Last year I don't think I climbed a tree even once, and probably won't this year. Pop-up blinds have become my favorite way to hunt, at least on private land where I can put the blind out for a few days in advance and don't have to worry about it being stolen. I'm getting older and don't like climbing like I used to, plus the last few years I used a stand it was not very effective at all--I kept getting busted. Just too out in the open with a climber--I have friends who still do fairly well with lock-on stands--getting above those first few branches and/or getting hidden makes a world of difference here. Dang deer are born looking up in the trees.
Chad