I'm at hunting height in less than 20 minutes regardless of my climbing method (1 stick/aider, multiple sticks, jim stepps, SRT). Most of these the actual climbing part is less than 10 minutes. But I understand the value in being able to simply climb up and strap in.
You mentioned things getting stolen so I think everyone assumed you were talking about your public land jaunts. If you have private land, Yes cheap sticks that stay are just fine. Any method will be fine there as you're not worried about theft apparently. One caveat here - you mention that you want to leave the sets on private land, and also hunt the same spots, and also not change deer patterns. The best way to accomplish those three things is to hang your presets in spring/early summer and stay away until the time is right. When you walk in in October/November and hang a set, you will probably change the deer's patterns as they will walk through and smell where you've been tromping around and avoid it. This is the big advantage of mobile - your odds go down drastically every time you sit a tree.
You're not asking for hunting strategy advice, but I'll toss it out there - If you have small private tracts where does come frequently, and you want to kill a big buck, I would leave those spots completely alone until the rut. You'll have a little goldmine once the bucks start cruising and pressure picks up all around you.
Also, one way to quiet your SRT setup is to remove the pulley from the top biner on the hand ascender. It's not necessary for climbing 15-30 feet. It helps slightly for much longer climbs, but not much on a short one. I also girth hitched my foot loop to my hand ascender, removing that biner from the picture as well. Those two things quieted the equipment up considerably. Going slow again helps here. I find that still using my feet to walk up the tree while ascending helps with the movement. This usually means climbing the high side of the tree.
