@Country you are correct in that if you loosened your linesmans belt enough to go around a tree stand it would be a terrible fall. It’s possible to set the platform below your linesmans rope eliminating that issue but it’s still a good idea to hook in your tether.
@Buckhole75 I literally had to move my linesmans belt around every step on the way down last weekend. If the tree isn’t too big I want my tree bolts at about 4:00 and 8:00 on the tree. That way if I lose my balance and grab at a bolt I’m not pulling it out of a tree.
I’m not questioning your expertise and am not sure of what your daily use of linesmans belt entails. The ropes most of us use grip the tree better than most arborist ropes with a steel core or stiffened flat webbing. They actually twist causing them to shorten and become tighter as you are sliding down.
As far as carelessness that’s subjective. Some could say climbing 30’ in the dark on webbing aiders and stepps or 24” long sticks in the dark into a tree you have never seen in daylight would be careless. Some would just call it Saturday morning. There’s a reasonable amount of risk in everything we do. Most things we enjoy increase that risk. Then again we can sit in our recliner and die of septicemia because we are scared if we get up to go to the bathroom we’ll fall and break a hip.