Buying a new climbing stand
 

I'm gonna soon buy a new climbing stand ... I've been shopping around and I'm pretty set on Summit and I'm either gonna go with the Viper or Goliath, one guy i talked to said dont go with the goliath cause its too big and another said absolutly go with the goliath because of comfort, so if yall have any experience with this i would greatly appreciate it, I plan to bowhunt and rifle hunt out of it

I've been looking at Cabela's, Bass Pro, and Summit's website and they are all about the same price wise ... Anyone know of other places to shop around for the best price? :help:

BTW been reading readings reviews on both and they both have really good reviews

I have been hunting out the same Viper for close to 10 years now. I love it. Its all i hunt out of. I just move it around all season. Extremely durable. I will leave it up all season some years. As for weight, I hunt private land so I don't carry mine very far but it's pretty lightweight. Just move it around by ATV. I'm sure the Goliath is more comfortable but Viper is very comfortable as well.

I love my viper and the sportsman guide had the best price.

I have a Goliath and have a similar situation to Spectator as I don't pack it around a lot but as far as comfort, I can sit all day in mine, which is a first for me.

I have a Goliath, and I love it. I'm 6'3 and about 240, so the extra space makes it very comfortable. I've owned mine for about 5 years now, the only things I've had to do is upgrade the seat (squirrels chewed up the old one) and buy a new set of cables. The stand itself is still in great shape, it's relatively light and simple to set up. No complaints about a summit here.

completely forgot about them ... I check em out for sure

Viper for sure. Make sure to get the aluminum frame.. Don't screw up like I did and get the steel.

from what i read the goliath is exactly like the viper, only 2" wider .. one guy said that 2" was too much, and another said that 2" makes a huge difference and that even though the viper is very comfortable the goliath is even better ... i just looked and there is only a 1 lb weight difference between the two

does the bar in front get in the way with a bow?

Not on Viper. I'm sure Goliath either.

As far as the bar goes, I do have to make an extra effort to situate the bottom platform so that it doesn't restrict where I can shoot with a bow. If setup right it's not a problem, I almost always pull back a practice draw to make sure the bow limbs will clear.

I've never had issues with the Goliath.

I have hunted my father in laws Goliath and I loved it, very comfortable, not bad to hike with. Easy setup and easy climbing.

I have a pretty much brand new viper I'm about to put up for sale. Only been up a few trees.


BROWN FIN

any treestand less than 30lbs or so is gonna be easy enough to get in and out of the woods.

the trick to bowhunting out of these type of treestands is to set them pretty close together on the tree so that your legs are fairly bent, that way when you stand up your bow will easily clear the stand even if your shooting almost straight down.

Both the viper and the goliath are great, If your a skinny little fella go with the viper. If your like me and can attach wide load warning signs you will choose the goliath.

Either way a great stand.

one word of caution make sure you attach a rope from the top to the bottom part of the stand... you really dont want to be stuck up a tree one day when the bottom falls 15 feet and your sitting on the top.,. trust me on this one.. :)

Lol yeah had that happen to one of the guys in our group. Lucky we had radios I had to climb up and bring him the lower platform. He now has para cord and carabiners attaching the top to the bottom

PM sent

yea I've heard horror stories about that!! lol

I'm 6'1" 230, so im by no means small, but I know several guys my size or even a little bigger that hunt out of a viper so i think ill be good either way, but just wanted to get the better for me since they are almost the same price

Like they said earlier, positioning with the top and bottom will make clearing the rail easy. Make sure to tie together.. Falling out that tree ruined me.
Go ahead and invest in a good safety system to.

I hunted out of a Viper for several years, right up till the time I bought my Equalizer treestand. Once you hunt out of an Equalizer, you will either leave the Summit in the garage or sell it. You can adjust the level of the Equalizer as you climb the tree. You don't have to guess about the proper angle at the bottom of the tree and end up either too steep or too low once you get to your desired height. The Equalizer adjusts as you go up or you can just make one adjustment once you get to where you want to sit.

Also, the Equalizer is much more quiet than a Summit. The only time I would ever use my Summit after I bought the Equalizer was when I would take my step-son hunting with me. I simply hated using the Summit after purchasing the Equalizer.

The Equalizer is by far the best stand I have ever used and I have used all of them. You can find some good reviews on Archerytalk.com.

I believe the Equalizer is now sold by Buckshot treestands but I am not sure. I love them so much I am going to buy another just in case they ever stop making them.

Just checked that stand out... that looks very interesting. I always used to level my top portion if it was out of wack on the tree... but with this type of system seems like it would not be hard to level the top or bottom.

If i were still hunting a lot i would have to take a good look at this.

I have the Viper and like it a lot. However, this year I am going to buy the Goliath for the extra room. I don't have any problems with the Viper but the extra room would be nice on an all day sit. I bought a open front Summit for my son last year and I do not like it. He wanted it open for bowhunting and after hunting out of it he took over my viper because he didn't like it either. Much harder to climb with and I just don't feel as secure in it. I'm going to sell it this year. I own 10 different stands and the Viper is my favorite.

I bought a Viper last year and I was very, very happy with it. I bought mine off of eBay and got a pretty good deal on it.

Here's a new 2012 Viper for $220 (free shipping)...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2012-Summit-...item58a06314f0

Here's a new 2013 for $240 (free shipping)...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-2013-Sum...item1e7d9f4552

been hunting viper for 3 years and love it. can sit all day with no trouble.

i hunt the viper an just love it best climbing stand i have ever hunted out of