I went up about 25 feet in a stand once without my safty belt and It wasn't cool. With my bow still on the ground, I shifted my weight to one side of the stand and away I was going. I jumped into a ceder tree next to the stand and that broke my fall. When I hit the ground I was waiting for something to start hurting but nothing. I was very lucky. I will no longer go into a stand 15 feet or higher without a belt on.