I use the Viper. It's a wonderful stand, gribs any tree really well even when wet. Seat is very comfortable as well. By far the best climber I've ever used. Much more stable than my Loggy Bayou.
11-04-2004, 02:08 PM
#5
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: St. Mary\'s County Maryland USA
Posts: 393
RE: Opinions on Summit Climbers
I have a summit cobra and I hate it!!!! It's too small and not very comfy to sit in. The piece that you use to stand up/sit down that moves out of the way doesn't go high enough, meaning that it's tough to get under. It's noisy and IMO a piece of junk.
I wish I hadn't sold my last climber (won't mention it so people don't think I'm advertising). I'm planning on selling this one and buying a brand new one, just like my old one. My old one you climbed with your hands, like doing a dip, I'll get one with a sit down bar so at least I'll have some improvement.
I wish I hadn't sold my last climber (won't mention it so people don't think I'm advertising). I'm planning on selling this one and buying a brand new one, just like my old one. My old one you climbed with your hands, like doing a dip, I'll get one with a sit down bar so at least I'll have some improvement.
11-04-2004, 05:04 PM
#6
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Indiana, PA
Posts: 220
RE: Opinions on Summit Climbers
wow, i have honestly never heard anybody have a complaint about a summit i just bought my seconed one this year i owned a viper for 5 years and this year got a goliath ( i am a large framed hunter haha) it is just a larger version of the viper i am 100% pleased with every aspect of it i think the engineers are very inteligent and the addition to the rapid climb sturrups was brilliant, i would reccomend a summit to anybody and when it comes to safety they just cant be beat.
11-05-2004, 04:57 AM
#9
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Seymour, IN
Posts: 59
RE: Opinions on Summit Climbers
I have a viper as well. I wouldn't give it up for anything. It is easy to setup and pretty darn quiet if you take your time. You can make it noisy if you want to rush. As far as a 3 hook problem...my stand must be a bit older. The only 2 hooks on mine are the ones that wrap the seat back around the tree. I wrap those around the seat and metal bar twice and dont have a problem with it catching. Dont have to pull the seat through either to pack or unpack this way. Only thing I have had to do was replace the bungie that goes behind your feet. Summit sent me a foot strap kit for free... got it in 2 days. As far as the cables, I always unhook the cable closest to me and then dont have to fight with reaching around to much. Did I also mention, that the thing is not t heavy to pack as well. I think 18lbs. I picked up my buddy's tree lounge, and see why he wont climb some of the ridges like I do. I think you would be happy with your choice. Last thing, is my seat is inflatable. The bottom air bag is seperate from the top and you can adjust either pretty quickly for comfort. No foam to get nasty and breakdown over time.