Keep in mind even if the bolt snaps from the uneven loading, you would only fall or more accurately tilt backwards, until the arms hit their normal stopping point. In theory, stopping this acceleration could cause the stand to get overload and fail, but that is probably only the case if there is another defect in the stand already. I cant imagine the force from stopping this fall is any more than the force you cause when you "bounce" on it to make sure it bites the tree (maybe im the only one who does this idk). Also, while i would never recommend intentionally going over the manufacturers weight limit, (and i imagine LW would not like this info out there) a commercial product like this was probably built to fail at about 2000lbs (5 times rated). As Long as you are Tethered to the tree you should be good.