We use them depending on where we hunt and they are great. I don't think I could see using them in thicker areas or if I was in really hilly terrain. I can only imagine getting up a 200 yard slope gasping for breath when it slips out of your hand. That would be the first deer in history to go from zero to sixty in under 6 seconds. If it's open and flat they can't be beat though. I actually walked a mile and a half to get one once then trekked it back to my buck and then back out. Those three trips combined were 10 times easier then making just one trip dragging the deer.