New tethered saddle
Massachusetts
The new saddle has so much shit sewed into it it needs its own suspenders. So much for the argument that it is minimalistic and saves weight compared to other styles. Lol
I absolutely love my saddle after one season . Icant see myself prepping anymore tree stands
I'm not sure I'd ever argue that saddle hunting is more simple, or any mobile hunting strategy for that matter. It has always seemed far more complicated. The lack of bulk is where it's at in my opinion. My old Aerohunter Kestrel is working just fine, so no need to be tempted by the new fangled options.
Also, I just saw that Aerohunter is going out of business. They have the rest of their saddles on sale for $200 a piece.
Looks pretty complicated.
Its still pretty minimal compared to lugging a stand or climber. But its not for me either. I like my basic saddle setup. I fought the saddle trend hard for a couple years. Then I jumped in when they first debuted the phantom. Hands down that and my beast mini sticks took my hunting to a higher level. As far as mobility goes the saddle is a superior tool
My biggest problem with the saddle is finding a way to carry my sticks in and get set up that isn’t a pain in the ass. I still haven’t found that “perfect” set up for lugging my sticks in. Haven’t found the perfect sticks yet either.
I walk around alot with my saddle on especially since I put suspenders on it. This new one looks like good get really sweated up walking alot with it on. I really like the mesh of the phantom for that reason.
The phrase “Rube Goldberg contraption” comes to mind.
I have a phantom, and after a few years of doing the thing HSFC taught me (use the linemans over the shoulder like a suspender) I splurged and bought Tethered's suspenders last year. Best 25~ bucks I've spent on saddle stuff outside the actual saddle.
That said, I'm convinced, that the benefit of the saddle, is that i can hunt almost any tree, and if I choose to hunt the ground, I can use it as a seat which is cool. I dont think it's more simple than my climber was.
MAPA, the stick issue is solved with long sticks, vertical on your pack, and hunting 10-12 feet. Being a scared poopless of heights person has perks :)
Exactly Jeb. its like they tried to empty the shop on this one. over complicated.
on one hand it surprises me as Greg was always a minimist/ultralight-er ...but he was always a tinkerer as well so in that respect its not surprising. I sorta knew that they would adopt this BS arms race annual product reveal stuff, just like the bow industry...every year they gotta come out with the latest and greatest to trick people into buying the same $#it year after year. consumerism is killing us ....
first thing I do when I get out of my truck at the spot (after tying my boots...I never tie them lol) is put my saddle on, and I walk quite a bit and have a gut, and I have never needed suspenders. 1) no Dump pouches or saddle bags...no extra weight. 2) loose leg straps and pull waist belt up over the top of my pants belt and sung it down it never moves and I have to have it built into my process to remember to lower it for rope climbing.
only thing on my saddle is the bridge, a linemans/tether one rope serves both purposes, a couple biners and my garda hitch footloop.
stick climbing with multiple sticks is a PIA. Single stick climbing is so much easier and move convenient. (however I still prefer arborist rope climbing methods to any other method of climbing).
HSFC yea..its a bummer about aerohunter...I was seriously thinking about picking up their new saddle the Rev as it is very close to an arborist saddle and would be the bomb for rope climbing. I'm still rocking my OG Kestrel bought in 2017.
These guys are still putting a lot of thought into a lot of gear and it’s usually top notch. Has anyone come close to the tethr one stick? I’d like to hunt a few times out of one before giving my opinion just based on their cred. Based on looks I’m skeptical
Here in my older years, I find myself afraid of an increasing number of things. One of them is speed. So I was terrified watching the video when they turned it around to show the jet pack on the back.
Hick, I love that saddle. Our setups sound very similar. I don't run any side pouches either. My tether is the only thing that hangs from my hip and I daisy chain it to hold it in place.
Agreed about Aerohunter as well. They make a great product. Unfortunately, they would not or could not adapt when Tethrd came onto the scene. They haven't made a post to their social media in two years, and they don't appear to make any attempt at connecting with their customers or potential customers. That may have worked when they were the only game in town, but it was without a doubt their downfall. Those dudes from Tethrd are at least as good at marketing as they are making saddle gear, maybe even better.
Mapa, i have a phantom and I run beast minis(best stick around IMO). I run a small pack that holds my platform and sticks. Its super minimalist.
Curious what pack? I have a tree pack I bring up which is a camelback trophy 20l. It’s pretty great. I either lash platform and stick to the outside or bring my larger frame pack with wings and put my smaller pack and everything and wing it shut. It sounds silly to bring 2 packs but it’s pretty fast and convenient
Elite spanker pack. Two molle dump pouches all from amazon. Predator fits inside, stucks mount to molle on outside, and I upgraded the shoulder straps. Ive tried lots of options and this was the best for me. Also turns out it was dirt cheap…
Thanks. It works well. Been running that same setup for two years now.
