RE: Treestands
There are a lot of good stands out there. Summit, Lone Wolf, Equalizer, Ameristep, Loggy Bayou, API, etc. etc. I'd say Summit is probably the most popular and for good reason. They have a good track record and are the best bang for the buck in my opinion with regards to quality, safety, simplicity and quietness. I've been using an API climber since 2003 and it's been great. Plenty of room, fairly easy to setup and rock solid in the tree. Only downside is that it weighs 33lbs which can wear you down on long hikes. Because of this I've been looking into the Summit and Lone Wolf stands as they are both lightweight and easy to carry.