I like the ladder and having a fair size platform to sit/stand from to shoot.

always used lock ons... now that they got the bolt together ladders good a cheap they make a good combo to get to the top of the tree.. ladder stands only get you about 20ft and twice as hard to assemble

Shoot 20 feet is all the farther I wNt to fall.

Lone Wolf Hand Climber by far if I am using a climber.

My favorite stand by far is the treewalker climber. There is not a more versatile stand out there.

http://treewalkertreestands.com/detail.asp?sku=ProMag XL&r1=chillpad&r2=crossbowholder&r3=padstrap-upgrade

Ole man climber with the net seat is my favorite

My personal preference is a Game Tamer type stand. I'm a big guy 6'2" 300# and not considered fat. About 20 years or so I built some that had a 40" base with a swivel seat in the middle. This is befor I knew anything about the game tamer stands. They work great with a big deck and can move 360*. Hunting in the hill country we don't have big trees but the can be hung on a tree that's not exactly straight. The adjustable deck helps with that. Only other thing I've bow hunted out of are tripods or ground blinds but prefer the hang on.

I have several of the Guide Gear Comfort hang-ons. I get them from Sportsmans guide. It is by far the most comfortable I have ever used. I can sit in it all day and the only hard part is not falling asleep. I bow hunt out of it but it does have the rifle rest. It is also very budget friendly. However like most cheap stands its pretty heavy. Mine are all on private property and dont get moved much though.

i like the hang on 360 and or ladder but i custom build most of mine

Lone Wolf Assault II, set of 4 Lone Wolf Climbing Sticks, combined with the Alpha Tech-Stick-Quiver makes packing it in easy.

I am really lucky, we own the land we hunt. So all of our stands are permanent platforms, plus we scatter popups around as necessary.

I hunt the hill country and North Tx so lock ons usually won't work cause we don't have the right trees or even trees in some instances. I use tripods mostly. I like getting above my quarry. Boy it's a lot of work getting one set up but they sure are comfy once you get one in.