My Lone Wolf makes absolutly ZERO noise when climbing. More than once I've climbed a tree and during the asent I've seen deer & hogs walking a short distance away - they never knew I was there. Only bad thing about LW is the price $$$. How long it takes to climb depends on your conditioning & how organized you are. Last year I was out of shape & new to climbing, so it took me 20 minutes to get up & in position. This last weekend it only took half that long. Mine is a hand climber so you have to have SOME fitness anyway, & if you have all your stuff organized & are familiar with it, setup time is pretty quick. With enough practice you should be able to setup & climb in total darkness with no flashlight.