Summit Treestands Viper Steel Climbing Treestand

I’m actually writing this review from the stand itself and I have to say, I’m pretty comfortable. Took it out for the first time today and moved it around a couple times to different spots. The instructions were very easy to follow, it seems to be very well made, and it’s not as heavy as you’d think for being a steel stand. That being said, I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re hiking in more than a few miles (depends on the person I guess) but it’s steel and weight just comes with the territory. The shoulder straps that come with it aren’t the best and kind of uncomfortable but it gets the job done. Climbing with it is a breeze and I can get 25ft up a tree relatively quietly if I take my time. Once in the stand the seat it comes with is very comfortable, especially compared to my other ladder stand. I’ve sat all day today without any problems. It also feels rock solid on the tree once in place, and I feel even more secure with the supplied fall arrest harness. I choose summit over a few other lower priced stands just because of the name and I was not disappointed with the quality of it.Tl;dr, great first climber stand or budget stand. Summit is known for putting out good products and they continue to do that with the Viper Steel.

I hunt all season long. Two years ago I decided to try a climbing stand to be able to be in multiple locations easily. This stand has been an amazing investment. It’s very sturdy, climbs easily, and fits any medium size tree well. It’s quiet, easy to carry, and packs easily. This year I’ve been in six different trees all around the same area. I just shot an eight point on Christmas Eve from the stand. It’s easy to shoot either sitting or standing with a bow, crossbow, or rifle. I’d certainly buy this again and recommend it.

This stand gets some negative reviews by some chumps. It's not the fancy climber with all the camo. But this is a solid climber.Sure, one can say they prefer a lighter climber for lugging in and out of the woods, but once you get a climber on a tree, for sturdiness and safety, I prefer this climber out of all the ones I have (8): Summit, API, and Ol' Man.And once you ever have a climber arm snap and break 25 feet up a tree, even with a safety harness, you'll start thinking differently about the stand. As this happened with me after 20 plus years climbing, two of those Summit light arms snapped in the middle of the arm, not near a weld. And I'm only 185 lbs.Especially if I was a parent, this is what I'd want my son climbing. There's just too many people who comment on these reviews who haven't climbed much leaving comments for some kind of discount handout from the seller or just to put their opinion up when they barely climb. I hunt every single day of the 3 month season down south, even if it's a light rain.

Works great easy to climb only complaint is safety harness seems cheap but still does the job just fine. Love the stand itself. Good grip on the tree size fits and seems to be durable

Great product and met all my expectations. One aspect to consider if you purchase is the weight. Depending what you carry into the woods at almost 30lbs this can be a little heavy, just be prepared. Other than that easy to use and comfortable.

For the last two years, I've used a 70$ Sportsman's Guide climber. It was a good stand, especially at the price point, though it was very heavy. Unfortunately, the frame bent, while I was coming down a tree, at the end of last season.I really worried that this stand would be just like my old one, but a hundred dollars more. I was wrong. This stand is noticably lighter, larger, the seat is much thicker, the welds are better looking, and all the fixtures are much higher quality. I am very glad I went with this stand, and I can't wait to take it into the woods. Thanks Summit and thanks Amazon.

Pros- Comfortable, easy to climb, plenty of room(I'm 6ft, 250), easy set up.Cons- A bit heavy, packing up can be a bit tedious especially in the dark, plain brown color. Platform could be a bit longer.Overall very happy. Have used over a dozen times this year. Good beginner, and intermediate stand. Was using a summit side bag set with it. Went down to one bag. Probably just gonna take them off. Just don't like them with this stand.

I bought two of these this fall to have as backup stands that I can leave locked on private land. The price point is adequate, but the teeth are not very sharp for gripping. I would not be surprised if there are reported issues of the sections dropping, or worse yet, people getting hurt because the top section will not grab well and drop down. If you must scoot to adjust your posture, this is where the top may drop down, setting you up for a fall. It is enough of an issue that I may yet call Amazon and reduce the rating for this review. The metal is a bit heavy to just carry in/out (hence my leaving it locked to a tree), and the metal is VERY slippery; for mine, I would say dangerously slippery. I had to put grip tape on the areas that need better friction. Mine did not have foot straps for lifting. Yes, they do come with a safety harness. The cushion is a very hard fabric, thus this can be noisy when going up/down. The extra length on the back cushion is not really needed, and is a bit tedious to bend underneath. Past experience with the API brand has me lamenting for those, but the better self climbers are getting in the $400 range, which is just cost prohibitive.