ive also wondered just how crooked does a tree have to be to make it unclimbable?? one of my favorite trees has a few hard S bends in it...and at the bottom it starts like this / then snakes the whole way up...never gave me troubles...

big knots? no problem at all..just gotta learn to manuver the platforms around it...

tree gets skinny too quick?? not a problem...i certainly aint climbing back down! i will just tighten the cables.

never went around branches...never had to..by the time most of my hardwood trees have branches, its time to stop climbing and use them for cover...

im tied to the tree as soon as i jump in my Viper. i have never felt unsafe or done anything i probably shouldnt have...

and like you, if im not up the tree and settling in within 5 minutes, i must be still sleeping...and i do so with little noise...no more noise than climbing a ladder or lock on...just one of them things after you do it a couple times in the dark, it seems like second nature...packing and unpacking in the dark..setting up up...climbing without making noise...just seems simple now...