Treestand safety harnesses
General Topic
Just recently put up a new stand that's much higher than I am used to hunting, so I'm looking at safety vests. I have one but its probably 20 years old, and I recently learned they have an expiration date. So i'm looking for a new one. I've tried looking through the different threads and still have some questions. The vest and the lifeline are 2 different items, correct? I've found some that bundle them together, but if they aren't bundled you would have to get both of them, right? When you have a lifeline, do you hook that up to your vest as you are climbing, then when you get to your stand, unhook and hook the vest up to the tree? Typically I have stands (ladder stands) set up against larger tree's, probably over 24 inches in diameter. Has anyone else hooked a safety strap in a large tree? Do they typically have a max size that they will support? I read different sites and didn't find anything regarding that. For those who leave the straps on the trees, do you ever run in to issues with squirrels/rodents eating away at the straps? Is there any way to prevent that?
I'm sorry for all the questions but i've been looking online for over an hour now and there's just so much out there its hard to sort things out. Also, I understand that different ones have different comfort levels, so it helps to try them on which I plan to do.
Yes ,the harness and the lifeline are two separate items. You can either buy premade lifelines or get 1/2 inch static kernmantle rope from a company like Backcounty, Gear Express or REI and assemble your own. Personally I get Bluewater Assault line. it has a polyester sheath which resists damage by sunlight and a nylon core for strength.
The purpose of the life line is to be attached continually to a safety line from the ground to your stand and back down. To disconnect from the safety line to attach to a belt or rope around the tree would leave yourself vulnerable during that period.
Since any lifeline or strap that is left in a tree is susceptible to damage by rodents and UV light I leave my harness attached to the lifeline and attach a second rope from my harness around the tree for redundancy. Not much you can do about critters chewing on your lines ,inspect each time you go to a stand and replace if needed.
I have two stands that are in very large diameter trees in those I have my lifelines tied around the trees and I have installed a large lag style eyebolt in the tree to attach my secondary line.
Lifelines use a prussik knot to attach your harness to the lifeline, rather than have one on each lifeline I have one prussik loop attach to my harness and tie it onto the lifeline when I get to the tree. The reason I do this is two fold one is the prussik loop is not left out exposed to the elements and gnawing critters and second since I have at least 25 stands out it is cheaper.
You can also buy a detachable fall protection device you can attach and detach to your lifeline at each stand site. I also take the tree strap out with each trip. Your still attached to the lifeline when you are attaching your tree strap. This way you only need 1 tree strap for all your stands. I don`t use a vest I prefer a strap harness myself.
Thank you, its beginning to make a little more sense to me now. I naively thought that the lifelines weren't as strong as the tree straps, but since both have to handle your full weight, it should be as strong as the strap.
