Agree with all comments. If someone has bashed the Kestrel or AeroHunter that's no bueno. I don't remember any other saddle companies donating 4 CUSTOM SADDLES to you guys for SaddlePalooza!!!!! AH makes a fantastic saddle that any saddle hunter would be lucky to have. I've personally recommended it to hundreds of prospective saddle hunting converts.
In my opinion saddle hunting has been seeing evolutionary change as opposed to revolutionary. The Trophyline Tree Saddle was a great product that hooked a lot of us on saddle hunting. It was great, but there was room for improvement. Many saddle addicts like myself started pursuing ultralight DIY saddles like the SitDrag, fleece saddles, modified Anderson slings, the Kenn1320 sling, Preacher Seats, and the list goes on and on. The Kestrel was eventually developed along those same lines...a light, safe saddle that worked for everyone. Personally I don't think the pursuit will ever stop. I'm not sure I want it to end.
Tethrd and the Mantis with Predator platform (plus some other goodies
) is the next evolution for saddle hunters born from the previously mentioned pursuit of the ultimate ULTRALIGHT versatile hunting saddle. There will be more.
Make no mistake, it is far from a "clone" or a "descendant" of anything. I'm not sure where that idea came from, but it couldn't be further from the truth. I have a garage full of hacked up Trophyline products, Sitdrags, MILSPEC creations, custom sew jobs, and ideas that never panned out that led to the ultimate development of the Mantis. We put an all-star cast together on the Tethrd Team with close to 100 YEARS of combined saddle hunting experience. It's pretty amazing and I feel incredibly lucky to be a small part of it.
Saddle Nation - BE HAPPY!!!! Saddle hunting is a small niche market and the goal is to watch it grow. The more it grows, everyone wins. Growth inspires innovation. When new blood and fresh ideas get injected into our community - we all win!!!! Like a lot of you innovators reading this post, I've given literally thousands of hours of my own free time building new ideas, creating content, starting conversations, hosting events, and helping new converts all with the goal of growing the Saddle Hunter Nation.
That's the goal of Tethrd. Create new saddle hunters. Period.
Oh yeah, please support Tethrd on June 1st