atlasman

Well first and most importantly is that I am sitting here typing this safe and sound after climbing my first 2 trees ever today with my new Summit Goliath.........after all what is more important then that right

Keep in mind through this review that this is coming from a first time climber. I have gun hunted for 15 years but almost exclusively from the ground.......and NEVER from a portable stand. This October will be my first with a bow so the time had come to get a stand.

I am 30 years old, physically fit, 5' 9" tall and a lean 200lbs. I have no connections with Summit at all and this is simply my experience today as a first time climber that I hope will help someone out there having trouble making a decision (like I did) about which, if any climber to get.


Enough blabbing..........I picked the Goliath because I figured I would be happier in a tree with the most room I could get. The Viper is the same stand only smaller and rated to carry less weight safely. I was all set to buy a Viper when the guy at the outdoor shop got sick of watching me stare at the stands trying to decide and said if I took the Goliath right then he would sell it to me for $250. The cheapest I had seen the Goliath was $310 so I was sold. I got the stand home and read the instructions and watched the video.

First impression out of the box was it is pleasantly light to carry. I am comparing this to other stands I have picked up and what I was expecting a 22lb stand to feel like. It went together very easily. One long pad covers the whole front bar of the seat section and goes on with 7 plastic ties. That's about it.....you slide the cables in and you are ready to go.

The Seat-of-the-Pants harness looks like a freaking parachute outfit when held up and a bowl of spaghetti when on the floor. It took me a couple pauses on the VCR to get the harness on correctly but after that it is no problem to get on and off once you have done it once or twice and adjusted it to your body frame. The harness is first class all the way and I was very impressed with the quality of materials used.

So I get that thing set for backpacking which was very easy......and I set out for my first tree. It is hotter then hell today so I was dressed in a T-shirt and shorts. I got to where I wanted to climb and found a nice smaller tree to set up on. The first thing I learned was while it was easy to set up on the tree, you have to get a little practice in because I was not as quiet as I hope I will be come October. I did my fair share of clanging and scraping, but hey it's my first tree so give me a break. The stand is on the tree in about 60 seconds and I hop on up and get ready to go. I wrapped my safety harness and was all set. Reaching down to get my feet in the straps was a little tougher then I thought it would be but I fixed that at my next tree by having them looser to start.

Climbing the tree was EASY........and I mean EASY. I was up to about 12-15 feet in no time at all. I am not real crazy about heights so I stopped there because I was a little nervous being the first time and all........didn't want to find out the hard way that I forgot to do something important. I set the harness to be comfortable and I bungeed the seat to the tree and planted my butt down.......WHAT A PLEASURE it was to sit in that stand. It surpassed my hopes for comfort by a mile!!! I can easily see sitting in that stand for hours with no problems at all. I stood, I sat, I propped a leg up on the shooting rail, I leaned, I fake pointed a gun, I fake drew a bow......not a peep, squeek, shift, or movement of any kind. I will say one thing though. Some people had advised me to get the Viper because they are big guys and they fit in their Viper just fine. Like I said, I am 5' 9" and 200lbs(33" waist) and I was dressed in a shirt and shorts today and I NEVER thought "Wow this thing is BIG....I should have got the smaller one" I know the Goliath is not that much bigger but still.........when I have my winter gear on I will using every inch of space in that baby. I WOULD NOT WANT A SMALLER STAND THEN THE GOLIATH. Maybe it's just me but in my mind if I am cramped.....I am not comfortable!!!!!

Climbing down the tree was a breeze........I did forget to move my harness loop down once and had to climb back up to reach it but that was my inexperience showing. On my way down the tree I noticed that the teeth on the stand V that contact the tree do quite a bit more damage then I had expected to see.......I do not know what if any effect this would have on a tree in the long term but I hope it is not doing permanent harm to the trees we climb. I do not recommend climbing trees in your front yard until you see the damage done to the bark first. Again I am not experienced with climbers so I don't know the long term effect........I will go back to these trees in the coming weeks to see how the damaged bark looks.

On to my next tree.......A BIG one. Everthing went smoother this time and that again makes me believe that practice is necessary no matter what stand you have.........don't expect to unbox it and be stealthy with it the next day. I climbed this tree like a cat. I was much more confident and less nervous. I must have gone up 30 feet. I decided that was enough and I sat down for about 20 minutes and enjoyed the comfort of my stand. I truely believe that the quality of both the stand and the harness were responsible for me not being nervous while hanging from a tree 30 feet above the ground........I just didn't feel like I could/would fall. I climbed down and packed the stand back up.

I noticed that the rubber coated cables take a decent amount of punishment during the climb........I was only up and down 2 trees and I have many nicks and scrapes in the coating already. This was expected, after all tree bark is not silky smooth.

Lastly, I want to say that I was AMAZED at the lack of trouble I had getting to and from the trees with the stand on my back. Don't get me wrong, it is not small and compact but I did not get hung up a million times on branches or sound like the ghost of Chirstmas past clanging through the woods.


SUMMARY on a scale of 1-10 10=PERFECT

Construction of stand and harness 10

Ease of initial setup 9 (Harness took a couple tries)

Carrying ease (Weight and size) 10 Pleasant surprise

Setup on tree 9 Need to practice to be a 10

Climbing 9 Boot straps could be easier

Comfort 10 Could sit all day

Stability 10 Like a rock

Looks 10 Camo pad and color will blend

Security 10 Felt very safe

Durability 10 Solid from top to bottom

Quality 10 No corners cut

Misc 7 Damages tree more then hoped

Overall 9.5 Nothing is perfect



I am 100% pleased with my purchase of the Summit Goliath. I absolutely cannot wait for archery season to get here. Next week I am going to go out with my buddy and shoot from our stands at 3D deer targets to start to get a feel for it. I will continue to add anything new I feel relates to my new stand and it's function as I use it more and more.

I hope this has helped someone out there who is a little undecided about getting a climber out of fear of getting the wrong one. I do not know the quality of other stands and maybe they are all the same but like I said in my over all rating, nothing is perfect........but man this thing is pretty darn close.


Any questions??? I would be happy to answer anything you guys may want to know if I can.

Let me know if I left anything out.



P.S. After being up in my stand for the first time today I can honestly say that I will NEVER climb a tree without a safety harness on and if you do you are absolutely crazy. If you don't own a harness.....GO BUY ONE NOW!!! No matter how safe you think your stand is. It was built by humans and a human is operating it......that means error and mistakes will always be possible. The consequences are too great not to wear a harness at all times. I was totally comfortable in mine today so their is no excuse not to wear one.




THANKS

NC-Buck

Although I have 2 Summit Vipers, none of which are the Goliath,,, I must say that for the most part, I totally agree with your postİ Well doneİ

Summit has definatly done their homework and as far as damage to trees go, I have rehunted the same trees several times and seen no lasting damage whatsoeverİ But, man does that thing grip or what???

Kudos on the safety belt thing! Always wear one, even if your climbing in the back yard!

Rut'n & Strut'n