Not to scare you off, but you did mention you were large. In my opinion many tree stand accidents occur (you can die hanging there from a harness) when people who shouldn't be in one, use one. While the stand is rated at Xlbs. many guys exceed the limit by the time they get up there with their gear, they are also physically ill prepared to climb, and generally have no business being in a tree.

In my opinion they're way to many people *not* advising peopleagainst using a tree stand. A harness is like a safety on a gun. A man made mechanical devise that can fail and should be used but not relied on. Use some common sense. If your not comfortable up there, your in poor shape, and you only go up that high a few times a year. DON'T DO IT! Get in shape and practise with the thing for months before you truck off into the woods often climbing up and down in the dark.People who are not used to heights have no idea how easy it is to forget where you are and take a step right off. Your brain has to become used to it so much so that every step is a light one where your brain is tell you to feel before placing your weight down.

Don't listen to the hype. Millions of deer are taken from the ground.

Welding on a stand voids the warranty.