TREESTANDS
Treestands are generally available in fixed, climbing and ladder styles. These various styles have helped make treestands one of the most important pieces of bowhunting equipment available. The type of treestand you choose should be dictated by the type of area you hunt. If you spend your time in pine thickets or pin oak stands where the branches on the trees come down to nearly ground level, stay away from climbing treestands as they need straight trees with few branches below 20 feet. A ladder stand or fixed position stand may work in trees with a lot of branches with just a bit of trimming. Use screw in treestand steps or a ladder that attaches to the tree with straps and you'll be in fine shape. Let's take a quick look at the attributes of each style treestand.
Climbing Treestands
Climbing treestands are the most commonly used treestand in the hunting woods today. They are versatile and offer the bowhunter agreat deal of flexibility and comfort. Climbing treestands come in two pieces that attach to the tree with some sort of climbing strap that wraps around the back of the tree. The hunter stands on the lower portion of the treestand and while hanging onto the upper portion pulls his legs upward bringing the lower platform with him. As you settle your weight back down onto the lower platform of the treestand it locks into position on the tree. This "climbing" sequence is repeated until the hunter reaches the level they want to hunt from. These treestands are usually lightweight becasue the hunter will pack it in and out of the woods before and after each hunt. 
Ladder Stands
These treestands are, as the name implies, built with a ladder that is generally 15 feet tall. A platform and seat are built into the top of the ladder. The treestand rests against a tree and is attached to the tree at the platform and about halfway up th eladder. These treestands are great because they allow the bowhunter to sit virtually anywhere they can find a tree. Branches and crooked trees are generally not a huge problem with ladder style treestands. The downside of these treestands is that they can be very heavy and usually take 2 people to put up on a tree safely. It is this characteristic that leads most bowhunters to leave them in their original location once they are set up.
Fixed Position Treestands
The original treestand design, fixed position treestands or hang-on treestands are a platform with a seat that is attached to the tree usually with a strap or chain. How you get up the tree with the treestand is up to you. The stands are very lightweight and allow the bowhunter a lot of choices when selecting a tree to hunt from. these treestands can be placed in very tight quarters and if you like to hunt in heavy cover for concealment they are an excellent choice. As far as climbing the tree the treestands most hunters use scre win style steps. Just as the name implies, these steps are pointed and threaded on one end and shape dinto a step. You screw the step into the tree trunk one at a time until you reach your desired height. This can be very hard work and time consuming to do. A hunting friend fo mine takes a cordless drill with him to drill pilot holes for the steps, makign ti easier to get tehm started in the tree. Another option is small ladder sections. These are becoming very popular becasue they are easier to attach to the tree, but they add weight to your load going in. Fixed position treestands are generally left in their location like ladder stands because it can be time consuming and hard work to move these treestands.
I own a ladder style treestand that I bought to hunt a particularly well used deer run through a stand of pines and some very mature, gnarly old trees. It conceals me well and is always there ready for me to quietly climb up into and hunt. I also own a climbing treestand that allows me to hunt a number of areas on that same property. It is light enough to carry on my back a mile or so to these other stand locations and allows me the flexibility to get into and out of different trees even in the same day if I'm not seeing deer.
I do not own a fixed position or hang-on style treestand, but have sat in many over the years hunting with friends. I love the flexibility they provide when it comes to choosing a tree to set up in. These treestands also allow you to sit in thicker cover with branches to break up your outline. The platforms are generally smaller than those on climing treestands so comfort and even safety can be an issue. Again, similar to the ladder style treestand, they are there waiting for you to hunt and very quiet to get into quickly in the dark.
Your treestands should be quiet to set up, they should be quiet when you are sitting in them and shift your weight and they should be matched to the type of trees you predominantly hunt in.
I love my Summit Bushmaster climbing treestand. It is comfortable, lightweight and quiet when climbing up and down the trunk of a tree or sitting in it waiting for deer.