+1 here!!! I think you need to get it on a tree, low to the ground and practice going up 5-6ft and back down, until you get a comfortable feel for it. Check ALL of the welds, ensuring that they are solid, you don't want to be that guy stuck in a tree with a broken stand 15ft off the ground. What type of stand is it, is it a hands/arms climber or a sit/stand model. The sit/stand models are a little easier to use, but are a bit of a pain due to the bar being in the way sometimes for a bowhunter. But if you shoot from the standing position, and aren't shooting a ridiculously long bow, they're certainly workable. Oh, and after climbing up and down a tree several times, you'll likely find that you have abs that ache more than you realized!!!