I have been hunting from trees for over 40 years and have never owned a climbing stand until about about two months ago. An accident back in November with a faulty treestep and a severely damaged right ankle have gotten me to think otherwise. Early in my hunting I had always used fixed stands and mostly homemade. I now own several commercial ladder stands from Strongbuilt where all you got to do is lean and secure them against a tree and up you go. I own several hang on stands from Loc-On & Gorilla, all models are made of aluminum and I use either climbing sticks or screw in treesteps to get into them. The climbing sticks are easier and safer but weigh more and are more bulky to take in and out of the woods. Fortunately I do have some private land to hunt on where I can just leave them. And now I own 1 climbing stand from Summit, the Bushmaster. It was on sale from Cabella's for $146.00 (sold out) but I bought it locally for $125.00. It seems to be geared for bowhunting as it has an open face with no shooting rail as their more expensive models have. I have used stands made of both steel & aluminum and I highly recommend the aluminum models especially if you have to backpack it and all your gear in to where you are hunting. It is not only lighter and I believe it is just as strong but of course it is more expensive. I have hunting buddies who have API, Lone Wolf, and Buck Shot climbing stands and they all look as well made as my Summit. The Summit was what I was looking for and it was cheaper than the others. I had been using a ground blind called "The Outhouse" to hunt with my broken ankle and as it got better, I found that I could use a climbing stand without too much effort since I love hunting from trees so much. I guess you can't really go wrong with any Company once you decide what type of stand you want.