All very interesting thoughts, but I hunt 150+ acres that is private surrounded by farmland of clover, corn and alfalfa. I use all fixed position stands. My older hunting buddy of 16 yrs is a ladder stand only guy. Hard to get him in a fixed stand. We all know the benefits of all products on the market. To me it all comes down to experience, desire, and the need to explore. I got into hunting from a saddle this yr @ 66 /my 1st yr to expand my tool box and make life easier on public which my back property line touches with a creek from one lake to the next with a 100' drop of shale buffs, tons of deep clayed surfaced leaved gullies which are hard to cross due to terrain and butting up to private, thick swampy wet areas of drainage, higher elevations of different oak varieties mixed with walnuts, ash etc that can handle wet to your classic older growth hardwood oaks of dryer elevated sections. At my skill level it's still a tough challenge to figure bedding areas based on other hunters preset stand sites, their probable movements that still allow me to see deer much less kill a nice one.
I would love to figure out a hybrid system as I like the merits of many systems. Whether you hunt deep hemlock sections or open pine areas w/ lower vegetation w/ bow, shotgun, rifle, muzzleloaders etc you can get caught up in a safe full of products not counting if ur a sportsman that fishes, upland hunts, turkey and use trail bikes, snowdogs, kayaks, canoes or a otter sled to slip across a deep creek section. With that said I would think you have to be a reasonably skilled seasoned hunter who has put the time in to @ least to hit well with in a pie plate @ any range or condition you want to shoot. So it all comes down to what your area calls for to get the job done with a fun factor for your skill level and health. Have I got a lot to learn,,, hell yes, but I can't say I have not learned a ton from the worst unethical hunter I have bumped into to the best I know.
So for me I'm still @ a point where I'm interested in any climbing option w/in reason that gets me into a spot quietly with less effort w/less sweat to see more quality deer. For this ole FL boy I still love setting my back against my ole favorite Hemlock tree w/ drooping branches of snow during late season.