New summit openshot sd, broken out the box... disapointment
 

Well Ive been looking at the open shot and the lone wolf stands for archery.. finally bit the bullet and ordered a openshot sd. Got it out the box, assembled it, was pretty stoked, its a little small but It makes up for it in weight savings. Hiked into the woods just to do some glassing, and sit a while/ fine tune things, got it on the tree and noticed a 4" crack where the tubing bender flares the pipe back to accomadate/ weld in the teeth and bracing. Started looking a little harder, some welds were not that impressive, and fit in finish over all not so good, seat bar is warped, and some areas are not powder coated all the way. I took pics and contacted summit via e mail... Then called as I got no reply.. "O yea we got your e mail, well go ahead and drop ship out a new one". Still giving them the benefit of the doubt, 4 days later I get a return label to send back my old one. Call them up... "your new stand hasnt shipped yet, there were none on hand and one had to be made". (Really? Really?!) I requested the new one be inspected before shipping, cause I put my life on the line using their product. With a snippy tone I was told it will be on its way soon, and I will be e mailed the shipping info. Keep yall updated, it may be for sale and I might go look into lone wolfs just for the fact that this was a pain, and customer service gos along way in my eyes. Sorry for the rant lol :rant:

Hate to hear of your troubles with Summit. FWIW, my dealings with them have been excellent.

Well heres my update as promised. I recieved my replacement stand 10 days after contacting summit (6 biz days Mon-fri). Lots of differences in these two stands. I wont elaborate, I still have some small complaints on fit and finish on the replacement stand. I took this stand out and climbed in it this evening. (this is my full review of it as its suppost to function, and things I encountered) It sets up easy and packs light. Ive never used the quick stir-ups and they worked well. The back pack straps are like all other stands, not so great, but the stand dosent weigh anything so very tolerable. It was 92 out and I was sweating, this made for a some what difficult ascend as where you grip the top half is right near the cables. With my full weight on the top, I felt some slip from sweat. If your planning on a hot season hunt, might wanna look elsewhere. When I reached 17' I was impressed at the view. A bow hunters dream, Ide imagine shooting sitting being very easy. Standing similar but your elbow might get too close to the tree on the draw. I felt pretty secure, the platform is small, standing with seat up I have some room, but sitting my toes are on the edge. The two halfs dont "clank" together like Ive read on some other summit reviews while back packing, but again the top weighs nothing. If you were to bump the top half while set up I could see it dislodging from the tree easy. I was even scared to hang a water bottle from it as it may tip. It has no weight to the top so easily influenced. I climbed a harder bark tulip tree. Ill try again and secure the top with the supplied strap to prevent it from coming loose, or God forbid falling off. Definately will take a fair amount of practice in this stand. Additional notes; Im 6' tall @ 210#. I could see someone larger than I having more issues, as again its a smaller stand.

Try a Leverage stand! They are awesomeeeeeeee! http://www.leveragetreestands.com/

I have been looking for ladder stands. Have not had any luck finding American made (not assembled).

I looked at these but, for my purposes, seat is too small, no arms or gun rail. I realize these are made for moving and light weight. They should look into making something a bit heavier for a more permanent install. They look like a quality product.

Any suggestions other than Family Tradition. Probably worth the money but, when you have to buy three, too expensive.

<- on my second tree stand (climber) and going to look at the lone wolfs this weekend hopefully lol. Also on the summit box at the bar code it says "assembled in usa" so... not really sure where its made.

Been dealing with Summit for years and never had anything but great support. Surprised to hear of your experience? Been hunting one of the original fold up models (Back Packer) and although the top portion is light never had it fall. Spent some time in a new model last year and found it as dependable as the old ones. Have several friends with them and nothing but good reports. Hope you work out the kinks and be safe...

Another update, Decided to climb again tonight with the replacement stand. I put some one inch foam around the hand climber rails where your forarm contacts it, and then hit it with some cloth/ camo tape and a few zip ties as directed by a bass pro shops review I read. Made a world of difference. Also helped my sweaty palms some. No idea why they wouldnt do this from the factory? I attached my HME bow holder to the platform, worked suitable. Took some shots from about 14' up, both sitting and standing. No issues with being close to the tree. Sitting shots were very comfortable and accurate, my knees actually got in the way more than any other issue. I did knock the top half loose.. while climbing down and reaching up for my harness to slide it down some, my torso pushed up on the top half and it fell to my feet. (again earlier in my reviews I said it so light you cant hang a bottle of water from it). Guess Im going to stick it out with this stand. I think it will work alright, maybe my hopes were set too high for a hand climber as they are more of a chore than alot realize. And I started out this post with a bad taste in my mouth about summit. Again I was set on one for bowhunting as its all I do, and I wanted pack-ability. Probably going to add other back pack straps.

General Summit Questions
Where are Summit Treestands Made?
We have two production facilities in Decatur Alabama. All final welding, powder coating, inspection and boxing occurs in one of the two facilities. Some parts are sourced from overseas. All imported parts are spec'd to our very high standards and inspected thoroughly before use.

We have been building stands in Decatur since 1981. Our main office including management, engineering, customer service and shipping are also located in Decatur.

(answers the assembled in usa part... wonder what parts are sourced over seas?)

Glad to hear you worked it out... My stasnd has the bar across the front which allows me to "set it" upon reaching the desired height. With your begining the open front I'm thinking it is lighter and more difficult to set. If you were to place a bungee cord once in place around the tree attached to the climber I'm thinking it would help? I know We used to do that with some other stands years ago. Keep practicing and don't forget to wear your harness. Good Luck