Back in the 90's I had some purple anodized bar ends that were super kick ass, but when I got back into the game bar ends had fallen out of favor. I tried to ride with the wide riser bar, but switched for a flat bar (clearance issues). After a year of riding I moved to a city with actual elevation changes and installed bar ends and still use them several years later, they make a huge deference climbing. As for being tree hooks, I figured if a tree is that close I'm pretty much screwed with or without bar ends.