Ok so I finally decided to try saddle hunting this weekend. I had been thinking about trying it for a while and so a couple weeks ago I started researching and shopping for a saddle set up. Had a little sticker shock at the pricing for these things and was about to write the whole mess off because I couldnt justify spending the money to try something I wasnt sure I would like. Especially when I already have a pick up truck full of stands that work great. Then I ran across a thread on saddlehunter about making one out of a piece of fleece material. Since I already had a rock climbing harness and plenty of rope for a tether and prusik's as well as plenty of carabiners, I thought, I can make that work. Ran down to the wally world and bought a $6.35 tax included fleece throw. Should be able to get at least 4-5 saddles out of the throw.
Threw all the parts in the truck with my other gear and headed to the woods friday after work. It rained all night and well into the morning saturday so I had time to make up the saddle. Took forever to get that thing put together, like 10 minutes or something LOL. Remembered that we had a Gorilla strap on tree seat that Dad had used like twice hunting from the ground and rounded it up. When the rain stopped, I took my new saddle and the tree seat out back and threw it on a tree. put the seat on and hoped on it put my linemans rope on for simulation purposes and then put a tether I made that morning as well on the tree clipped in the harness and saddle and sat back. Only after looking behind me to see what I might land on if this mess didnt work. Holy crap, it not only worked but it was really comfortable. Unhooked my new setup and headed to the woods.
Hung about 2.5 hours Saturday evening and had a 3 hour hang yesterday morning in it and I must say I am surprised at how much I like it. Best I can tell at this point, I only need to make one adjustment. I need to re-tie my bridge and shorten it up 3-4 inches. With my 4 rope mod'd helium stick and the tree seat for a platform I cut my carry weight at least in half. If you cover a lot of ground and you havent looked at using a saddle system, you might want to consider it.
Threw all the parts in the truck with my other gear and headed to the woods friday after work. It rained all night and well into the morning saturday so I had time to make up the saddle. Took forever to get that thing put together, like 10 minutes or something LOL. Remembered that we had a Gorilla strap on tree seat that Dad had used like twice hunting from the ground and rounded it up. When the rain stopped, I took my new saddle and the tree seat out back and threw it on a tree. put the seat on and hoped on it put my linemans rope on for simulation purposes and then put a tether I made that morning as well on the tree clipped in the harness and saddle and sat back. Only after looking behind me to see what I might land on if this mess didnt work. Holy crap, it not only worked but it was really comfortable. Unhooked my new setup and headed to the woods.
Hung about 2.5 hours Saturday evening and had a 3 hour hang yesterday morning in it and I must say I am surprised at how much I like it. Best I can tell at this point, I only need to make one adjustment. I need to re-tie my bridge and shorten it up 3-4 inches. With my 4 rope mod'd helium stick and the tree seat for a platform I cut my carry weight at least in half. If you cover a lot of ground and you havent looked at using a saddle system, you might want to consider it.
