I would recommend that noone should climb up/down, or hunt from an elevated stand of any type without the use of a climbing harness.

Safety harness are comfortable (I am not aware I am wearing on after the first trip or two) they are not difficult to put on. I can put mine on in the total darkness. I use the harness that came with my stand. However there are several safety harness vest available.

The first harness I used I had some difficulty in selecting the correct arm to put on the correct strap. So in that case I placed some electrical black tape on the right strap to make it fool proof and practiced a few times at home.

I once fell from from a ladder placed in a tree. I feel only about 12 feet on the soft dirt. My one heel took most of my weight a and twisted braking my ankle and my leg in two places.

This required surgery, 10 screws, a metal plate, 6 weeks off work, doctor bills and a lot of pain; however I did save the cat.

Luckily the accident happen early in the Spring so I was able to hunt and use my tree stand in archery season. I purchased a deer cart to get my buck out of the woods. It cost $120 and the drag was approximately 120 yards to the house. That is about a dollar a yard.

Please use safety equipment. A fall could spoil your hunt.