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Diy tree saddle

I didn't want to hijack the saddle thread any further, but wanted to share my experience so far with this project. First off I wanted to thank the guys that got me really thinking about saddle hunting, I hope we all get to meet up soon. It will be great to get some pointers on this from experienced hunters. Also the diy sportsman on YouTube was a great resource when putting this together. I mostly looked at this route to save money, and because I liked the idea of incorporating a climbing harness into the setup as an additional level of safety. You start with a sit and drag - $35, a climbing harness, 30 to 50 dollars for a pretty good harness, both attached with a carbiner - $10, and prusik loop - $10, to your tree tether, 11mm rope. I removed the bridge that came with the sit and drag and made one from the rope as well . I used a figure eight backed up with a fisherman's knot on both the bridge and to create the loop on the tree tether. In some video's they used tubular webbing for the bridge, but I wouldn't recommend it, just didn't feel as secure to me, and the rope allows you to adjust the bridge to your preferred length. I would also recommend a linemans belt for the climb to hunting height, I plan on fashioning one from the extra rope. I'm also probably going to upgrade to a ropeman ascender on my tree tether and the linemans belt, I think it will be worth the money for the convenience and simplicity. It's a simple set at hunting height, attach your tree tether, hook on your bottom prusik to your climbing harness, your top prusik to the sit and drag, then you give the climbing harness a bit of slack and distribute your weight to the seat. The sit and drag came with a back support strap that works well for comfort. I also should mention that the sit and drag was designed to be used at ground level. It's been tested at several hundred pounds, but the weight limit is listed at 300. I feel comfortable with the setup, if you had an issue with the sit and drag or the bridge, you would only drop a few inches until the climbing harness would take over. I plan on combining this saddle with either muddy aerolite , pro sticks, or lone wolf sticks. I think this is one of the most mobile hunting setups you can use, and the only one I know of that gives you 360 shot around the tree. I'm excited to try it in the whitetail woods. I have a feeling it's going to replace nearly all of my stands. Just wanted to share with you guys, it's atleast something to take a look at. Will, I also think this will probably help with my height sensitivity! ;-)

just fyi the ropeman ascender is not rated to take a fall, therefore shouldn't be a link in your lifeline system according to the manufacturer. Not saying it couldnt take it, but just wanted you to know before you buy 2

Wow, thanks cougar, you saved me about a hundred bucks down the road! Do you think the rest of the rig will hold up? I did a good bit of swinging and moving around, a couple of mock saddle fails and the harness worked great. Just need to get to hunting height and give it a real run through.

Looks good man! Interested to see how this progresses for you. I've watched similar videos to the one you used and I've thought about doing the same. Right now I'm kind of leaning towards the aero hunter kestral, but I'm a cheap skate and if this works just as well I might try it. So the idea with yours is that the saddle is more a less a sling that you sit in and you wear the rock climbing harness in case of a fall or slip from the saddle?

Yeah, exactly, it's just like sitting in a swing, and honestly, it's kinda fun! You can also adjust the tether and bridge to sit more or less upright, taking almost all The pressure off your hips. That's what's nice about this setup as well, You can cater it to your preference. Definitely some great manufactured saddles out there, I've heard good things about the aero. I just have to keep my recreational spending in check a bit, as i sit here wrapping and fletching a dozen FMJ's that ran 130 bucks. My wife has layed down the law , if one more smiley face package comes to this house, in the oven I'm gonna go head first! Lol

other than the 300 lb sit drag rating, which you mentioned, the rest of your rig looks secure at least what I can decipher from one pic. Personally, I might adjust the two carabiners so that they don't "overlap" and potentially clank together at the wrong time. Also, last day this season, I had the barrel of the carabiner on my lifeline freeze shut after 6 hours sitting in the snow ~ 25 degrees or so. Pretty cold coming down, not fun. Next time I'll turn the barrel down and then back off a quarter turn when its cold and damp. Those barrels shouldn't ever be TIGHTENED anyway (I'm looking at you scared of heights guys) it can damage the aluminum screw mechanism and ultimately wear the barrel down until it doesn't lock at all.

I'm not using a saddle, but hunt from a full-on DIY lineman's belt / tether / rock harness rig in the general mode of DIYSportsman and the like. I've got mine tweaked for comfort over weight but its super versatile and I feel very secure. For me, the fear of heights went away once I mastered the equipment and learned to trust not only it, but my ability to properly rig the set-up.

Cougar, another great tip on the carbiner, thanks brother! That's stuff you just can't plan for, experience is the best teacher. I'm really liking the climbing harness for safety, even in a climber or traditional stand, it's not just designed to take a fall, but to hold your weight and allow you to recover. I think I'll end up feeling the same way once I'm comfortable with the harness and rigging. The toughest part was relearning those knots again.

No problem eastie, if you have other questions or want fresh eyes on something lemme know. I worked a rock wall and outdoor adventure course for a few years so I'm probably better w gear than deer lol

That's exactly how I started last year Eastie. 2 recommendations...sew the loops of the sitdrag. (Roll the top & bottom of the webbing so they overlap in the middle, tgen run a stitch down through all three pieces.) It makes the loops more rigid & easier to clip or the into.

Second....sew in a belt of milspec tubular webbing and add an austriaplin cobra buckle (climbing rated). That way you can cinch the sitdrag around your waist and wear it in rather than put it on at the tree.

Also...if you tie them right there is no need to back up the fig 8 follow through with a Fisherman's. You're just taking up space on your bridge. (We never back up when we climb unless we're at the rock gym and they force you to) but it it give you added confidence go for it. My sitdrag bridge is 5/16 amsteel with a buried brummel lock loop on one end and a sewn loop on the other so I can literally twist in either direction all the way to the sitdrag loops.

On my kestrel I'm sticking with the predator rope for the bridge for now, but don't really like the knots at either end.

Hickstick, can you post a pick of your bridge with with the brummel lock loop? I am trying to picture it.

Hick, more great suggestions man, I really appreciate It! I looked at the amstel, but ended up having alot of that 11mm rope left over, so I went with that for the bridge. Really the only reason I backed up the 8, other than remembering the guy from wall climbing years ago backing it up, was because I left a bunch of extra rope in case I wanted to adjust the length. It's cool that so many guys are doing this, I'm really interested to see people's set ups in the future.

Pete, I'll have to dig it out so it may take a couple days. It's been packed away since I got the kestrel.

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