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Barren Ridge Reviews?

Nutterbuster

Nutterbuster

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2017
Messages
10,069
Location
Where the skys are so blue!
I've been off-and-on for a while. This year I'm committing to hunting with nothing but the pacseat. Everything else is up in the attic. But longterm, I suspect I'll find value in having it, my current setup (4 lone wolf minis with a scout on one ala @swampsnyper), and a climber. Most hunts can happen on the ground. Occasionally I want to be elevated 10-15ft. Once in a blue moon I miss being able to climb 30ft in my old hand climber. But...it'd be cheaper, lighter, and maybe simpler to go with a Barren Ridge for that niche situation.

Who has one? Thoughts on climbing limbless row pines 20-30ft up and camping out?
 
If you’re looking at bucket hunting with an off-chance elevated hunt, look at 2TC. You can put your saddle in the bucket with nothing else except for a tether, linemans belt and maybe a ROS.


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MNFarmHunter said:
If you’re looking at bucket hunting with an off-chance elevated hunt, look at 2TC. You can put your saddle in the bucket with nothing else except for a tether, linemans belt and maybe a ROS.


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I've got less than 0 interest in the acronym climbing methods. No offense, just not for me.
 
No offense taken. You mention most hunts being off the ground with the off-elevated hunt. Given that, ropes,sticks and climbers are mostly wasted weight. Given that, it’s either stay on the ground, haul clunky but mostly unneeded weight or compromise.


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I have one and although you are limited to tree size, I’m finding that it’s a breeze climbing 20-30 feet with it. On most pines, it should fit the bill. I did weld the support arms and for me, it made it perfect. I don’t strap my foot in but just tuck my toes under the cross bar and lift. I wasn’t initially sure if I’d like it, but I will definitely utilize it this year for certain situations.
 
I have one. It works great to climb. I wish they welded the side arms in place rather than the cotter pins to make it foldable. Biggest thing I don’t like is how small the trees have to be to use it. I swear the cable isn’t as long as the website claims so I am stuck to really skinny trees
 
Fl Canopy Stalker said:
I have one. It works great to climb. I wish they welded the side arms in place rather than the cotter pins to make it foldable. Biggest thing I don’t like is how small the trees have to be to use it. I swear the cable isn’t as long as the website claims so I am stuck to really skinny trees
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I bought a 5’ cable also; it helps some but you are still limited in tree selection.
 
Nutterbuster said:
What diameter trees are yall finding it works with?
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The standard 4' cable up to about 16" diameter. I have the longer 5' cable also, so in theory that should let me climb up to 28" in diameter. I've only climbed mid-size trees up to this point just to test the stand. It has surprised me with stability but I did get a cam strap with two squirrel steps to snug at height. I also bought the small 3' cable in case I need to climb the smaller trees.
 
scpokevin said:
The standard 4' cable up to about 16" diameter. I have the longer 5' cable also, so in theory that should let me climb up to 28" in diameter. I've only climbed mid-size trees up to this point just to test the stand. It has surprised me with stability but I did get a cam strap with two squirrel steps to snug at height. I also bought the small 3' cable in case I need to climb the smaller trees.
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That's not bad at all. A basketball sized tree is only 9.5" in diameter, and I climb more trees smaller than that than larger
 
scpokevin said:
The standard 4' cable up to about 16" diameter. I have the longer 5' cable also, so in theory that should let me climb up to 28" in diameter. I've only climbed mid-size trees up to this point just to test the stand. It has surprised me with stability but I did get a cam strap with two squirrel steps to snug at height. I also bought the small 3' cable in case I need to climb the smaller trees.
Click to expand...
I cannot climb a 16” diameter tree with the 4’ cable.
 
Fl Canopy Stalker said:
I cannot climb a 16” diameter tree with the 4’ cable.
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Yeah, i was echoing the website for diameters but the 5' cable does open up your window for tree selection. I was able to climb similar sized trees that are typical in the areas I hunt but there is definitely some trade-off in that you cannot climb the really big trees. Like you, I didn't like the foldable support arms with pins. I had them welded and it has made a big difference for me. I felt like 4 pins was just a bit much.
 
I like mine too, but I'm more in love with the idea of it. There's plenty of room for improvement (a la traction belt, cams, and no pins) but those may or may not come from the current mfgr.

Tree size-wise, I found the 4' cable too big for the trees I test drove; so I picked up a 3' cable too. The one real rub on tree size is that if the tree has any buttress at all (even pines in wetter areas), you have to have start the platform so high that it makes it really tough to hoist yourself up to it to start your climb.

I've thought about carrying 2 rope-on steps to deal with that. Instead I plan on trying out using my LWHC top as a climbing aid which will also serve as an easier way to "chin up" yourself on the platform; a technique most of us LWHC users are familiar with. The climber top and the BR platform pack well together since they're both flat, just adds a little weight.

I'm thinking this approach will also help with another pain point: climbing with your tether! I find it really slow, annoying, and probably down right dangerous on a sloppy day. This may not be as much of an issue if you're only posting up about 10' off the ground, but at ~20', different story.

While back I posted some silencing improvements I made right off the bat here:

Lightweight Barren ridge platform

Anybody messed with this anymore in the off-season?
saddlehunter.com
 
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