Input requested- New saddle hunter

[Cur44]

About to be a new saddle hunter here- was given a tethrd phantom by my BIL. I have hunted out of a LW assault with 4 hawk mini sticks with cable aiders the last few years. I’ve been reading here a ton, and im pretty sold on one sticking up and rapelling down.

My question is, for guys who have done it, should i bite the bullet and get the EWO one stick and rappel kit from the get go? Or use one of my hawks, get a platform to put at the same level as the stick once up in the tree, and then rappel down?

I know all this is highly individual, just would like some opinions from people with more experience with it than I. Thanks!

 

[WaryDragon]

Old Guy here, with the EWO Ultimate One-Stick, angled Ultimate Platform & Ultimate Lower step with 4-12" sewn aiders. When you climb up on the One-Stick at hunting height, you are ready to hunt. You still have to set a platform when using steps and a platform. So it's less stuff to carry and fiddle with.

Saddle hunting is a good tool to have, especially to hunt a new tree. I also like hunting less exposed, behind the tree. But, I still use my climbers and permanent lock on stands. One of my climbers is over 40 years old and still works fine. My point is this hunting stuff can be a pretty long term investment.

I would recommend a rock climbing rappelling course as an excellent prerequisite.

And, make sure 100% of the time to have backup for your fall protection. It's not simple to accomplish.

The EWO Ultimate One-Stick w/ U.P. and U.L. is incredibly stable. It's a very good product. [I have no affiliation].

 

[Cur44]

Old Guy here, with the EWO Ultimate One-Stick, angled Ultimate Platform & Ultimate Lower step with 4-12" sewn aiders. When you climb up on the One-Stick at hunting height, you are ready to hunt. You still have to set a platform when using steps and a platform. So it's less stuff to carry and fiddle with.

Saddle hunting is a good tool to have, especially to hunt a new tree. I also like hunting less exposed, behind the tree. But, I still use my climbers and permanent lock on stands. One of my climbers is over 40 years old and still works fine. My point is this hunting stuff can be a pretty long term investment.

I would recommend a rock climbing rappelling course as an excellent prerequisite.

And, make sure 100% of the time to have backup for your fall protection. It's not simple to accomplish.

The EWO Ultimate One-Stick w/ U.P. and U.L. is incredibly stable. It's a very good product. [I have no affiliation].

Thank you for the input. Leaning toward the ewo stick for sure as I’d like to be minimalist as possible when using the saddle.

Will definitely look into a rappelling course. Planning on backing up the madrock with a swabisch or some type of friction hitch ABOVE the madrock (reading on here below seems to be controversial).

 

[WaryDragon]

Thank you for the input. Leaning toward the ewo stick for sure as I’d like to be minimalist as possible when using the saddle.

Will definitely look into a rappelling course. Planning on backing up the madrock with a swabisch or some type of friction hitch ABOVE the madrock (reading on here below seems to be controversial).

I think the problem with a friction hitch with the Madrock is how to tend the friction hitch while rappelling since I think the Madrock requires two hands to rappel, one to pull the rappel lever and one to control/tend the feed end of the rappel rope.

I'm using a Ropeman1 to climb and changing to a Sterling ATS device to rappel. The Ropeman1 to ATS change is not ideal, but I do have good redundancy. As soon as I'm at hunting height, I add the ATS below the Ropeman1 to a 2nd short bridge and tie it off. When I'm ready to rappel, I remove the Ropeman1 for the rappel. I keep the friction hitch above the Ropeman1 and tend the hitch with my left hand while I rappel on the ATS, feeding the rope with the right hand. The ATS is easy to tie off anytime during rappel to remove the platform and/or steps. It's also easy to adjust the speed of the rappel with different size ropes.

Mine is not a simple system and I keep looking for a device that can be backed up while climbing and descending. I don't like the friction hitch below the ascend/descend device because the rope feed hand is doing two different things.

Be safe!

 

[Cur44]

I think the problem with a friction hitch with the Madrock is how to tend the friction hitch while rappelling since I think the Madrock requires two hands to rappel, one to pull the rappel lever and one to control/tend the feed end of the rappel rope.

I'm using a Ropeman1 to climb and changing to a Sterling ATS device to rappel. The Ropeman1 to ATS change is not ideal, but I do have good redundancy. As soon as I'm at hunting height, I add the ATS below the Ropeman1 to a 2nd short bridge and tie it off. When I'm ready to rappel, I remove the Ropeman1 for the rappel. I keep the friction hitch above the Ropeman1 and tend the hitch with my left hand while I rappel on the ATS, feeding the rope with the right hand. The ATS is easy to tie off anytime during rappel to remove the platform and/or steps. It's also easy to adjust the speed of the rappel with different size ropes.

Mine is not a simple system and I keep looking for a device that can be backed up while climbing and descending. I don't like the friction hitch below the ascend/descend device because the rope feed hand is doing two different things.

Be safe!

I watched a video last night- guy was using a mad rock with a schwabisch above it.

To tend the swabisch, he used a small non climbing carabiner clipped onto his rappel rope right above the swabisch, the carabiner had a small length of rope that he held taught in his hand while simultaneously holding the madrock lever. The carabiner kept pressure on the swabisch as he descended. Im not sure if this will work but will probably be a starting point for me (at ground level of course ).

 

[jrockne]

I would recommend getting comfortable with your saddle before jumping right into one-sticking. It most certainly can be done, but there is a learning curve going from stand to saddle and yet another when going from 4 sticks to one. In my head, it's much safer to tackle one at a time.

You could saddle hunt out of your current stand, or pick up a platform and hunt using the 4 sticks you have to make sure you like it before going all in.

If you want to tackle both at the same time, the EWO products are very popular and look very well built. I went with the Big BOB because I thought I would really want to flip up the platform to pack it in, but I've found it's easier and more compact overall to pack in the hunting position.

 

[bfriendly]

If you look at a “kit”, see what’s in it. Then load a cart at doublessteps with everything included.……biners etc.. Any hitch that’s on the kit, You should be able to tie. I’m more of a DIY guy and made my own tether, installed my own cam cleat to a hawk full size stick etc…. Btw-some folks love an aider, but I do not. I have a single step aider on a full size hawk which gives me 4 steps each move.….I love that 1!

 

[Alaska at Heart]

I would recommend getting comfortable with your saddle before jumping right into one-sticking. It most certainly can be done, but there is a learning curve going from stand to saddle and yet another when going from 4 sticks to one. In my head, it's much safer to tackle one at a time.

You could saddle hunt out of your current stand, or pick up a platform and hunt using the 4 sticks you have to make sure you like it before going all in.

If you want to tackle both at the same time, the EWO products are very popular and look very well built. I went with the Big BOB because I thought I would really want to flip up the platform to pack it in, but I've found it's easier and more compact overall to pack in the hunting position.

2023 was my learning year and my goal was to get the feel of saddle hunting without getting too exotic. I bought my saddle setup used, which came with two dump pouches, Latitude linemans and a thether with Ropeman 1. After doing 'drills' in the basement and single stick height to be very familiar with the process and learning some muscle memory, my first hunt was from a pre-set stick and fixed stand setup I already had out. I simply kept the stand seat up and got the feel of hanging my accessory strap, with bow and pack. Next two hunts, I used pre-set sticks, hung my platform and repeated the accessory strap/bow haul process. Finally on my 4th saddle hunt, I did it from 'scratch' by hauling and hanging sticks, along with the rest I had already done. I personally wanted the basics fully in place as I added a new segment or refined the process a bit.

For the '24 season, I plan to field test aiders.....I have a two-step strap Ultimaider from EWO and a couple Amsteel single step aiders to test out this off-season. I also picked up a used Tethrd Predator platform quite reasonably that I plan to use on a preset stick setup for morning hunts, so I just have to climb up, tether in, set the accessory strap and haul up my bow in the dark. I also replaced the Ropeman 1 with a hitch, which I feel is more safe and less taxing of my tether over time. Once I am fully confident and fluent in what I already have, I might consider the one-stick process if aiders work out for me. Personally, I would recommend starting at the familar and work into the new stup.