I don't think cutting all the branches on the way upthe tree is a good option for me.For starters, talk about working up a sweat. On public land, it's illegal to hack up a tree like that. And on private land, it's disrespectful to the landowner. It's one thing to trim a branch or two for a shooting lane. But to take out every branch from the base of a tree up to 15 or 20 feet just so you can climb it seems unreasonable to me.

I'm not knocking climbers, I'm just looking for somebody to alleviate my concerns about them so I can justify buying one.

What about cover? You can't have any cover below you because you cut it all down on the way up, right?