I've hung a few portable stands in my day and always loose about a pound of sweat doing it. How do you free up both hands for attaching to the tree. I was thinking about purchasing a lineman's belt. Any input would be appreciated.

Thats the only way to safely free up both hands...

I've got two thoughts for you: 1) I've moved to climbing sticks this year and, as opposed to screw in steps, they are about a thousand times easier to use when hanging up stands. You should still use a lineman's belt with the sticks, but, like I said, it's a hell of a lot easier. 2) A friend of mine actually uses a ladder stand with a hang on stand above it (all on the same tree.) Obviously, the ladder is really easy to climb, then he stands on the ladder seat and attaches a hang on. It's an interesting idea (though probably overkill-- 2 stands on the same tree) because you could point the hang on in a certain direction to account for changes in wind. If the wind's not right, you could sit on the ladder seat. Just an idea.

Lineman belt configuration. Only safe way to go.

You grab real tight with your teeth! :-)

my safety harness converts to a lineman's belt configuration. once i figured this out it is a breeze to put up lock-on stands. i can put one up in just minutes now. my harness is a "seat of the pants". if you buy a safety harness that will convert to this configuration you would be getting a safety harness you can use after you install your stand as well as a linemans belt. hope this helps.

i have one of those cheap ameristep harnesses from walmart on that on the ree tether also doubles as a lineman's belt

As the previous replies have stated you need to have a linemans belt. There are also a few tricks that you can use to help make hanging a stand easier. I like to tie a rope through the seat and the foot platform on the tree stand and then climb to the desired hunting height. Take a small hook and screw it into the tree above where the tree stand will be and then pull up the tree stand with the rope. Once the tree stand is at the desired height tie the rope to the hook in the tree which will allow the stand to stay suspended and thus giving you both hands free to work on the strap.