My exact thoughts Ernie. The saddles hold their value well.
The most important piece to sling hunting for me was to get comfortable swinging from a rope smaller than my pinky.
Monkeying around with a rock climbing harness, and one stick climbing, flipping upside down in my web, and generally getting used to motion at height with no wide stable platform underneath me helped get a handle on how dynamic saddle hunting can be and the movements expected of you.
I don't think I've heard of a single person being immediately comfortable with the whole idea. So much of the tree stand industry focuses on keeping you still so you don't hurt yourself or sue them. Generally speaking, I think people take for granted safety harnesses when tree stand hunting. They are designed to save your life, but if you fall once, they recommend you replace it. I think this leads to a false sense of security, which also leads to a lack of inspection.
I'm a fan of using the equipment that protects me in a controlled fashion. It builds confidence in it and my ability to handle a bad situation. Most importantly, I'm constantly putting my eyes and hands on it looking for signs of wear or failure.
I would not recommend jacking up 30' in a sitdrag with no practice, and no RC harness. There are plenty of ways for it to fail or for you to slip out of it if you try hard enough or something kookie happens.
However, practicing at ground level to see how it reacts to your movements, and having a good climbing harness on when making your first ascents, I don't see how they are any more dangerous than any other type of stand for your first time. The danger in stand hunting is ascent and descent, and sudden equipment failure. I don't ever have a scenario where I can fall more than a couple feet. If the measures I take to ensure this aren't enough, then it's my time.
If you're a careful deliberate person, and understand how each component works, you should be fine. If you're not, you're at just as much risk clanging around the woods with a chunk of metal.