Summit Viper clanking when I walk

[_woods]

Spray-on bed liner is another viable option. Planning to do this next summer on my viper. Should help with any clanking, and improve grip on the foot platform.

[hillHuntR]

I have the Viper also. A word of caution from my experience....that cinch strap is pretty near a safety must have unless you are very careful! One time i forgot it and a little side pressure on the rail from my hand when standing to hoist my bow up and the top platform fell to my ankles....nearly fell (did have harness on, but I don't want to test it out). I won't use the summit w/o that strap

[Kegbelly]

I thought about the expanding foam for mine, I think summit's new "dead metal" thing is about the same thing. The previous owner of my xbow foam filled the rail, can't say how well it works cuz I never shot it without it. But its pretty quiet for a xbow. Should work pretty well in a stand too.
Another cheap upgrade... go to your local home improvement store and buy some 3m Outdoor Tread stuff, it's like super coarse sandpaper with adhesive backing, cut into strips to fit the foot treads. For about $10-12 you can do probably 4 or 5 stands with it, whereas Summit sells the kit to do one stand for about $13. I'm all for saving a buck where i can!
Another freebie...tie a length of rope to the top and bottom halves, if the platform falls out from beneath you it wont go any farther down the tree than the length of the rope. My first climber I bought used, no rope linking the two halves together, guess what happened... nothing like having to shimmy 15 foot down a tree.

[strum]

i never had any problems with my viper until I got the new one with the zip on foam pads. the little zipper tabs are clanging as I walk ..I stopped 4 times coming out the other night trying to locate the noise..those little tabs are coming off before I head out again.
the other thing that can cause noise is the seat buckles.. im betting that's your noise..

[strum]

All you need dave is a new lone wolf and you won't hear a thing lol

I recently tried the lone wolf sit and climb..it packed well and was very silent.
that's it ..the viper beat it on all the other things..
the viper climbs faster . is more comfortable. sets up faster and I coulnt find a good place for my crossbow in the LW..but in the viper it lays on the rail like it was made for it ..

[Pydpiper]

My noise is the two units banging together, it is a sound that travels..

[Pydpiper]

I have been looked after, thanks everyone!
Silence is in my near future.

[Horizontal Hunter]

I managed to lose the top strap that binds the two pieces together for transport (the one that hold the upper part to a tree once settled in), so I replaced it with a bungee cord, with no better results.

I have the Goliath and I also ditched the Summit strap.I replaced it with Third Hand Archery stabilizer straps. I use them to stabilize the stand in the tree and when I am done I use them to strap the two platforms together for the walk in and out. No banging and clanging when I am walking in and out.

Here is a link:
http://www.thirdhandarchery.com/product.asp?PRODID=13

I also ditched the shoulder straps that came with it and put on a set of military Molle II straps. It is a little more time consuming to pack up at the end of the hunt but the stand carries like a dream.

Bob

[Pydpiper]

Thanks for all the tips guys, I have been doing a few things to the climber in the past couple days to make it more enjoyable.
I have a habit of getting in to trees that are too skinny for the teeth of the climber, so I took on a new project. Last year I approached a small machine shop to whip up a new bar with large teeth that would be bolted or tacked on to the mainframe, they never did produce though.
So I took a file to the bar and made my own teeth.
The problem I was having was the stand would turn on the tree in the wind, hopefully this helps a bit.
When I get in to a tree I screw in a treestep to support the cable on the backside to keep it from dropping, also tether the lower half with a rope, like mentioned by someone else earlier.
I am still looking for a better bar to attach, with teeth, but this will have to do for now.

[strum]

I like those third hand straps.
they are very much like the Lone Wolf straps which is a feature I did like on LW.
it really makes the stand rock solid.
Another thing I like about em is they are always connected to the stand so you don't have to keep up with them..

[Pydpiper]

For those asking by PM, I used 1" felt pads, made for chair legs. They wont stay, but they will hold until I get the proper stuff.
Big thanks to kegbelly for the material!
Took a few minutes of the wife strolling in the driveway to find the contact points, but I did find them.

[Kegbelly]

You bet, hope it works for you!

X2 on ditching the summit straps, terrible design IMO. I also put some padded shoulder straps on mine, made a world of difference how it carries. Keep on tinkerin'...

[Pydpiper]

By straps, I assume you guys mean the shoulder straps? I like them, they go on snug and with a quick push the stand lowers to just a few inches off the ground.
Last night I got to try my makeshift silencers, it helped a lot, but I am confident the proper stuff will work even better.
In any event, thanks everyone for the tips, I will be doing a few different ones soon. And when the good stuff comes in the mail, I will report on how it worked.
Happy hunting!

[Kegbelly]

I was referring to the shoulder straps. My goliath came with a single shoulder strap that attached at one point behind your shoulders like an upside down V. It cut into my neck with light clothing on and it was uncomfortable, so I put two padded shoulder straps on and spread the connection points out at my shoulders, works much better for me. I havent had any problem with the summit gator-clamp strap that cinches the two parts together but I put it around my stand longways instead of around the outside rails, seems like I can pull it tighter that way and keep the two halfs from rattling.

[Normous]

I use padded back packing straps on my Summit...much more comfortable with them.