I hate everything about climbers but they are a necessary evil IMO.When at all possible I will use a hang on or a ladder stand.

Problems with climbers are they are heavy( even the lightest ones are heavy)I am 135# soaking wet and a 17# stand on my back for 300-400yards causes a lot of sweat=odor=bad situation for deer hunting.When you get to where you want to hunt,if you don't already have a tree picked out you must then begin the search for a tree that you can climb and still have shooting lanes or within range of a trail and not too close to the trail.

You have a good tree and then you must start the time consuming and relatively loud climb in the dark.Then it never fails,a deer passes just out of range and you would like to try a stalk,but you are in that darn climber that you must now try to get out of the tree without being heard,yeah right.

I will use a climber mostly for public grounds that I hunt and weekend travels that take me out of town to hunt.

I also feel that my weight causes some problems with climbers,they don't seem to bite the tree as well as they should for me and that makes me feel uncomfortable.I have never had 1 fall but they have shifted and that is scary at 20'.

I will say that the API bowhunter I have is as good or better than anything I have tried and have sat in it for 8 hours and is comfortable enough,but that uneasy feeling is still there,along with everything else.