Viper SD Climbing Treestand

I own all types of ladder stands and strap or chain on seats but this is my first climber. I can not say enough good things about this product. I watched a few videos on how to use this product and general climbing seat safety and was then off to hunt with it. Seat is more or less assembled on delivery, just had to fit the padded seat (2 mins) and then the round the tree wire straps (2 mins). Once I found a tree to climb, got myself set up and away I went, super easy to use and I felt very safe and in control. This unit is light to carry at around 20lbs, has backpack type straps and is super comfortable when in use sitting in the tree. I recommend this climbing stand to all. Unit comes with safety harness and tie off strap to tree. I left my gear on the ground and used a couple of light cammo ropes to lift my backpack / bow / gun to my stand when I was in place in the tree. I found removing the padded seat to climb and descend made things easier, this is very fast to do and convenient also when things get wet from the rain and need to be dried. A well thought out and made product, hope to have many years of use.

Seller is rad. Great to work with and best customer service I have had. About the stand. Ive owned the older vipers without the SD. Had it for 10+ years and loved it. Recently I tried to foam it myself and it worked great except for on the foot base where it connects to the bracket - I foamed it and the foam leaked into where the cables go in. Long story short... I needed to buy this one to quickly replace my old one until I could properly fix it. This SD Viper stand. I like most everything about it. My old viper had cable tie on arm rests and that totally beats the new zipper ones. The new zipper pads cover less area and the zippers make noise when walking in. The zippers dont hold the pad on as well as the old cable tie system. Thats my biggest complaint and its small. Another thing I havent checked fully but the bungee strap that wraps the chair to the tree seems shorter. I may have been in too big of a tree but for sure test it out before going out. I used heat shrink tubing that had adhesive in it to cover the little metal s-hooks so they dont make noise. I would suggest mounting the shoulder straps a rung lower than they suggest. The straps stretch for comfort but if you are like me and load a bag on the climber - it will pull down the climber and the bottom can hit your legs when walking. Thats level 10 annoying. These sound bad but honestly this is the most comfortable chair I have sat in. In general. There are no pressure points like a ground chair has. The best hunt ever. I did buy some side bags and mounted them to the size for holding things. Its wonderful because you dont need to climb with a backpack or haul it up with string. My old stand I painted spots with brown and it looks darker which is nice. I hunter for years without painting it and never was spotted. I also used camo tape people use on bows to make it blend and quieter when bumped. I would suggest clearing trails way ahead because branches make tingy noises walking in. If you cant just get out way early. Climber is easy to assemble. Doesn't take more than an hour... I was just picky. The shoulder strap took a bit to figure out because the instructions dont really cover it. Look at pics and play around with it. The old stands had a foot rest on them which I liked but did squeak when opening and sometimes got in the way when getting in and out of the stand. Buy it. Its worth it. Seems better than most in my opinion. Summit makes quality stands.

Great climber. Lightweight and good quality. Sons loves it.

The price of this climber is great for the value of the product. Summit makes the best quality climber in my opinion. They are light weight, easy to use, comfortable, mobile, quite, feel secure when you set the teeth into the tree, and great for archery hunters. I’ve heard people say it is Josie to setup, but I have no issues setting up this bad boy. My recommendation for this people is take your time, plan our tour route, your assembly in the field, and practice your climbing. Generally it’s the operator making the noise not the equipment. The only thing that would warrant some more attention is that the paint on the teeth has already come off, but I expected that to happen. Special note for those looking to buy this bad boy. I’m 5”11, 205 with a waist of 34 add all those layers on here and the width of the seat is just enough to be comfortable. I’m going to buy the Goliath and give this viper to my girlfriend. If you have long legs like me Best Buy that foot rest extension. 5 out 5 stars summit I’ll be buying the Goliath next

What I like: most comfortable stand on the market, lightweight as far as climbers go, cable wrap=no pins to lose. What I don’t like: shoulder straps are a joke. I bought an XOP Extreme Outdoor Products Tree Stand Transport System and adapted to the stand. Allows you to carry all the weight on your hips and not on your shoulders. I can comfortably carry the stand for miles now. Fall arrest harness is nothing fancy, but functional. Connect the two leg holes with a carabiner between the legs. I noticed that after only a couple of weeks use the cable shrink wrap was getting chewed up pretty badly (photo) and that the cable seemed to be getting hung up when inserting or removing the excess cable from inside the square tubing. Upon examination I noted the tubing was squared off on the end (photo) and that there was a two square holes (top and bottom) inside of each tube (photo), which the cable increment sledges were getting hung up in. So I made two mods. I beveled the ends of the tubing to help guide the cable into the tubing (photo) and I filled the square holes inside the tubing that the cable was getting hung in with JB weld epoxy. Now the cable just slides right in. Can’t believe Summit hasn’t already addressed these issues with these easy fixes. Also, buy the footrest attachment. It’s a VERY nice to have. Also, I removed the arm pads as they made the stand somewhat difficult to mate together and then put 1/4 inch self adhesive neoprene on the stand top, which holds my crossbow very securely and keeps it from slipping (photo). Seems like a lot of things to fix, but now it’s perfect....for a lifetime of enjoyment. 2ND SEASON UPDATE: The seat on this thing is a blessing and a curse. BLESSING: once you are in the tree, you have to fight to stay awake it’s so comfortable. Height adjustability is nice. Also, when configured for transport, it makes a nice pocket to securely stow clothing, gear etc., in. CURSE: that three fold seat is a pain in the arse to stow and unstow, not to mention all of the metallic “pings” the seat S hooks make as you pull the seat back through the stand before separating or mating the upper and lower halves of the stand. I have seriously considered cutting the top backrest off the seat pad....but I haven’t yet. Still a great stand because comfort is at the top of the list after weight and sturdiness. A stand that you can’t sit in for any length of time is worthless. OBTW: I figured out why Summit hasn’t addressed the tubing issues mentioned in my original review.....because they want to sell you more cable shrink wrap. After I made the tube mods, my shrink wrap damage decreased significantly.

Bought to use for public land hunts, it's a nice stand. I was hoping it would be easier to pack than my heavy Ol'Man Vision, but not sure about that, the Viper is a little awkward. The pros are the climbing ability and comfort. I also purchased the footrest and am looking forward to long sits. The stand arrived w/some minor damage but nothing that couldn't be pried back into place. I'd recommend checking the cable track/stop/lock for uncorrectable damage before unpacking everything but otherwise assembly is easy. Hope this helps! Update: After using it, it's much easier to pack than my Vision. Some upgrades I made were to replace the pack strap w/the XOP TTS, applied 3M grip tape to the platform and installed a universal bow holder. Now it's great and just in time for gun season.

First stand I bought in 20 years... unbelievable durability, extremely comfortable, easy climbing, had knee replacement 5 months ago and this stand was no struggle at all...actually the quality of the stand made the climb and getting out of the tree much easier, could trust the equipment for great support during process !!! Excellent purchase, both my sons have purchased one !!-

Solid tree stand. Super comfortable, I could sit in this all day. Which I do. It’s lightweight in comparison to most climbers and it is quite, easy to set up and has safety features. I’m not sure how I didn’t see that it came with a harness too but I’m glad it did.

Finally I pulled the trigger after 2 years of waiting& wanting the Viper SD hoping for a price drop (which never happened). I wish I would have bought one then! Assembly I recommend doing in an evening when it is dark out, so you can go out the next day without wasting time. The morning after I test tried in the backyard on a fir tree ( you want a speeces of tree with thick bark, fir is perfect). I ordered a set of stabilizer straps as well as it decreases the risk of the top platform sliding down when releasing pressure and make the stand way more secure in the tree, tho from my experience with climbing fir trees (thick bark) i won't even need those straps, because the teeth really dig into the tree and holding the platforms very securely without any weight on them... really have to yank them out to get them free. Once you get both pieces of the stand on the tree stand on the platform, !ALWAYS USE THE TREESTRAP AND SAFETY HARNESS!- hook everything up, adjust your stirrups for comfort level and boot size, lastly make sure seat platform is secure and check for seat height - adjust to your comfort level. All these adjustments take place at about 1-2ft height! When everything is setup correctly for you, start climbing, it is a joke how easy it is and how much fun! Take a 7" pocket folding saw with you because you will most likely need it, just be careful when cutting branches (unlike me) because you could cut into your safety tree belt, duhh! I am 150lbs, 6'1" skinny tall, but fit and the weight lugging the stand around is not too awful, tho I would not want to pack it 2 kilometers... at that point I would start looking into a treestand carry system with a waist belt for this Summit, as the backpack straps will not provide enough support for long hikes. Also my hunting backpack fits right on to the platform to transport, I just use the incl. Straps for the stand. The seat is comfortable, the weight is not bad (I was thinking the steel viper or viper SD, i am happy i chose the viper SD), it is roomy enough for me up in the tree, it fits great on the back of an ATV, harness is comfortable and quickly put on/taken off and very adjustable for bigger guys, the cables are good quality but the stand has sharp edges where the cables go into the frame which might take off the rubber coating if you are not careful, paint quality seems ok on the stand but if scratched on metal it will leave a mark of bare aluminium (can always be repainted)... I am very happy with this stand! Top notch, get one now and quit waiting like I did, also arrived in 3 days just in time for the long, -thanksgiving, weekend. Happy thanksgiving! Ps: to those wondering what kind of harness is included, it is just a basic seatbelt material harness, plenty of adjustment for any body type that could fit into the treestand. Quick on/off, and silent. I wish the strap that ties to the tree would be a bit longer as it gets your face too close for my liking while climbing, I might order a better harness all together, but hey, it does the trick to get you up into the tree safely.

Justo lo que quería y esperaba

J’ai pu tester ce petit bijou a l’automne 2023 et juste wow!! Pour personne de corpulence normale car la largeur est tout de meme limite. Facilement transportable comme sac a dos avec son poid d’environ 19 lbs. Securitaire et agrippe tres bien sur l’ecorce des arbres. Le Metal est non bruyant et l’ascension se fait tres bien et rapidement lorsque l’arbre est enranché. J’ajouterai prochainement un marchepied et un porte carabine pour augmenter le confort. Le siege tres bien aussi.

I'm 5'9" 160lbs and it's a little tight with my SKRE Guardian suit. But, comfort, weigth, ease of use and all the rest are great. Needs more sound dampening though.

Only complaint for the money spent is the fall arrest (harness) it comes with is total trash. It will save your life but I'll be purchasing something better