**This is a two-part article; this article will highlight Summit as a manufacturer of treestands and a review of their climbing treestands, ground blind, and tree seat. Stay tuned for part two of this article that will highlight Summit’s hang-on treestands, ladder stands, and the freestanding tripod stand.
Summit is one of the best known manufacturers of treestands and a household name these days. In fact, Summit makes the best treestands on the market in my opinion. Back 30 years ago when the company was started by John Woller, it was just a small backyard company. Now, 30 years later they offer a variety of different products that meet every hunter’s needs when it comes to treestands, safety harnesses, ground blinds, and even comfortable tree seats. If you are interested in more history about Summit, you can check out their About Us page. Summit also offers accessories for all of their stands, as well as replacement parts and this is valuable if you need a replacement part for an older stand that you love. Summit’s customer service and support is second to no one. I have been on both sides of their customer service; I have called for replacement parts for my Summit stand, but I also was in close contact with them while working as a bow tech in a big box retailer. I called them numerous times to help customers figure out problems and answer questions of all sorts. Summit was always there and able to answer the question without leaving me on hold or feeling like they did not care.
I personally have owned a Summit climbing treestand for about 12 years now. I own the Summit Cobra, which was made by them for a long time, and was very popular with bow hunters. This year they released a new version of the Cobra in my opinion called the Summit Dagger Treestand (pictured above). I also own a second climbing treestand by Summit which is the Razor (pictured below), which I got about 5 years ago for people I take hunting with me and now my wife Amber is using as well. I have no complaints about either of these stands, they are very comfortable, lightweight, quiet, very well made, and will never let you down. Interested in any of the stands pictured? You can click any of the links or photos to check them out at Cabelas and get current prices.
Well, enough about what I own, even though I cannot say enough good things about Summit and I would highly recommend a Summit stand to anyone. Even more so to any beginner because they are some of the easiest stands to climb in terms of setup and take down. Summit is one of those companies that has products that are made to last. They continue to build quality products and improve their products based on recommendations by customers and pro’s that use their products. Over my 15 year hunting career, I have been using my Summit stand for 12 of those years, so I speak from experience as I have spent hundreds of hours in my Summit. If you have any questions about a Summit stand, please feel free to email us at (info@bowhuntingmaryland.com) and I will be happy to answer them.
Now for what everyone wants to know…what does Summit has in their 2011 line of treestands. Let’s look at what Summit offers this 2011 hunting season and I will give you a little info about each product and my opinion of course. You will note that all the climbing stands have an SD after their names, this stands for Sound Deadening. Summit offers their Dead Metal Sound Deadening Technology on all their climbers this year. Another new feature for this hunting season is all climbers come assembled from the manufacturer this year (in the past some assembly was required). I welcome both of these new features and applaud Summit for both!
First we have Summit’s Tree Seat offering:
Summit Treestands® Folding Trophy
The Summit Trophy Chair has been around for 14 years. The Trophy Chair is designed based on comfort, with a large padded seat, padded arm rests and easy setup; this makes the Summit Trophy Chair the best tree seat on the market in my opinion. The seat is great for deer, turkey, and duck hunting, as well as just a comfortable chair for camping. I highly recommend this seat; I can tell you after hours on a cheaper round swivel seat, I sure would have loved to have the comfort of the Trophy Chair. The Trophy Chair is priced a little bit higher than other tree seats. However, the added comfort is well worth the extra money!
Summit Climbing Treestand offerings:
Summit Dagger SD Climbing Treestand
The Dagger is an open front stand that is great for any bow hunter. The Dagger offers a lot of the same comfort features as all of their other stands, such as: RapidClimb stirrups, comfortable fully padded seat, and is secure with the QuickDraw trigger system. Similar to the Blade, the Dagger also folds flat for easy packing. Having the older Summit open front model the Cobra, the Dagger folding flat is a great addition to any of their stands! The Dagger seems like a great buy for any bow hunter because it is normally priced slightly lower than other Summit models because fewer materials go into making it, and it has an open front which most bow hunters will tell you that an open front makes for easy shooting while sitting down.
Summit Ultimate Viper SD Climbing Treestand
The Ultimate Viper is an upgraded version of the Viper. Summit added a fully adjustable gun rest and camo comfort mat for the platform. The platform is filled with noise-reducing expanding foam which is their Dead Metal Technology; it also includes a drop-down camo blind, and an upgraded seat with storage pouches to hold gear, hand warmers and even your breakfast or evening snack. This is the fully loaded version of the Viper, if you are looking for comfort and features the Ultimate Viper is for you.
Summit Titan SD Climbing Tree
The Titian SD key feature is the fact that it has some more room and is the biggest climber that Summit has ever offered. The top section is based off the Viper top, but with an additional 2 inch of width and length. The platform has an extra 2 inches of length and 1 inch of width, plus a weight limit of 350lbs. The Titian is a great all around treestand if you are looking for some more room or a higher weight limit but still want to keep all the great features and comfort that all the other stands on the market offer.
Summit® Viper® SD Climber Tree
The Viper as been a bench mark for Summit for many years, and has to be one of the most popular selling climber treestands in my opinion. It offers all the great features of all the other Summit climbing stands and in fact, a lot of those features started out with the Viper. The Viper is quick to setup and take down, comfortable, and offers the Dead Metal Technology to reduce sound. All around a great stand for any type of hunting and will never let you down or leave you feeling uncomfortable while in the woods.
Summit® Goliath™ SD Climber Tree
The Goliath was created about 10 years ago, it was designed off of the Viper. The only difference between the two is that the Goliath offers more room up top and a higher weight rating. It offers a slightly wider top section and a 350lb weight limit. This stand has been very popular since they released it and like the Viper, it will not let you down or leave you feeling uncomfortable.
Summit OpenShot Deluxe Tree
The OpenShot is just what the name says, open. It offers a single flat padded seat for optimum visibility and shooting area. The stand is lightweight and is great for long hikes into the back country or that “secret” hunting spot well off the beaten path. Being one of the cheapest climbers that Summit has to offer makes it very appealing to those not looking to spend a lot of money.
Summit® Razor SD Climbing Tree
The Razor gives you the best of both worlds if you are looking for a stand that offers a climbing bar to allow you sit while climbing and yet you can fold it out of the way to give you an open front treestand. This is the reason that I purchased the older version which is pretty much same other than it lacks the new Dead Metal Technology. Overall, a great stand for beginners or the avid bow hunter that wants to be able to sit while climbing.
Interested in any of the Summit stands above? Click any of the pictures or links to check them out and purchase them.
Check back with us tomorrow to read the second part of our Summit review. The second part will highlight Summit’s hang-on stands, ladder stands, and tripod stand.
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