Summit Clearshot Climbing Tree Stand Product Review Details

Product Information

Manufacturer: Summit

Model: Clearshot

Product Type: Climbing Tree Stand

Purchase Price: 175.99

Testing Information

Time Tested: 6 hours

Testing Conditions: Clear

Temperature Range: 45-50 degrees

Testing Terrain: rolling

Testing State: Georgia

Review Information

Reviewer's Name: Joe Hyder

Recommended: No

I purchased a Clearshot because I found the lightweight and the cable feature appealing. I am an avid bow hunter and have been using one of the original Summit stands since the mid 80's. While the old stand has its drawbacks (heavy, a bit noisy during setup), it is stable, comfortable, packs small and is safe. I figured after nearly twenty years with one stand, I would treat myself with the newest Summit had to offer. I chose the Clearshot.First, Summit provided the wrong hardware to attach the seat to the stand. The mount calls for 1/4 x 2" bolts, but 1-1/2" long bolts were provided. After a trip to the hardware store, I was pretty much in business. Once basic assembly was complete, I began considering how the stand should be packed for carrying in the field. Quite frankly, there is no way to pack the stand in a compact manner. The hand climber in no way conforms to the main stand and the only way to carry the two pieces together is to stack them and cinch them tightly with the included tourniquet strap, hoping the parts won’t rattle. Even tightly packed, the folded seat is free to flop back and forth and is an annoying source of noise, unless fastened with a separate bungee. The hand climber needs to conform to the inside of the base platform for packing.As for climbing, the Clearshot is not very friendly. The bootstraps allow too much shifting to achieve ideal stand angle for tree clearance and ascent. The problem is multiplied when descending. Because of the difficulty of achieving a good stand angle, the scalloped blades make a huge amount of noise as they scrape the tree both during ascent as well as descent. I found it very difficult to get the bottom cable to release the tree during descent. Short of extreme bending of my knees (ankle tilt should suffice), I could not get the stand to release. Tightening the bootstraps did not help, because of the weak elastic cords supplied by Summit. Boot loops and heavier elastic is needed.In the comfort arena, the Clearshot provides marginal seating for extended hunts. The fold down seat is designed to rest against the tree. It is difficult to adjust seating position while hunting without completely standing and shifting. Otherwise, the stand simply rocks forth on its pivot and your position doesn’t change if you try to slide around. The supplied cushion is huge, but gets in the way while packing, and is a bother to the backside while sitting. A padded folding style seat would be much better.The Clearshot may be Summit’s solution to simplifying the hunting experience, but little or no thought went in to ensuring practicality. The Clearshot provides light weight and comparatively quiet setup. After that, I see very few positives.

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