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Hybrid saddle/harness

F

frankp

Active Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2021
Messages
142
So this season I spent a lot of time bouncing between my saddle trees and fixed stands. As such, I found myself wearing both my harness and my saddle fairly regularly. My harness is starting to get a little worn on top of that so I decided I'd make a hybrid. First portion mostly done.

Base harness sewn as mostly a copy of the cheapo freebie harness (came with treestand) I've been using for 7 or 8 years.. I added a couple of pairs of chest loops for if/when I want a backband option in the saddle. I intended on one pair but put it on a little lower than I originally wanted so I just added a second pair.
20220228_202524.jpg

Next I'll add a vest with some pockets and the saddle.
 
Interesting stuff. Do you incorporate break away stitching in the safety strap? I have next to no sewing skills, but I definitely wouldn't begin to know how to do that.
 
TNSTAAFL said:
Interesting stuff. Do you incorporate break away stitching in the safety strap? I have next to no sewing skills, but I definitely wouldn't begin to know how to do that.
Click to expand...
Yes, the rear tether has 4 z-fold "zipper" sections that should break away to absorb some of the force in the event of a real fall. You can see three of them in the top center of the photo posted above. They are the more squared zigzag blocks while the lower ones that are more rectangular tie the tether to the rest of the harness. They are actually sewn exactly like all the other stitches. Just a box with overlapping zigzags. In this case, the orientation of the zigzags is parallel to the direction of force, instead of perpendicular. That's what allows them to break away. You'll notice the next block down in the center tether changes direction of the zigzags, to keep it from opening up there. Same as the hip connections for the shoulder straps, the zigzags are perpendicular to the direction of force in a fall.
 
I'm looking forward to seeing your vest solution. I'm contemplating attaching one to my XOP. I was thinking i might modify and add a cheap mesh trap & skeet vest with shell pockets in lieu of dump pouches. It should be relatively non-bulky, so I'd be able to add layers or a turkey vest over it.
 
Mostly finished the hybrid today. A few pics.

Main body of integrated vest.
20220302_210551.jpg

Rear pocket - modeled after a standard game pocket on every commercial hunting vest you can buy. Essentially an "expandible" pocket, hence the hourglass cut at the bottom.
20220302_210626.jpg

Front pockets of the vest
20220302_210722.jpg

Completed seen "open" and looking at the inside
20220309_191945.jpg

From the front, worn: You can see the grunt pocket on the right shoulder and also my hand warmer, worn on the waistbelt. Lines on the vest are a little asymmetric but I was going for function, not form.
20220312_104421.jpg

And from the back. Back pocket is a bit off-center but it will do the job. With this set up I shouldn't need dump pouches or the roll pouch I made for this season. Lower strap on the saddle portion is a little floppy unless I'm hanging in it but it's quite comfortable in the tree.
20220312_104515.jpg
 
That's clever, I like that. Stealing your vest idea for my XOP.

I'm experimenting with a longer adjustable bridge, and am envisioning some clips or loops to hold it next to the collar of the "vest". Put it on like a vest, attach the leg loops, flip down an tighten the bridge, off to the woods.
 
After 2 seasons and a few hundred hours of wearing this, the front pockets have been a fantastic addition. I keep my balaclava, headlamp and daisy chain in one and my range finder and hat in the other. All in easy reach when needed and almost no extra bulk.

If I'm already wearing my hat and balaclava, my tether and lineman's rope (both 7mm) fit in the pockets pretty comfortably with prussik and climbing ATC (instead of madrock or other option) and a couple of carabiners.

I've found that I only use the back pocket once or twice per season. Next iteration I won't bother. As expected the lower chest loops have also gone almost unused. I do keep a watch hanging on one pretty much all the time but it's not used for anything else.

Other than that, this harness has turned out great for either saddle hunting or sitting in a fixed stand. Super happy with it, overall.
 
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