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Hunting Saddles, can you explain the difference.

P

phobia

New Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2015
Messages
23
So like I mentioned in the Welcome forum, I'm newly introduced to saddle hunting and believe it will be perfect for my style of hunting. So I'm now in the process of figuring out a saddle option.

What is the difference than a Mt. Climbing harness like a Black Diamond Momentum compared to a New Tribe Champion? My point of confusion starts with why is a regular climbing harness in the $50 to $80 range yet a tree saddle will jump to the $300 to $500 range? Sure there is more fabric but no where near to warrant such a huge price jump.

I like the New Tribe Evolution the best when compared to the old TL or the new GW. Yet when seeing a $400 price tag it is a bit off putting. I think this could be partly to blame for lack of main stream saddle success when you can compare highend stands such as Lone Wolf in the $200 range for a lock on. $600 for both saddle and steps to "see" if I would enjoy this type of hunting is a big jumping off point.

So this is why I wanted to talk to yall. My original thought was to rig a Black Diamond harness up to get a idea if this would be something I would like. The price of entry is much easier but I'm concerned why more don't use regular climbing harnesses?

Any help would be appreciated, considering I come from none of these backgrounds( Tree cutter or Mt Climber).
 
Primarily you are paying for comfort, flexibility and maneuverability. I haven't compared quality with a standard climbing harness but you can hang all day in a properly sized and adjusted saddle. You can hang in a climbing harness too but not for long. The saddles were designed with hunting in mind and are designed to allow the user to rotate his body in any direction and still draw.


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Also the attachment gear that comes with the harness aow you to reposition around the tree.
Will a climbing harness work- yes. I believe there is even a member here that wears his as a backup. I think you would kiss comfort goodbye to rely solely on a climbing harness.
If I'm going to hang for a day I want to be comfy


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What fawnzy said.

Also, I think that you have to factor in the size of the market here. It is alot easier to sell a climbing harness for under a 100 bucks when you have a demand for 100,000 (??) of them and can mass produce them cheaper. When you need to make 500 to 1,000 hunting saddles, the price of materials goes up. Factor in research and development and they need to charge X dollars just to keep it going.
 
That makes sense, I just wish there was a way to try one of these before shelling out a nice chunk of cash. I've done some ebay searching and does not seem to be any of these for sale at a reasonable price. My wife would not be happy for me to drop $600 and not use it lol. What have you guys did with your older models? Sold them?
 
Hi phobia
I don't know where you live but if your within a decent driving distance of another saddle hunter of similar size, they may let you try theirs out. Most guys on here are quite helpful.
Realize though you'll be trying in a harness that has been adjusted to another's body type and style of hanging.



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fawnzy said:
Hi phobia
I don't know where you live but if your within a decent driving distance of another saddle hunter of similar size, they may let you try theirs out. Most guys on here are quite helpful.
Realize though you'll be trying in a harness that has been adjusted to another's body type and style of hanging.



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Click to expand...
I'm in Lafayette, Louisiana. I wish I could just test one like you said, just from a comfort side to see if I would enjoy sitting in one all day.
 
I hunt out of a trophy line, but I live in Canada.


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fawnzy said:
I hunt out of a trophy line, but I live in Canada.


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Click to expand...
How is the comfort level in the older model compared to the new Evolution?
 
Welcome phobia, feel free to ask around and see if someone on here is close by to let you test there's out. Also I don't believe it will take you 600 to find out if you are going to like it. If and when you do buy an Aero evolution you are going to want to start off just above ground level. So find a tree and if anything drive a few large nails or lag bolts into the tree at about a foot off the ground and set up. That will be when you can find out if it is going to work for you.

You can buy the saddle only for 299 or the set up for 399. I recently pulled the trigger on the evolution and I was hung up to the upfront cost as well. But I came to the conclusion that I was tired of carrying a noisy climbing treestand and I don't want to buy a dozen chain on stands to have the flexability of having multiple stand locations.

As for comfort....... well if you can't find someone who is near by you will have to decide if you want to take a leap of faith or not. But if you read through the forum I'm sure you will notice that many people on here that go with the saddle stick with one. Now I haven't had an official sit in my saddle but I have been toying with mine in the basement in a "mock sit". And I can tell its just as comfortable as sitting in a treestand seat once I dialed in the adjustments.

Comparing a hunting saddle to a tree harness is tough because you are comparing apples to oranges. They have separate job tasks, the hunting saddle is meant for long sits and fine seat adjustments and the tree harnesses can range from climbing safely to spending short periods ina tree constantly moving. You can try to spend 100 but I am afraid you will be disappointed.

One final point is that there is a reason you are not finding the Aero evolutions which is because people are keeping them! I spent almost 6 months looking for one to pop up and the only one I found sold for 350. In a nutshell they hold there value and if you come to find that you didn't like it you will recover most of you money.

Just my 2 cents on the matter but I am sure there are more experienced saddle hunters here that are willing to chime in!
 
Thanks a bunch for the response Trapper. I was also factoring in the cost of some Lone Wolf ladder sticks for around $200 that is where I got the $600 up front cost ($400 for Evo setup + $200 on LW steps). Now I'm ordering my steps regardless in couple weeks, then from there I will decide if I will go tree saddle or Lone Wolf Lock On. I have a guy who is trying to sell me a brand new LW Alpha for $180. I wish it was not the case but $400 compared to $180 might be enough to sway me to stick with a stand. Just like you I'm sick of carrying a stand in and out, so I will really assess this situation once I get to that stage.

On that note, anyone wants to buy a Summit Viper Climber :lol:
 
If you decide to go the LW route, I would actually suggest XOP. It's the original owner/designer of Lone Wolf and his son, so the stands are nearly identical, but currently a lot cheaper than LW. Not sure if the deals can still be found, but the stand (like an Alpha) can be had for $140 and a four pack of sticks (identical to lw) can be had for $99. That's insane compared to LW prices.

I own a LW assault and an XOP medium (alpha) and there are some differences which I can go over if you're interested. I will say though, most of my time is spent in my saddle. I think I hunted out of stands only 5 times this year. Hard to beat the saddle.
 
phobia said:
Thanks a bunch for the response Trapper. I was also factoring in the cost of some Lone Wolf ladder sticks for around $200 that is where I got the $600 up front cost ($400 for Evo setup + $200 on LW steps). Now I'm ordering my steps regardless in couple weeks, then from there I will decide if I will go tree saddle or Lone Wolf Lock On. I have a guy who is trying to sell me a brand new LW Alpha for $180. I wish it was not the case but $400 compared to $180 might be enough to sway me to stick with a stand. Just like you I'm sick of carrying a stand in and out, so I will really assess this situation once I get to that stage.

On that note, anyone wants to buy a Summit Viper Climber
Click to expand...
Hey phobia,
I'm doing a gear clean out in the next week or so. It's going to be a packaged deal for anyone who wants to get into saddle hunting like yourself. I'd suggest you wait because it will be worth. PM for details.
 
Matty said:
If you decide to go the LW route, I would actually suggest XOP. It's the original owner/designer of Lone Wolf and his son, so the stands are nearly identical, but currently a lot cheaper than LW. Not sure if the deals can still be found, but the stand (like an Alpha) can be had for $140 and a four pack of sticks (identical to lw) can be had for $99. That's insane compared to LW prices.

I own a LW assault and an XOP medium (alpha) and there are some differences which I can go over if you're interested. I will say though, most of my time is spent in my saddle. I think I hunted out of stands only 5 times this year. Hard to beat the saddle.
Click to expand...
Do you own the XOP sticks? I'd like to hear your thoughts on those if you do.
 
No but my friend bought a set. They are identical to LW sticks. I mean IDENTICAL. The straps even say "lonewolf" but it's crossed out. Basically if you want LW sticks and like to keep at least a little bit of your hard-earned money, just buy the XOP sticks and don't tell anyone they aren't LW.

The stands are where the slight differences are. The platform, seat and cables are identical, however the upright post is now cast aluminum too. Still uses versa buttons, but no ez hang hook, they are coming out with their own system for it, you'll see how theres a spot for a bracket on the back of the post if you get a stand. I just tied paracord loop around the post near the seat so I could hang it on a hook while I strap it to the tree. Makes it a little easier.

Here's the sticks on their website, but when I was looking at all this a while back, I found the sticks for even less on other sites. Cheapest I saw was $99 for a set of four. Search around, you might find that same deal. You can't beat it. No point in paying for the name LW when Andre D'Acqiusto (probably butchered his Name)....is the original designer of them and now he's making XOP.

http://www.xopoutdoors.com/store/pc/vie ... Category=2
 
Like Trapper said, you don't have to be at hunting height to try the saddle out. In fact you should be at ground level to get used to it.

Just keep in mind that if you do buy a new Evolution saddle and you decide that you don't want to go that route, you will have no problem selling if at a very small loss.

If you are going to be carrying a lone wolf stand in and out every time, wouldn't you rather carry a much lighter saddle for a one time higher price?

If you were going to use multiple stands pre-set, the cost would offset the price of a saddle.
 
I also struggled with the cost associated with a hunting saddle and i tried to use a regular Black Diamond climbing saddle to "see if I would enjoy using a saddle to hunt from". It was so much less money, that I just couldn't convince myself not to try that first. Well, I bought the climbing saddle last October and I hunted from it all deer season. I can't say it was comfortable, but I was able to decide that I do in fact enjoy the hunt more From a saddle than from a lock on stand. I mostly hunt my own small property but I do hunt state land too if I feel the need. I didn't make it to state land last season, but I did get quite a bit of saddle time on my land. I had almost decided to just keep the climbing saddle and hunt from it and rotate with lick on stands that are permanently up. But I convinced myself that I enjoy saddle hunting enough and I would appreciate a bit more comfort, so I just ordered a New Tribe Aero Evolution this past week. It should be here this week and I can't wait to tie myself in a tree with it to try it
 
essdub said:
I also struggled with the cost associated with a hunting saddle and i tried to use a regular Black Diamond climbing saddle to "see if I would enjoy using a saddle to hunt from". It was so much less money, that I just couldn't convince myself not to try that first. Well, I bought the climbing saddle last October and I hunted from it all deer season. I can't say it was comfortable, but I was able to decide that I do in fact enjoy the hunt more From a saddle than from a lock on stand. I mostly hunt my own small property but I do hunt state land too if I feel the need. I didn't make it to state land last season, but I did get quite a bit of saddle time on my land. I had almost decided to just keep the climbing saddle and hunt from it and rotate with lick on stands that are permanently up. But I convinced myself that I enjoy saddle hunting enough and I would appreciate a bit more comfort, so I just ordered a New Tribe Aero Evolution this past week. It should be here this week and I can't wait to tie myself in a tree with it to try it
Click to expand...
I decided to do the same. Just going to purchase the Evolution and be done with it. Let me know how you like the evo when it comes in.
 
Got my Aero Evolution yesterday. Fiddled around with it today after work. Probably gonna redo the bridge and use my climbing rope instead of the tree strap and lineman's belt that came with it. Also, may need to find a way to lighten it up but it's not a big deal. It definitely more comfy than the climbing saddle I used last year. Definitely heavier too, but again, not a big deal.
 

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