Climber Opinions

Hey everyone. Last year I lucked into a few good buys and picked up my first compound and crossbow, and plan on getting out for the first time archery hunting this year. I like the idea of being able to move around to different spots, so I decided I will be buying a climber soon. I've been looking at the Summit Viper which seems to be a pretty decent price, looks to have everything I want, and as a bonus is made in the good old USA. Just wonderd if you guys had any opinions on this stand. Thanks

I have a Summit Viper and it is a very stable, comfortable stand.  The only drawback is that it is a little bulky and packs akwardly, which can be a pain if you plan on trudging through any thick stuff.   

Thanks guys. By open shot model I'm guessing that means it doesn't have the bar across the front? While I have read a few reviews that the rail can get in the way of a close shot sometimes, I believe I would feel a little more comfortable with the rail in front of me as I have taken the ride out of a tree when I was younger with bad results.

dpms, you are right about the price on some of those fixed stands. One of the local stores has a sale just about every year where you can pick up what they call a 2 person for about $50. I'm definitly sold on the climber for mobility reasons, but I've kicked around the idea of purchasing one of these fixed stands to put out behind my parents house so as not to have to lug the stand in every time, and after reading these comments about the climber beind kind of a pain to pack in through thick brush (it's REAL thick back there) I may purchase the cheap fixed stand as well.

Wear some kind of safety belt or harness and ditch the bar. They are nothing but trouble for a verticle bow shooter. It doesn't matter if your in a climber or ladder stand. If your using a rifle or perhaps crossbow they are fine.

Being someone who never wore any safety equipt until near age fifty and then just a pair of old car seat belts bolted together I am no expert but I bought a vest with the straps built in a few years ago and other than being a bit heavy they are real easy to get in and out of . About $120 as I recall. Most sporting stores now have them. I tried the ones that come with some stands but spent too long getting them on correctly. Just my 2c

Crappy--It's called the Hunter Safety System, a bit pricey but worth it IMO

I wear the Seat of the Pants harness and like it. I think Summits may even come with those now. All treestands sold include a 5 pt. harness although most freebies are pretty cheap models. One of these days I'll spring for the HSS system; maybe when I get old like S-10 and have trouble figuring it out in the pre dawn darkness!

There are some stands out there that have a removable shooting rail or one that rotates down to become a footrest but I like to minimize myself and the less stuff on it, the easier/lighter it is to carry in and out and the easier/quieter it is to set up.

Most definitely get an aluminium model. Don't go cheap and get a steel one if you plan on using it regularly to pack in and out.

I started with pole climbers and tree limbs in the fifties, home made climbers in the 60's, went to Bakers and did the quick decend out of a couple of them, went to Loggy and had to shinney down a couple trees and get a ladder to retrieve the stand, went to hang ons with screw-in steps, then with the strap on steps. Now in my old age as Eyes calls it I use mostly hang ons with climbing sticks and have just started to use a couple ladder stands.

Since I primarily hunt SGLs, screw in steps are/were always out of the question..

are the strap ons that safe and easy to put on and climb ???

thought about trying them once but decided they may not be that easy to install or safe for climbing 15-20 up a tree ???

thoughts ??

think I'll stay with what I got as long as I can still use the stand-up==sit-down climber I have and the ladder stands...

thanks

I use lockons with both screw ins, and several climbing sticks. But mostly I go with my summit climber. The summit is so comfortable, I use it whenever possible. I almost dread sitting in those lockons anymore. Sometimes the site dictates it though.

The day I lost the bottom of the stand when climbing down, is the day I stopped using a climber. I had to hang from the top and I could barely get my feet back in the bottom. I was 20+ feet in the air.

I like my climber stand in combo with safety harness,gives you an edge when you need to lean way out for a clear shot. and with landowners permission I occasionally will take my bashlin pole gafs and lineman's belt. with the pole gafs you can scale trees that climbers cant go without extensive limb removal and get high up if needed.

Hey Bloody- tie the top of the  back side of the bottom  of the climber to the top section  with a line kinda loose like. If the bottom falls again it will lock itself right back on when the line tightens. Been there too- dangerous.