I have had three climbing stands. The first one I bought from Gander Mountain many, many years ago. It was one of the first generation designs with the "v" shaped blades that went around the back of the tree. It was not very comfortable to hunt from and not the most stable thing in the world. I later up graded to a Summit Cobra. It was a huge step up and I hunted out of it for several years. A couple of years ago I started hunting from a Summit Viper and absolutely love it. The enclosed front makes it much easier to climb with. As with all Summits is it super stable and very comfortable to hunt from. As others have stated weight is an issue. You will not only be packing your stand but also your gun, back pack, and any other extras you need to take with you. That was one thing I really liked about the Cobra, it was really light (I think it was 16 lbs). However, I still like the Viper a lot more. Bite the bullet and get a Viper, you will not regret it for one second.