Hunted from one of my new treestands tonight (this one was 20' off of the ground) and I gotta say, I have new respect for you fellers that have been huntin from 'stands all these years!  Damn thats high up with nothing more than a piece of metal wedged into a tree holding you up via tow strap..........


And no luck today either.  Sat up there for 5 hrs, no joy

Straps?  Who uses straps?

Try climbing a 35ft ladder with no straps, one handed while carrying a circlesaw.

I was out hunting today as well.  Didn't see a damn thing... it was too warm in our area for the deer to be up and about though.

edit:  I don't hunt from stands at all but I'm looking to start.  My biggest issue is versatility.  Our land and the surrounding land is pretty overgrown in most areas and there are few paths.  I don't like the idea of lugging a tree stand around but for bow season I'd like to try.

What kind of stand would you guys suggest?

I hunted exclusively from the ground my first year. Year two I started into the stands and I'm hooked.

For stability and comfort it's tough to beat a 2-man ladder stand. (I tried putting two people in one once. WAY too crowded.) They're a two- or three-person job to set up though... and heavy.

I've got a few hang-on stands that are great for further in the woods with screw-in steps. I tend to keep these under 10 feet; don't need to get higher - just above the ground brush.

The most comfortable hang-on I have is one of the Field & Stream XL stands (about $100 at Dicks) - big suspension-type seat, padded rests, etc. I can spend hours up there comfortably. I use climbing sticks (strap on ladders) for this one, much easier to deal with than the screw-in steps.

Twenty feet, by the way, is insane. I don't get the folks that want 20-30' stands... just way too high for me!

I've hunted hard for 25 years. All sorts of stands.

Take it from me - a person that has come out of stands twice. Buy and USE a safety harness.
I got busted up something terrible on my 2nd fall and now hunt from ladder stands exclusively
when I'm up a tree.  The first fall I dislocated my shoulder and broke my arm. I wasnt so lucky
the second time. Thank God no permanent damage but a whole heap of hurt and hospital visits.

I usually hunt from a stump now or in a pop up blind.  

Even my ladder stands, I don't usually go up 20'.  At 10-14", the deer almost never look up that high, unless you do something stupid, like leave your cell phone on.    

For my hang-on, I put it as high as I can reach, so about 7-8'. then throw a few spikes in the tree to climb up.  I've used a couple of the Gorilla hang-on stands, and both have served me well.  They are easy to hang and pretty quiet when you're in them.  Definitely wear a safety harness, though, there's not a lot of room for error in those things.

Going light is always good.

I've only used three types of climbers in the past 13yrs.
The first was a climber who's mfr escapes me that weighed 27lbs... I do remember that the models name was 'Marauder'.
he second was a Summit 180 at 21lbs.  No problem for gun hunting or walking shorter distances.  I liked how simple and quiet Summit's are so I then got their OpenShot at 15lbs and I've been using it ever since.  I think I'm on my 6th year with it and it's still going strong.  I replace the heat shrink tube every year for about $15-20.  I make about 30 climbs a year with it.
The third was a used LoneWolf hand climber weighing in at 14-15lbs.  Great stand, but didn't see the need for it when I was so comfortable using the OpenShot.  I sold the Lone Wolf hand climber for the same price I paid and used it off and on for only one season.

I do have two Lone Wolf Assault stands with a couple sets of their climbing sticks.  Sticks and stand togethere are 16lbs.  Love those things!

From day one I was using Summit's Seat-O-The Pants body harnes.  They still sell it and it works pretty good for me because I put it on at the truck and I can add and remove layers while in the stand without taking it off.  Can't do that with a vest style.

Wear your body harness.  Always.  Period.

I hunt almost exclusively from lock ons. I almost always set them at least 20'. When I hunt from a climber I go as high as I need to to see where I want to see. But then heights don't bother me. It also has the extra benefit that no one else I hunt with will sit my stands.