Summit facts and opinions:

As if with everything, one needs to figure out the best way to use it and work around it’s shortcomings. Little problems: Get over it, nothing is perfect.

-Wrap the seat cushion bungee around the top section arms and connect in front, when climbing or preparing to climb, to keep from inadvertant hooking. Remove one of the S-hooks from the bungee if you still don’t like it.(Remember, that S-hook can be used on your bow pull-up rope to grab a release or glove etc. if you drop it from the stand!)

-The foot straps are cumbersome and loud when stepped on while in stand. Get the fast climb stirrups and be happy. They work and are indestructable.

-Order aftermarket padded shoulder straps; I have the ones from Summit and they are awesome. Well worth the $18 if you have to walk any distance, or hunt early when you only have a T-shirt on.

-Always push the cables in past the last lug when preparing to pack it out/in. It keeps them from rattling in the frames.

-When attaching to the tree, release the cable nearest to yourself and wrap around the tree so you can reach it easily. If you can’t, you may need to adjust the cable on the far side of the tree.

-The stand grips the tree so well that sometime you may need to point your toes down and twist to the left or right to loosen it from the tree bark to ascend or descend.

-If your looking at the Viper; get the Goliath! You don’t have to have it but the extra room is worth much more than the $20 price difference! I wish I would have got it instead.

-The top portion of your stand can be used to attach to the base of trees for hunting off the ground for turkey or deer. It’s much more comfy than sitting on the ground!

-It’s much easier to carry a fanny pack in/out if you strap it to your stand.

-Comfort while in stand is very important to me. (Outweighing packing weight). I would rather have a slightly heavier stand on the hike in/out than one that is less comfortable for many hours on stand.

Cool post shadow. One thing I like is the summit bags that strap to the arm rests, and you don't need a fanny pack. I bought the sturups but i can't get my boot under them, I left the sturups on but I use the old straps.

I have the goliath X4 and don't use the stirrups, I think they are too flimsy and don't offer enough control over the stand so I made a modifacation as deplicked in the photo below. I left the stirrups on as a backup in case a strap became disabled and to hold the heel strap from sliding down the rail. Works great.

Shadow, great post. I had a problem with the climbing straps on my viper. I had posted this picture awhile back of my poor mans solution. Just had to throw my 2 cents in. [8D]

I just bought the cobra X4 and I like its backpacking features and the comfortable seat. I just like alittle more room in my stand than what I have with the cobra. And the climbing stirrups take aliitle getting used to as well.

I use the bar that the stirrups attach to, when climbing up and down. I don't like the straps and bungees. Its too hard to get my feet in them. I have the Cobra, the only thing I don't like is the seat comes out so far, that it doesn;t give you much room on the base to turn when standing up. But the seat is comfortable.

Chad

I have the Viper with climbing straps but my cousin has the Goliath with the stirrups. We were both skeptical about the stirrups but after trying them out, we have both decided that they are the way to go for us. I hate the noise that the straps make when you stand on them so I'm going to be buying some of the stirrups ASAP. Oh, my cousin wears a size 15 boot so they can work with large feet. As you can see in the pic, I have the side bags also, but I've found that they flap around when walking and hit the side of the stand. No problem unless you have something like calls or binocs in there to clang on the metal. They also seemed to be poorly made as the stitching fell apart completely on one of them. I like the way this fanny pack has 2 straps that run vertically so you can thread them under the bar of the stand. It's easier to carry on your back than around your waist when you are carryind a stand. Just my .02.

My last stand was an API shooting star, as I stated before I like I lot of room in my stand and thats prob. one of the few things I miss about that stand. My API last me thru many years of rough hunting. I hope my Sunnit Cobra does as well!

I use a Summit Goliath (very pleased with that climber) i bought a pair of small camoed field pouches from Wal-Mart (only because the original by summit were out of stock by mail orders just before the opener) , anyway i modified them to be used as side bags, i believe they are made by Field Line , i used a small bungee type cord the kind that has the plastic ball on the end to keep the bags from flopping around, also as far as shoulder pads i took some of that foam tubing you wrap around pvc and put that around the shoulder straps, i overlapped them with an extra piece and just wrapped them tight with electrical tape, made packing the stand a whole lot easier, it actually felt as if it knocked off a few pounds while packing it around.

good post. You also offer some helpful tips and I agree about the Goliath. A little more room = much more comfort, especialy for a little larger people.