1st, compare them to screw ins. Dont compare to other climbing methods...apples to oranges.
When comparing to screw ins, bolts are far lighter and more packable. Much more affordable, too. 100 bolts for $100... can't say that about screw in steps.
You have a choice of a hand drill or cordless drill.
Most guys using cordless are doing presets, although there are cordless guys that drill, hang and hunt. For presets, cordless is as sweet as it gets. I use 20v so I cant comment on using 12v or 14v. I have heard they lose charge fast. I realize there are a lot of variables to that.
I can cordless drill and climb super fast with little effort.
Treehopper hand drills are the Cadillac of hand drills. EZKut are junk but are priced the same as Treehopper. Why not buy the best? Plus Treehopper customer service is top notch. EZKut...is often crickets.
A hand drilled hole takes roughly 60-70 cranks. The drill does most of the work once started. Cranking is easy but it will take a half minute or more for each hole. Hand drilling is definitely a 2 hand operation so a linemans belt is mandatory. I can install screw ins with 1 hand. Yeah, I know...always climb with a LB. I assess my own risk factor.
Once drilled, there is no climbing method that is as fast (up, AND BACK DOWN) as bolts.
Lets compare to the Americrap type screw in steps. They pack terribly, are a bitch to install and remove, and cant always be fully screwed due to individual tree shape, bumps, etc.
EZ Climb screw ins are great, but they are expensive and still can be tough to screw on very hard trees. An osage, for example it difficult even for EZ Climbs but its a piece of cake for bolts. My Treehopper eats osage for lunch. There are a couple properties I hunt that the only decent trees, in the right spot, are osage. Bolts for all those.
Already mentioned...must be grade 8 for total safety. Carbon and titanium are used but they are not bomb proof.
For the price, more trees can be set and ready to hunt, for a lot less money than for screw in steps.
Preset bolts dont really need shrink tube or dip...just paint them.
Bolts that are carried daily should be heat shrink tubed. 3:1, marine grade tube with built in adhesive is fast to do and very durable. Dip is neither fast nor durable.
I gave away almost 100 Americrap screw ins to a friend because they absolutely sucked.
I kept 100 EZ Climb Deluxe because they really are great steps. But I have not used them since I learned about bolts last year.
I love bolts.