for you guys that use climbers, how did you become familiar and comfortable using the stand?

By using it.

lol. yea that really is the only way!

You have to start off with a stand that has the ability to be comfortable. Some are simply designed poorly and no matter how much you use them they are alway noisy, difficult to put on the tree and never comfortable.

yep gotta get used to your stand..if its failin at 1 foot or 4 it will fail up there..basically i jus didnt go high at 1st and 1 footered it up to 20 like i am now..finally a real good tree, too bad they are cuttin it down next year 8(

I would say by practicing/using it. BUT...I borrowed an Old Man climber a few yrs ago, and everytime I thought I was up pretty good, I would turn around, get seated, and lo and behold I was only about 10-12 ft up!! My fear of heights gets worse as I get older. I never did use it for hunting. I prefer to use a box blind or tripod, or even a good ground blind. I wish I could, because I think they allow you to really get in there where the deer are.

^ this

I can remember in my younger years of being scared to death of deer stands. im scared of heights.

So what i did was about once a month I would just get the stand out and practice in yard of setting it up, climbing up and down the tree and just becoming familiar with the stand and heights.

It eventually became second nature and I overcame any fear I had.

I actually had a hanging tree stand break and fall on me (the clip on the trap snapped) and what I learned: You get the whits scared out of you so fast that it doesn't hurt because the adrenaline is pumping.

My advice is to get a good, comfortable safety harness and practice hanging in it. Once you realize how it feels you realize that its not the end of the world if something does happen.

Also, don't bounce on your stand to "test" it. that will cause something to come loose or break. Finally, stands are one of those things worth spending a little extra on to get you out of the low end of the market. This, if nothing else, gives YOU more confidence in the stand.

alright thanks guys

practice with it before the season in good light. Nothing worse than climbing up in a new unfamiliar climber in the daylight knowing you will have to come down after dark. Get all the practice done before the season so that when you have to use it.... it will be like second nature.