Everyone who participates in a sport—any sport—continually refines his or her techniques to save time, energy, and, if possible, money. I am a hunter, so in this article, I am going to share my current favorite accessories and techniques for use with my Summit Viper climbing 
treestand.
By now, most of you reading this article know how light and comfortable the Viper stands are, and that they consistently receive higher user ratings than most of their peers. However, there are several accessories, some by Summit and some by other manufacturers, that I consider essential for safety and convenience.
If you have better or additional ideas, please share them with WomenAnglers using this format if you can. I’m sure we all want to learn ways to get on stand faster and more safely!
Summit Viper Treestand
It's not perfect, but it is the closest stand to it, according to all the reviews for it found on the Internet. Summit makes several useful accessories for the Viper climbing stand. Older Vipers did not include these accessories. However, the current Ultimate Viper SS includes many accessories that previously had to be purchased a la carte. For example, older Vipers than mine lack Summit's marvelous plastic stirrups and rail wraps. Mine, a 2005 Viper SS, included both. Today's Ultimate Viper SS includes many of these handy accessories.
Summit Accessories
RapidClimb Stirrups
If you are tired of bending over to pull on your toe straps before you climb, you might enjoy these hard plastic stirrups.
Summit Comfort Mat
If your stand did not come with this mat, I recommend purchasing it for two reasons: insulation and safety. It provides a much-needed wind barrier for the soles of your boots on wintry hunting days. Also, I find that I feel more secure standing and moving on it than I did on the bare climbing platform.
Side Storage Bags
I bought the original storage bags, both the side set and the single front bag. The front and one of the side
bags have broken or ripped. I still have one. I leave it in the right front corner of the rail with my 30-foot rope in it. I keep one end of the rope tied around the rail between the right and front rail pads. When I lock my stand on a tree between hunts, I leave the rope on the ground. It doesn’t hurt it and gives me one less opportunity to tangle it. The new side bags are deeper in the back so that even with the slant of the angled rail, the bottom is still level. This is a smarter design than the straight bag style of the ones I have. Which brings me to the next item…
Bow/Gun Rope
You can use other ropes, but this one is both strong and light, and is designed for raising weapons, so I feel confident that it won’t snap while I am hauling up my small but heavy .243.
Other Accessories
Omega-Pacific Screwlock Carabiner
My Viper came with Summit’s SOP (Seat of the Pants)
harness. The harness came with a heavy stainless steel screwlock carabiner. Something had to give. Then I stumbled onto an Omega Pacific screwlock carabiner. Not only is it strong enough to take the strain should I fall, it is also aluminum, so it is much lighter. The clincher, however, is that the screwlock on this carabiner only requires 4 turns to lock. You can buy this from climbing supply stores online. Expect to pay between $9 and $11 each plus shipping. The link above is to a website that currently has this carabiner, but if they are out, I suggest googling it. These are so popular that I only saved about 50 cents by buying it on eBay, but you might get lucky.
Camelback Talon Backpack Hooks onto Viper Rail
If you can find one of these gems, get it at any price. A friend gave me an off-brand sample and I LOVE it. I have no idea where to suggest finding one. Some of the backpacks at Cabelas look like they would strap over the rail, but I can’t be sure just from the photo so you will need to find one of these for yourself and, like I said, it will be worth the effort!
Military Backpack Straps
Even before I started using the seat as a backpad, the stock backpack straps that came with my Viper kept slipping off my shoulders. A good friend suggested padded military backpack straps. At first I balked at the $40 (they cost a third as much now), but reached desperation point and sprung for them. Boy, am I glad I did! Not only are they curved inward, they also have lots of padding and adjustable chest and waist straps. I just use the chest (sternum) strap, and I tighten it down almost as far as it will go. This makes carrying my stand much easier.
Had I known how much effort they would save and how much comfort these straps would provide, I would have spent twice that, and much sooner. These, in my opinion, rank as accessory Number 2, right after the stirrups. In fact, for me, they might even be Number 1 on the list. The price on this item has apparently dropped, however the only place I could find them online (I bought them at our local surplus store) was from an eBay seller. Google or search eBay for the term “MOLLE backpack shoulder straps” and you should also find them. Make sure they are in like new condition, are well padded, and have chest straps. Color, of course, is less important. Mine are OD green. The ones on eBay as I write this are woodland camo.
36” and 18” Bungee Cords (1 each, bright colors)
After I stuff my gun/bow rope in the side pouch and zip it up, and get my stand and harness off the tree, I unfasten and stretch out the seat, pulling it through the bottom of the climber. I slide the platform into carrying position next to the climber, and then pull the seat up over the front rail of the climber, making sure I can free a backpack strap on either side of the seat. I feed the seat’s S hooks around the rail, fastening them back on themselves. (I wrap one end twice to take up the slack.)
Not only does packing the seat this way save time and keep the S hook from banging into the stand during setup and takedown, but also the seat gives me a nice pad for my back, especially nice for long hilly treks.
Once the seat is secure over the top rail(s), I lay the 36” bungee cord on the ground beside the stand. Then, I lay the assembled stand longways (seat/back pad down, stirrups up) on top of the cord, with just the ends of the bungee cord visible at each end. Before I fasten the 36” cord, I tuck the backpack in between the stirrups and secure it with the 18” bungee cord, which I stretch across the pack and wrap around the side rails. Although the “stuff” on my pack tend to catch on the stirrups, having the backpack in the stand is well worth losing a couple of seconds packing and unpacking.
Once the pack is secure, I pull up and fasten the 36” bungee cord over the backpack, making sure it is centered on the stand and pack. If there is a high spot nearby, I carry the stand there and get in front of and below it, put my arms through the padded backpack straps, fasten the chest/sternum strap, and stand up. I’m ready to gather up my weapon and anything else I need to carry with me.
