I've been using climbers both home made and store bought for about ten years now ( depending on which I feel like doing after the next one gets stolen [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-frown.gif[/img] )
Anyhow, my climber stand tips-
Use two bungee cords(top and bottom) to secure the stand to the tree after getting it to position, this keeps the stand from moving by itself and also keeps tension on it to keep it quiet.
Tie the top and bottom portions together, a run away bottom while climbing is no fun, and it's no issue if it's tied to the upper stand.
I do use a harness in climbers, On a couple occasions paticular slippery bark has allowed the bottom to fall out with me standing on it. Once it caught just a couple feet down, and I was still standing on it. Another time it caught a couple feet down (same tree BTW seperated by a few years) and broke a bolt ruining the lower stands use- I done the bear hug decent that time.
Not to be preachy but folks that don't use a harness on climbers and chain on have been told... I can't feel as sorry as they do when they hit the ground, less hunting pressure in the woods, happened to a neighbor last year...

 

maybe ladder stand's are my best bet i like to feel safe when i'm in a tree with my rifle i don't want either one of us to get busted up. i made one ladder stand out of 2 16 foot 2x4's but it's heavy so i leave it in the wood's all year long i've shot 2 deer from it i just wish it was more portable i alway's need a hand when i want to move it .
99 grizzly
02 sx viper
99 dodge ram slt
01 dodge ram ex cab slt

 

Though I primarily hunt from treestands that I have tailor made for my 6'3" 200+ lbs frame, I have used quite a wide assortment of commercially manufactured treestands. By far my favorite and the only manufactured treestand I own right now is an API Grand Slam Supreme. Its light weight, fast setup and reasonable comfort is the perfect mix of versatility for the type of hunting that I do.

In my book, the most comfortable stand available is the Tree Lounge, and it is quite possibly the safest as well. However, the one I have used (actually my dad's) was cumbersome, loud and not equipped for bowhunting. To bowhunt, you have to purchase (or make) an additional accessory (a shooting platform) that will allow you to stand up and make a bow shot. For gun hunting, the Tree Lounge is tops in my book for an all day hunt. For the money though, I would place my investment elsewhere. There are much more versatile and better equipped stands available today for less money. (For the record, my Tree Lounge was the older model, maybe the original version.)

Ol' Man treestands are fast and quiet and they carry well also. My problem with the Ol' Man I had was that it was all fine and dandy until one day I used it on a tree that's trunk was smaller than my waist. The pivoting arms liked to have squeezed me to death and eventually forced me to sit facing the tree with no backrest. Since my waist is bigger than many of the trees that I could use the Ol' Man on, it had to go. Other than that, that was a very good stand.

I've never tried a Summit, but they are really good looking stands and very good to use as well, I would imagine.

I have tried many different types of stands, and there is no perfect one. Even my favorite stand, a homebuilt that embodies all the features that I think my perfect stand should have, is not perfect. But, if I had to go buy a new one today, a commercially manufactured model, I would go with the API Grand Slam Supreme again. And that is my recommended treestand.

 

I use the Summit Viper XL.I have used most of the others mentoned and have found this stand to be the easiest,one of the lightest.I also select trees that have a soft but firm bark that the stand will bite into.Good luck and hunt hard.

 

I also use the Summit Viper Extreme XL and it really hooks on to the tree well !! You can even go up in smooth trees it bites so good. I highly recommend it.

Picture of the stand