I'm heavily leaning towards picking up a climber for this season's hunting.  I made do last year with a very inexpensive hang on stand. And while it worked pretty well, setting it up was slow and with an all steel stand + steel climbing sticks it was a bitch to carry in and back out.  Since I don't own my own property I move around between public land, managed hunts and private property available from a friend I think a lightweight, aluminum climber would be more in line with how I currently hunt.  Summit climbers seem very well reviewed, and I'm leaning towards the buy-once, cry-once plan.  My problem is the # of options.  Summit lists 10 different climbers for this year.  As I want something a little more substantial, I can immediately cross off some of the minimalist/ultra light designs, narrowing it down to the Viber, Titan or Goliath.  Which one of these?  From what I can tell, the Viper is the "standard" and the Titan/Goliath stands are the "large" version (but I'm not sure what's the difference between these two stands).  

For reference, I'm 5'7" and about 220, built kind of like a bald-headed, Irish fireplug.  The stand will be used for both bow and rifle hunting.  I'm open to other suggestions in the price range, if there are better options than Summit available.

I personally own the Goliath and I love it. Im 6'1" 265lbs and I feel very secure in it. The Goliath is heavier then the viper and has larger upper a lower platform. I think the Goliath is pretty equal to the Titan so it would come down to price. I found that bringing these into the woods in the dark can be noisy so I set mine up the night before when there is still light. When the brush or small tree branches hit the frame it makes a lot of noise. I tried foam tape but nothing seemed to help. Other then that these things are so comfortable and you may find yourself falling a sleep if you dont see any action.

I'm in the same boat as you finding myself on both private and public land. I use the summit viper and at 6' 165lbs it fits me very well. On private land I generally set it up the night before then shimmy up in the tree the next morning. It is very comfortable and feels secure. The rail is nice for gun season but I find I need to stand up for shots with the bow.

I haven't looked at their site lately, but I would get the Titan.

It's wider and should weigh very close to the Goliath.

That extra width is going to help keep noise down while you are in the stand because your body and clothes won't be pressing into the stand as hard.  That cuts down on noise and improves comfort.

I have the OpenShot and an older model 180.  I wish they had come out with the Goliath and Titan back when I bought the 180.

Even though I am 5' 8" and 165lbs, the clothes press on the 180 and create noise when I'm bundled up.  I only use it for gun hunting.

I have the goliath, and it's a great stand. The Titan is just a hair larger. No matter which one you choose, you'll be happy with it.......by far the most comfortable stand on the market.


They do have one issue though, and that is noise. They are very "clangy" going into and out of the woods. Every little branch that touches them, or your wedding ring, whatever....makes them ring like a bell. When you get yours, and before you assemble it, do yourself a favor and silence the thing, you will thank me later

1. Peel the shrink wrap off the cables and spray "plastidip" on them. It will last longer and be much quieter. It will still get torn up though, you will need to repeat this yearly.

2. Spray the whole stand down in plastidip then camo paint. The "quiet" coat they have on them sucks, plastidip is much better.

3. Spray the bungee cord ends down in plastidip that secure your seat around the tree. These invariable hit the stand when climbing and "pings" and makes a racket

4. Add adhesive traction pads to the foot area. Plastidip or not, the summit stands get slick as snot when they are wet, and ice up super fast being bare aluminum.

That will get you just about the ultimate hunting stand IMHO. I went one step further and filled the hollow tubes of the stand with rubber pellets, and then sealed the tubes with some expanding foam. This also helps, but isn't as substantial as the other steps. My goliath is now as "dead" as a lone wolf, but with the all day comfort of the summit stands. Love it!!!!

You might also want to look to put some MOLLE II backpack straps on whatever climber you get. Every stand comes with cheesy nylon straps that suck if you have to hike in very far.

A lot of good advice in the thread.  Initially I was thinking Viper, but now I'm probably going to go with a Goliath/Titan.  I imagine the extra room will be appreciated when I'm bundled up in late December.

One more question - I see a fair number of less expensive, steel climbers available for half of what a Summit costs.  I'm pretty frugal with most things, and I hate to pay for a label but I'm thinking this a case when you get what you pay for.  Am I right on this?

As a 5'11" 220lb male I went with the Viper.  Used it all last season without issue.  Unlike other posters mine is very quiet and a tap with my ring or bow barely makes a noise (though any metal on metal is not gonna sound natural, you know).  I felt very comfortable in mine be it sitting for hours at a time (fell asleep more than once..) and in the fact it could hold me without making me worry about falling out.  This was my first foray into climbing stands and Id gladly buy another Summit (if I ever needed).

Absolutely!! The summit stands are more than worth the premium. Few things you buy for hunting that your actual life depends on. Your tree stand is one of those.

Not only that, but the more comfortable you are, the more you hold still, and the longer you will hunt....both of which vastly increase your odds.

I came here to basically write this.  Good write up.

I will add one more thing.  If you really want to be cheap check out API Outdoors aluminum stand that weights 16 lbs.  Its a decent cheap climber.  I'm the kind of hunter that wants the lightest stand out there so I'm very weight consis.

I have a Summit Viper and all of the above applies. It is loud and I have been modifying it to quiet it down. The adhesive traction pads are absolutely necessary.

In addition, the plastic foot stirrups make an obnoxious squeaking noise when rubbed against wet rubber boots so you need to wrap them with hockey stick tape or something. I don't like them so I made something different out of aluminum.

It is light and works well but I prefer my older steel climbing stand and it gets more use than the Summit unless I'm hiking a long way into the woods.

I covered both of my Summits in THIS neoprene tape.

Worked great.

I also added water pipe insulators to the straps that came with my stands.  Tape them in place and they work great.  Super Cheap too.

My buddy used a neoprene tape like that, and it all separated and started looking bad in short order. The camo layer came off and was white underneath. It was nice when it was new though

Take a look at Treewalker Treestands.
They are a few inches wider than the Summits, and half a foot or more longer in knee room and platform.
Plus, they weight less, and bite into the tree better.

I love mine

Another vote for the Viper. I have a viper sd. Its light, and easy to set up. Quite comfortable too. I often wonder how many deer I miss because I'm sleeping. That seat is like a bucket, and you just get all warm and pass out. My only complaint is that I wish the teeth on it were sharper. I almost slide completely down a sweetgum last year. I just only climb oaks and pines now.

Hereis a good price.

I have the viper ss and love it. I did take the paint off the teeth otherwise it squeaked on cold days also repainted it and filled it with spray foam

I did the same thing with my Summits.  I think it was even suggested in the DVD that was supplied with the stand.

The question I have about the spray foam is... Does it really get into every internal nook and cranny ?

If that neoprene tape ever wears off, I may look into the foaming solution.  The neo. tape is still going strong after almost 10 years so...

This thread is relevant to my interests. I just got the mini viper! My first climber. Hadn't tried it out yet, watched a lot of youtube videos.



The backstraps leave a lot to be desired, esp once the seat is on it. I got a molle frame straps and hip belt. I'm going to rig something more comfortable. I'm not sure if I will just use the straps, or strap the whole shebang to the molle frame. I can turn it around that way so the cable parts go around me. I am planning on using rubber or pipe insulation around the straps to cut down on noise and to maintain tension and keep it tight as I walk.

I have 2 api lightweight ladder stands. They are very very comfortable. Not as portable as a climber but they set up rather quickly for a ladder stand. I don't think they make them anymore.

Never used the titan but I love the Goliath!!! I'm 6'4" 300 and it has held up great. The bar around the front of the stand can cause some complications for bow hunting but they can be overcome.  The bar sure makes climbing easier than the open faced models.

I have the Viper SD and I love it. I'm 5'10" and 190. I haven't had any problems lugging it into or out of the woods since most of my hunting is done on public land(don't want to leave it out there, as I suspect it would disappear).

I have a Titan and LOVE it. I'm 5'9" 240lbs so the extra room is great, especially in late season when I've got more layers on. I had a Summit Viper that I used for a decade before it finally wore it out. Due to the Titan's extra room, I'm more comfortable and can sit longer than I did in my old one.

I routinely carry it in/out and it's not a big deal. I bought the better backpack straps from Summit which make it a breeze. I do make it a point to cinch everything up tight when I pack it to carry. That makes a big difference in the amount of noise the stand makes while walking in/out. As long as I've done it right, there is zero noise from the stand. It's also very quiet when hunting. The only noise then is from the footrest that can flop around. A piece of tape or a zip tie will solve that for you.

This is my 12th season hunting with a Summit climber and I will be very hard pressed to own another brand of climbing stand in the future.

So I ordered a Titan.  Should be here pretty soon.  If it makes it before Saturday, maybe I can take it out this weekend.

Good deal !

File the paint off of the teeth and cinch the two halves down tight, as mentioned earlier in the thread, to eliminate noise while walking in and squeaking while on stand.

Good luck this weekend.

Titan is here!  First impressions - this is a big stand, wow it's light and the seat is very cushy  My first mod will be adding some traction tape on the lower platform.  Do people just use skateboard tape from the local sporting goods store, or are there better options out there?

I used the neoprene tape which I linked in anearlier post.

You could spray Plasti-Dip on the places you stand and would possibly hit with your gun / release / range finder / etc.

Here is a quick tip on how to work with your stand in the wild and challenging positions you may find with using your climber.

( I have adjusted my quick trigger summit stand while way up in a tree.  Use a bungie cord to hold the 'trigger' open, as well as two tethers for the platform and you will be just fine to adjust the level while up there. )

I used 2" 3M Ladder Tape and then sprayed over it and in the bottom of the stand sections with Rustoleum Pro Undercoating. It definitely takes a good couple days for the smell of the undercoating to dissipate so don't spray it on the day before you go hunting.

I electrical taped the armrest cushion down in a few spots and the zip ties don't secure it well

I took my Titan out this weekend still as it came from the factory.  I've had some trouble finding the neoprene camo tape in stock anywhere, and since it was still nice weather, I decided to go hunting instead of going out to the store for some non-skid tape  Definitely a learning curve on working this stand up a tree, but once I had the hang of it I was able to move it up to a hunting height without much trouble.  I will add the motion to release the bottom stand then pick up with your legs really works the core muscles, and it let me know I'd been slacking off in my gym visits.