I have used screw in tree steps for years and they are hard to beat. I have climbing sticks too but i rarely use them because they are bulky and a pain to carry in. I can pull out the bottom 4 or 5 steps and nobody can get in my stands or mess with them. Yeah they can bring their own but that is not likely. My favorite treesteps were made by DeerMe, they screw in easy and are coated. I don't think they (DeerMe) are around anymore soI will have to check out the Cranfords. API and Gorilla tree steps are not easy to screw in, I really don't like those. As for the holes in the tree, I have been using some of the same trees for years and they have not died or become diseased. If you stop using the tree the holes fill in in a year or two. Just my observations over the past 20 years or so of using tree steps.