Good question! I look forward to hearing the responses!

Critr, any quality safely harness should have d-loops on the sides so you can use the safety rope which you normally tie off to the tree trunk as a lineman's belt. Even the basic, no-frills harnesses Summit gives away with its stands have this feature.

All you do is loop the rope through one d-loop on one side, wrap it around the tree, and affix the prussic knot to the other d-loop using a lineman's clip ($5 from summitstands.com, or you could pick one up locally). The prussic knot can be slid up and down the rope, giving you the adjustability you need as the tree's diameter changes as you go up or down.

This is another option as well, sold by our friends at Gray Wolf Woolens:

http://www.graywolfwoolens.com/store/product.php?productid=164&cat=41&page=1

I tie my hang-on to a rope. Climb the tree in my climber and pull up the hang-on for deployment. My climber gives me a comfortable, stable platform to stand on.

Obviously that won't always work, occasionally, I find a tree that's too crooked, to big, has a limb big enough that I won't want to (or don't have permission to) saw off, etc. In those cases, I use my climbing sticks and linemans rope/harness.

Duh, I must be brain dead Greg. Should have thought of that myself. I think (maybe, I hope) I have an Ambush Saddle that will be under the tree this year, that should work nicely. If not, I am sure I can use my current harness that way.

I am glad to hear the input from you guys, lots of experience here on the board. Treestands are kind of new to me and not as common around here. I will take all the input I can get.