I don' t use the rope.........never have.

I use the strap that you secure the stand together with that has the tooth clamp on it.......the green one.

I hook my two pieces together with that and it gives enough room to climb and can be done very fast. The green strap is supposed to be for extra securing of the top part to the tree but I really don' t see how it would ever help except in a case of complete failure and collapse of the stand........and if that happens your saftey harness will be the most important thing.

Your cables are as quiet as you are......you will get better at climbing quietly like everyone has said. One thing I will tell you is it is a lot easier to climb quietly if the tree is not gigantic. When the cables are way out to the last nub or 2 they start to sag at that length and therefore drag more on the tree. With the cables shorter on smaller trees they are very stiff and move easily away from the tree.....as long as you remember to rock the bottom up by lifting your heels first the cables should not scrape the bark.

One thing I have found after owning my Summit for awhile is they are SO secure feeling that it almost tempts you to skip some of the " just in case" stuff. I have climbed more then a few trees with no connection between the platforms........I am so comfortable in that stand that I have mastered the technique of changing the length of my cable on the bottom platform while way up a tree........Not something I or Summit recommends doing I am sure I have only had to do it a couple times and I was Veeeeeeeeeery careful.