@Weldabeast that looks like a pretty sweet set up. Where do you carry your jacket for the 2 days of winter we have down here lol
You have me rethinking my set up now
You have me rethinking my set up now
The pictures posted here are of something I threw together yesterday.....the stuff that I hunt with is set up different. The middle back area I have a dano satchel I can stuff full of bulking clothing but I also have paracord cinch attachment that I use for my light layers...I don't use a heavy jacket hardly ever@Weldabeast that looks like a pretty sweet set up. Where do you carry your jacket for the 2 days of winter we have down here lol
You have me rethinking my set up now
So did you ditch the vest and stick with the suspenders, then? Or did you ditch those too? Curious because I just had a set of suspenders custom made and I haven't been able to use them yet (they need to be modified).I liked the idea having a vest attached to the saddle two years ago and tried it. Here were my thoughts:
- It’s a perfect system to keep the saddle at the perfect height while walking in and climbing
- with the right pouches at the right spots on the vest, accessories are at hand when needed
- I wanted to eliminate the need for a backpack
I rigged up the vest and saddle and went into the woods. So far, all worked as planned. Climbing the tree though, I didn’t like the vest during the climbing itself. Also, when at height, I realized I’d like to take it off and have the “stuff” in front of me for easier access than on a vest around my chest/waist. Personally, I tend to bring more stuff with me than I need , but like to have, just in case. E.g. first aid kit, water, snacks, binos, a book, power bank for the phone, poncho, etc… so, I was not able to eliminate the backpack.
i detached the vest and put on some suspenders from the hardware store instead. It allows me to position the saddle at the exact and perfect spot on my hip without cinching the belt tight to keep it in place. I have only climbing related items in the hip pouches, such as tether, LM rope, ATC/Figure 8, grappling hook and retrieving line.
In/on my backpack, depending on weather, I have poncho, extra jacket, ultimate stick or LW hand climber and the other “stuff”. I can climb with the backpack on, or pull it up after climbing. I do like hanging it on the tree so I have easy access to my stuff. I also like to keep it open and prop up my phone inside so I can see the screen and read incoming messages without movement. At the same time, it shields the glare from the screen.
So, long story short, in my opinion, a vest is a great idea if it works for you based on your personal preferences.
I still take a pack if I'm using sticks but I made DIY thingy for my vest and I only ground hunt in cold weather.I played around with this with a cheap set from Amazon last season, marketed to the airsoft crowd, sent it back and moved to a set of 4 pt suspenders, and back to a backpack, this might work for you southern boys, but I needed extra space to pack in layers.
I was also covering up my nice camo, with worse camo, ACU doesn't exactly blend into a tree, or my camo jacket.
Right now I'm using a set of side attach suspenders (2 pts) and attaching them right behind my dump pouches. This is perfect for holding the weight up on the walk in, while not picking up the front of the hip belt like a 4 pt suspender (highly recommend the 2 pt suspenders) and allows me to have all my gear in front of me on the tree in the backpack without having to rotate or move my arm around. Plus my pack is big enough and has a partial frame, so it makes it really comfortable to pack in sticks and stuff.
You guys might hit on something you like more than I did, but I think saddle, pouches, backpack is the way to go.
Yes, I took the vest off and have suspenders on the saddle since.So did you ditch the vest and stick with the suspenders, then? Or did you ditch those too? Curious because I just had a set of suspenders custom made and I haven't been able to use them yet (they need to be modified).