RC harnesses vs traditional safety harness

[Hydro557]

I'm changing to a lock on mobile stand this year from fixed position.

I need a safety harness but I see a lot of guys prefer RC harnesses instead.

My number one priority other than safety, is simplicity. If it's a pita I know I won't use it.

Any of you guys have any thoughts on the simplest slickest options available?

To be clear, when it comes to RC harnesses I literally know nothing about the tech nor the terminology.

Fwiw I'm 6'3" and about 235 lbs. So I need something that is good for that.

 

[LostArra]

All RC harnesses are simpler than the full body harness IMO. No strap by your head-neck area. You are facing tree if you would fall.

I own a couple of Petzl's and use a Beal DynaClip to attach to a safety rope/prussic knot. Girth hitch at the harness, carabiner to the prussic. (There are other ways to connect to the tree)

I've been using them for at least 10 years. Never a problem with shooting a bow or safety in the stand.
YouTube has a lot of videos of use.

Just to get this out of the discussion: you are not going to be stuck upside down if you happen to fall. If you could somehow manage to get in that position and stay there, you probably shouldn't be hunting in trees.

 

[Macintosh]

It’ll work, but with some caveats. It wont have any built in attachments for a linemans belt if you are looking for a hang and hunt sort of affair—the only full strength tie in point will be one front/center point. You can use a linemans belt but it is not as clean as a harness made for that. If you are sitting or facing away from tree and fall, it’ll spin you around—maybe good, maybe not. Beyond that it is built to hold a person in a fairly hard fall, and built to hang in it as well. It will be a lot lighter and less bulky than any of the dedicated tree stand harnesses Ive seen. About the only down side is that it relies on being fairly snug in the waist to prevent you from falling out of it should you briefly wind up upside down—unlikely but possible—so it is a bit harder to get it right over bulky clothing esp if you’re carrying a lot of extra weight. Doesnt sound like thats a huge issue for you.

 

[LostArra]

Macintosh has a valid point on the linesman's belt but some RC harnesses do have load bearing side loops.
I've just used the front tie-in point.

 

[Macintosh]

Be REALLY careful of using the gear loops for anything other than gear. “Load bearing” doesnt mean anything specific until theres a number on it and testing to back that up, and the direction of pull matters too—those are really not designed to be part of the safety system. I would not personally want to use a load-bearing gear loop for a linemans belt unless it was tested to something around a couple thousand pounds—its quite easy to generate well over 1000pounds force in a very short bounce when you are dealing with static rope.

 

[fwafwow]

For me the RC harness is MUCH easier to deal with. I don't have to worry about putting on my old harness (over which layer, under other layers, with the tether going through the latter if there is a hole for it). Instead I can put on my belt over my pants and I can fit everything (and more) in a pouch or two attached to the belt. Then when I get to my tree, I put the leg loops on (no need to step into them) and I'm ready to go.

As for the LB loops issue, maybe that's true for regular RC harnesses, but I think you should look at RC harnesses that are designed for hunting - like the two below (both of which have lineman loops rated at 4k lbs). I have the first one.

KillDeer

— Choice of G-Hook or Premium leg straps — 18kN COBRA® buckle by AUSTRIALPIN™ — 6,000 lb rated Waist Belt Webbing — 4,000 lb rated Tubular Nylon Lineman Loops — Kit includes Leg Strap Enforcers Made…

dryadsaddles.com

Mutiny

— Choice of G-Hook or Premium style leg straps — 22kN COBRA® D-Ring buckle by AUSTRIALPIN™ — 6,000 lb rated Waist Belt Webbing — 4,000 lb rated Tubular Nylon Lineman Loops — Kit includes Leg Strap…

dryadsaddles.com

Finally - looking at the RC over a regular harness caused me to take additional steps for safety. I use a lifeline when at all possible and if I was climbing, I would not rely solely on the LB. FWIW.

 

[*zap*]

You can install two carabiners on the belt itself for lineman hookups.....they go around the belt and then some light cord to hold them in place....or around belt and thru gear loops.

 

[Hydro557]

Excellent thanks checking the links

 

[Macintosh]

@fwafwow , Never seen those, thanks. Didnt know such a thing existed. Not sure I would call it a rock climbing harness, but thats a great option for sure. My comments are specifically about actual rock climbing harnesses.

 

[fwafwow]

@fwafwow , Never seen those, thanks. Didnt know such a thing existed. Not sure I would call it a rock climbing harness, but thats a great option for sure. My comments are specifically about actual rock climbing harnesses.

Yeah, I'm not a rock climber, so I wouldn't know if this is true - but my impression is that the basic design is similar to a RC harness. I kept thinking that it was weird that most other gear has various level (and cost) options - from Ruger American to custom, and same with knives, etc. I couldn't quite understand why there wasn't anything much better than what I picked up first at a local hardware store. The Killdeer was the first item leading me down a rabbit holepath to more options.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I use a lineman rope with my RC harness. I attach it to the front of my harness and have had zero issues doing so.

 

[N2TRKYS]

For me the RC harness is MUCH easier to deal with. I don't have to worry about putting on my old harness (over which layer, under other layers, with the tether going through the latter if there is a hole for it). Instead I can put on my belt over my pants and I can fit everything (and more) in a pouch or two attached to the belt. Then when I get to my tree, I put the leg loops on (no need to step into them) and I'm ready to go.

As for the LB loops issue, maybe that's true for regular RC harnesses, but I think you should look at RC harnesses that are designed for hunting - like the two below (both of which have lineman loops rated at 4k lbs). I have the first one.

KillDeer

— Choice of G-Hook or Premium leg straps — 18kN COBRA® buckle by AUSTRIALPIN™ — 6,000 lb rated Waist Belt Webbing — 4,000 lb rated Tubular Nylon Lineman Loops — Kit includes Leg Strap Enforcers Made…

dryadsaddles.com

Mutiny

— Choice of G-Hook or Premium style leg straps — 22kN COBRA® D-Ring buckle by AUSTRIALPIN™ — 6,000 lb rated Waist Belt Webbing — 4,000 lb rated Tubular Nylon Lineman Loops — Kit includes Leg Strap…

dryadsaddles.com

Finally - looking at the RC over a regular harness caused me to take additional steps for safety. I use a lifeline when at all possible and if I was climbing, I would not rely solely on the LB. FWIW.

I wouldn’t like either of those two harnesses.

 

[Macintosh]

The actual rock climbing harnesses are certainly going to be more comfoortable than the ones pictured, and a bit lighter too if you get the right one—but if you are only using it for a safety harness (as opposed to leaning on it while standing as sort of a “half way to a saddle” rig) then the comfort is irrelevant; and I pretty much always am doing a hang and hunt so I rely on linemans belt every time I go up a tree. You can modify a climbing harness to allow this, but if I didnt already own it Id much rather buy one purpose-built. Frankly, I’m really happy to see those even if I might design it a little different.

 

[fatlander]

All RC harnesses are simpler than the full body harness IMO. No strap by your head-neck area. You are facing tree if you would fall.

I own a couple of Petzl's and use a Beal DynaClip to attach to a safety rope/prussic knot. Girth hitch at the harness, carabiner to the prussic. (There are other ways to connect to the tree)

I've been using them for at least 10 years. Never a problem with shooting a bow or safety in the stand.
YouTube has a lot of videos of use.

Just to get this out of the discussion: you are not going to be stuck upside down if you happen to fall. If you could somehow manage to get in that position and stay there, you probably shouldn't be hunting in trees.

This is the right answer.

Get you some 8mm rope and tie your own line man belt attachments for the harness. There’s a bunch of videos on YouTube showing how.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[loganwayne]

Id find a saddle vs a RC harness. i still use a saddle every time i go up a tree, but not "saddle hunted" in two years.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

Dryad killdeer

 

[sconnieVLP]

For me the RC harness is MUCH easier to deal with. I don't have to worry about putting on my old harness (over which layer, under other layers, with the tether going through the latter if there is a hole for it). Instead I can put on my belt over my pants and I can fit everything (and more) in a pouch or two attached to the belt. Then when I get to my tree, I put the leg loops on (no need to step into them) and I'm ready to go.

As for the LB loops issue, maybe that's true for regular RC harnesses, but I think you should look at RC harnesses that are designed for hunting - like the two below (both of which have lineman loops rated at 4k lbs). I have the first one.

KillDeer

— Choice of G-Hook or Premium leg straps — 18kN COBRA® buckle by AUSTRIALPIN™ — 6,000 lb rated Waist Belt Webbing — 4,000 lb rated Tubular Nylon Lineman Loops — Kit includes Leg Strap Enforcers Made…

dryadsaddles.com

Mutiny

— Choice of G-Hook or Premium style leg straps — 22kN COBRA® D-Ring buckle by AUSTRIALPIN™ — 6,000 lb rated Waist Belt Webbing — 4,000 lb rated Tubular Nylon Lineman Loops — Kit includes Leg Strap…

dryadsaddles.com

Finally - looking at the RC over a regular harness caused me to take additional steps for safety. I use a lifeline when at all possible and if I was climbing, I would not rely solely on the LB. FWIW.

That’s the first time I’ve seen a harness like that, thanks for posting the links. I’m pretty intrigued by that as an option.

I wear a full body now and don’t have (too much) of an issue with it, so I’m used to having my tether coming off my back. Did you find it difficult to have your tether hooked to the front? Where do you have the tether on the tree in relation to the height you’re sitting/standing at?

 

[Blackcow]

Tactisaddle has the tbws harness. I haven’t used it, but have friends in MI. that love it.

 

[Macintosh]

Makes sense some companies are making sit harnesses for hunting, it takes very little modification to do it. They are very $$$$ compared to rock climbing harnesses, but they appear to all be very low-volume brands or even custom, so they dont have very many harnesses to spread out the cost of any testing, insurance, etc. they all look like great options and Im sure over time will be refined.

Re tether height—I put my tether at a height that is comfortable for standing, and will slide my prussik up or down depending on whether I’m sitting or standing. Generally its pretty easy to keep it under my arm if Im sitting so it doesnt sit on top of my body or in the way of the bow. When standing it is essentially a saddle. A sit harness is less out of the way than with a rear-mounted attachment point on a full-body tree stand harness when you are sitting, but it allows lower bulk and weight for a long hike in/out, and much greater versatility sitting/standing so you can treat your stand as a saddle if you want. I think a lot of folks, me included, use a very small stand kind of as a combo stand/saddle so a rig like this works well for that.

 

[Roosterstraw]

Tactisaddle has the tbws harness. I haven’t used it, but have friends in MI. that love it.

Do they like it better than the killdeer?