I've spent well over the cost of the kestrel on sit drags, lifting slings, webbing, buckles, rope, etc. Not everyone who wishes to enjoy the edge of saddle hunting mentioned above, can afford the time, focus, or money involved in making your own. As I've gotten older, I've realized those three things are all pretty much the same value to me.
For a public land hunter, these are your options:
Climber - 150-400.00
Hang on and strap on sticks/steps - 150-450.00
Kestrel and 1stick/SRT/Sticks - 400-600.00
I'm sorry, but the ability to stuff your entire climbing method, safety harness, and tree stand into a backpack, not have to wear a ridiculous full body harness that has as good of a chance of killing you as saving you, hunt any tree with a 4"+ diameter at hunting height, 360* shooting capability without making a sound, not have large amounts of metal clanging around during setup, catching every single branch and sticker bush walking in, Drop a minimum of 10lbs off your back (in many cases as much as 30) for long hikes in....I could go on.... Is worth an extra few hundred bucks.
Hell you spend that in extra gas over a season with the inefficient hunting you were doing pre-saddle.
I've progressed from Climber to heavy hang on and heavy sticks to light hang on and light sticks to light hang on and 1 stick to 1 stick and saddle to SRT and saddle. The ratio of deer sightings to hunts has increased exponentially over that time. And believe me, the hunting time I have available has not increased.
I tinker with making different saddles because it's fun, and I like broadening ideas. Plus, it might help someone who isn't willing to spend the dough on a commercial option, or also likes tinkering. But to say that the saddle is overpriced, or is in some way taking advantage of hunters, is downright wrong.
Honestly, for the amount of time and effort that goes into product development(that saddle didn't just click on the first mockup), we are lucky they are offering it at that price point. The buckles alone are about 100.00 on amazon. The rope bridge/carabiner would cost me 20.00. The webbing and material to build the saddle would be somewhere around 15-20.00. If I bought everything, and brought it to the seamstress I know in town, he'd have to be able to sew it in less than 2 hours for me to break even.
Let's go even further. Cut the cost of materials in half because they'll buy in bulk, 75.00. You're looking at a minimum of 3 hours of sewing, inspecting, handling per saddle once in production. it's got to cost them 15-20.00 an hour for that time. I'd be willing to bet they aren't making them for less than 120.00. Making 100-120.00 per saddle is right down the middle in retail. You're not even taking into consideration other overhead. I can assure you, if it cost any major supplier 120.00 to make something, they will sell it for 300% markup. Then, if it's popular enough, they'll source the materials and labor over seas, drop the price 25% to lure more people in, and rake in profit while undermining American manufacturing.
Keep doing what you're doing new tribe. I think you've nailed it with this product. I haven't been on this site long, but I'm proud to be a part of the little community where you're sharing your good work.
