Tree Saddles. Thoughts, Tips, Stories?

[thebestusernamesaretaken]

2 more tips:

Trust your gear - you won't die if your using correctly

Make a conscience effort not to swing - by this I mean swinging back and forth from a tree draws unwanted attention from critters on your list. It's not a pourch swing or a hammock but feels like both. I get busted at least once at the begining of every season just hanging around . Once you control this urge, you'll never get busted.

 

[D_Walt]

all this tree stuff looks like a huge PITA, glad there’s no trees (only 6 to 8’ brush) where I whitetail hunt…if we don’t feel like shooting out of the truck window we just put up a box stand and turn on the feeder. Crack open a couple of 7 or 8 cold ones and BOOM!

 

[geetar]

all this tree stuff looks like a huge PITA, glad there’s no trees (only 6 to 8’ brush) where I whitetail hunt…if we don’t feel like shooting out of the truck window we just put up a box stand and turn on the feeder. Crack open a couple of 7 or 8 cold ones and BOOM!

If “ Texas deer hunting “ had a spot in the dictionary.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

When you guys harvest an animal using saddles, do you pack the animal out in the field, drag it back to the truck, what is your method of getting the meat back? Looking at the Cruzr saddles and since I lost my private hunting spot, I'm thinking about giving public a shot with saddles.

In MN you can quarter a deer once registered; which can be done from your phone.

 

[geetar]

In MN you can quarter a deer once registered; which can be done from your phone.

Same with NC. Deer can be registered from phone and then cut up in field.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I love my saddle; used a couple of them. Super lightweight (comparatively), can get into almost any tree or structure and hang out of sight. I slide it in my pack and go.

There are tons of methods to get up the tree. I personally (currently), use steps and aiders to get up. I keep thinking about switching to DRT or SRT because it may end up being lighter weight, quiet and more versatile. I tend to find myself scouting and exploring in places that most folks wouldn't and always want to hang from a tree in an amazing place, but don't want to carry heavy gear.

SRT is interesting... time savings climbing versus potential to get your rope stuck. Not sure if I like it or not.

 

[thebestusernamesaretaken]

SRT is interesting... time savings climbing versus potential to get your rope stuck. Not sure if I like it or not.

Seems like something you have to try a couple of times before you decide if you like it

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Seems like something you have to try a couple of times before you decide if you like it

Yeah I just imagine some scenario where something breaks or your realize you forgot something and then you just have your rope there stuck.

Flip side, if your on public someone cant easily steal your rope... mess with it sure.

Definitely something to play around with... funny how many different methods folks are using to climb a rope.

 

[thebestusernamesaretaken]

Yeah I just imagine some scenario where something breaks or your realize you forgot something and then you just have your rope there stuck.

Flip side, if your on public someone cant easily steal your rope... mess with it sure.

Definitely something to play around with... funny how many different methods folks are using to climb a rope.

That's what made it interesting for me. I of course started with tree spikes, then strap on tree steps, then back to sticks, then Wild Edge Steps, now Wild Edge Steps with aiders to lighten it up.



As soon as I got used to working with those, I immediately became curious about DRT and SRT that tree arbors use. Seems to me that you can use the rope for more than one thing and if you get the right rope, it could be lighter.

 

[rwc101]

Wonder if the range will let me climb the flag pole to practice shooting.

 

[thebestusernamesaretaken]

Wonder if the range will let me climb the flag pole to practice shooting.

Mine does - You see all mannor of wierd stuff there, so I guess it's not that bad.

 

[rjthehunter]

I need to weigh everything but I probably take too much. small saw, pruners, binos, thermacell if early season, rangefinder, water, snacks, headlamp, extra batteries, platform, 3 original hawk heliums with the buckle(majority of the weight), cable aiders on 2 sticks, a 2 step aider on one stick. I typically pack my saddle in also, figure it's less wear and tear on it. I never wear my jacket while walking in so that's in there also.

Gotcha. I'm not counting the weight of all the other BS my dumb@ss decides to bring with lol... I went through my pack last week and lost probably 5lbs of random crap that just ended up in there.

It depends how far I'm planning on walking. But I usually over pack. Found a few tree climbers, a bino adapter for a tripod, and other useless stuff I'd thrown in at some point for some reason.

 

[Dsnow9]

Yeah I just imagine some scenario where something breaks or your realize you forgot something and then you just have your rope there stuck.

Flip side, if your on public someone cant easily steal your rope... mess with it sure.

Definitely something to play around with... funny how many different methods folks are using to climb a rope.

Didn’t watch the video but SRT is stationary rope technique. The type of anchor point changes on your desires. There is canopy anchor which is not retrievable like a girthed lanyard on a tree. Basal anchoring is taking your rope over a large branch in the canopy and tying it to the base of the tree on one side. Your rope does not need to be isolated like it does for DRT. It can run through the entire other side of the tree.

Your climbing system should work well on ascending an SRT system. Coming down is the hard part because you have to manage fiction. 100 percent of your weight is now on your hitch vs 50 percent in drt. Feiction can be managed by adding a Muenter hitch or figure eight below your hitch.

 

[DouglasR]

Didn’t watch the video but SRT is stationary rope technique. The type of anchor point changes on your desires. There is canopy anchor which is not retrievable like a girthed lanyard on a tree. Basal anchoring is taking your rope over a large branch in the canopy and tying it to the base of the tree on one side. Your rope does not need to be isolated like it does for DRT. It can run through the entire other side of the tree.

Your climbing system should work well on ascending an SRT system. Coming down is the hard part because you have to manage fiction. 100 percent of your weight is now on your hitch vs 50 percent in drt. Feiction can be managed by adding a Muenter hitch or figure eight below your hitch.

 

[Dsnow9]

View attachment 201357

Do you want personalized videos too? I’ve been hunting to much and need to catch up on work but might be able to make one for you…

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Do you want personalized videos too? I’ve been hunting to much and need to catch up on work but might be able to make one for you…

“Vibing in Trees with Dsnow9” sounds like a great YouTube series

 

[brownbear932008]

Interesting. The Hawk sticks I bought are the 20" ones. They come in a 4 pack and have the daisy chain strap that came with them. A lot lighter than the cam buckle that they used to come with. 2.4lbs each with the top steps removed on one and the platform that weighs like 1.4lbs. So lets just say 11lbs of sticks. I'm not counting the weight of other items I have/wear that I'd normally wear. The 11 lbs is in the sticks and platform alone.

If you'd add in the weight of the phantom saddle (1.5lbs) and lineman and tree tether I'm probably around 15lbs for the setup. Switch to the 1 stick method and I know guys that are down to like 6lbs. Just more things to buy to get to that point.

What else are you hauling in with you that gets you up to 36lbs???

I have the predator platform with the cam buckle not thrilled with that cam buckle set up. Think I may look into replacing it with the daisy chain. I have the hawk helium steps with daisy and really like them.

 

[JFish]

Well it was amateur hour this morning climbing the tree. I clanked every peice of gear that was capable of making a noise, tangled my bow rope around myself and then left my release at the base of the tree. I think I’m just going to do two trips up. Too many things strapped to myself getting tangled.

I did get to try out a two panel saddle. I really liked the comfort of the two panel design and I didn’t move around as much. It took some finagling but once I got it how I liked it, I could have fallen asleep. The only thing I disliked is the webbing bridge. It does not slide in the carabiner when you lean and it makes noise under load so I think I will replace that with an amsteel bridge.

I also tried to use my predator platform with two tree hopper steps on the strap. It didn’t work very well and a clanked them together in the tree trying to set it. I couldn’t get them positioned very well and didn’t use them. I’m going to mess with that some more before I decide to remove them.

Saw no deer, had more fun then I would have at work.

 

[howl]

Saddle hunting was a fad back in the late '80s for several years. I think the effort required killed it along with improvements in climbing stands. I recall a couple of people who stuck with it the longest who were wiry linemen. Time will tell.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Saddle works nice for me in trees that don’t work well with stands but I prefer the comfort of a lock on for most situations. I have a field edge set where I’d be extremely exposed in a stand but actually blend in pretty good on the backside with a saddle. I wouldn’t want to do an all day sit in a saddle, especially November or later in northern mn. I have to use boot blankets to keep my feet warm this time of year and that’s not something I want to do with a saddle. I really like being able to strap my bulky sticks, late season bibs/parka, and boot blankets to a mobile stand platform. I haven’t been able to configure my SO or SG packs to work as slick in that regard. Saddles also make it a requirement to have a weapon holder which I occasionally skip with lock on stands.

Im just getting back into Midwest whitetail hunting the past few years. Nobody in my family has ever used harnesses so I’ve never had one other than what comes with stands. I have been using my saddle as a harness with my lock ons now that I’m doing hang and hunts.

I had a phantom saddle and replaced it with a cruzr which I find more comfortable with reduced hip pinch.