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Saddle Hunters! New Way to Climb!

Making basically a hand climber platform without form without the top portion could be cool if you got use it a as a platform too..

Back to the OP though.... I used this method using a webbing tied into stirrups. Alpine butterfly knot in the middle to clip onto tether. I used a daisy chain for my foot tether and my regular tether up top. Worked pretty well on the right trees. Traversing a branch is a nuisance but I carried an extra daisy chain so I could clip in above the branch while moving my tether.

I didn't have my feet tied together but that would likely make it easier. The webbing didn't bother my feet at all. I just kept my heels together and stood up against the tree.

I'm getting that rig out again to play
 
DXD said:
Along that line of thinking, how about a PMI Double Foot Loop (http://www.cascade-rescue.com/pmi-double-foot-loop/).
Click to expand...
That looks nice but if you have webbing already, two overhand knots on a bight with an Alpine butterfly or just an overhand knot in the middle does the job. Hardest part is getting the legs the same length.

I still like the idea of jointing them together to keep your feet from spreading apart. But I found if you drive your feet straight down you don't have a problem with that anyway.
 
justsomedude said:
That looks nice but if you have webbing already, two overhand knots on a bight with an Alpine butterfly or just an overhand knot in the middle does the job. Hardest part is getting the legs the same length.

I still like the idea of jointing them together to keep your feet from spreading apart. But I found if you drive your feet straight down you don't have a problem with that anyway.
Click to expand...
I tried it without joining the stirrups and didn't do so well. Plus I found I couldn't lean back into my harness as much as I wanted to. I ended up doing like you said by standing straight up for the most part. Only way I could keep my legs from flopping around like frogs in the fryer. But I like your overall setup with the daisies and and alpine. Think I'm going to head that direction more. I'm going to have to stick with my foot bar or connected stirrups though.

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I hunted using this method with the foot board most of the season. I still haven't come up with a better way. The only trees you can't use this method on are the ones you can't reach around, which are tough to deal with regardless of how you try to get up then. Too many limbs, well you should probably just climb the limbs then.

My ropes combined with an ultralight RC harness and justsomedude's hammock seat makes for a lightweight, packable, and downright predatory rig. The only pieces of metal are a single carabiner on my tether and a single buckle on the RC harness.
 
sampotter said:
I hunted using this method with the foot board most of the season. I still haven't come up with a better way. The only trees you can't use this method on are the ones you can't reach around, which are tough to deal with regardless of how you try to get up then. Too many limbs, well you should probably just climb the limbs then.

My ropes combined with an ultralight RC harness and justsomedude's hammock seat makes for a lightweight, packable, and downright predatory rig. The only pieces of metal are a single carabiner on my tether and a single buckle on the RC harness.
Click to expand...
What is your setup for your tether with only a single carabiner? And are you using a lineman's belt?
 
redsquirrel said:
What is your setup for your tether with only a single carabiner? And are you using a lineman's belt?
Click to expand...

Just an 8' piece of 3/4" climbing rope girth hitched around the tree with a prussic for adjustment. The carabiner is on the prussic which attaches to the loops on the hammock seat. Lineman's belt only needed if navigating around limbs. I guess there are 2 more carabiners on the lineman's belt, but I rarely need to use it.
 
I love this! i'm going to try my own adaptation. one thing i'll do is use a length of paracord or gear line between my two cinches. I just envisioned loosening the foot line cinch and dropping it by mistake and having it slide down out of reach. a line connecting the two, with enough slack to not interfere would make retrieval of the leg loop easier if it slid down too low. i am out of rope i could use, but I've got 1" tube webbing I think i could rig up as my initial test unit.

This is ideal for me since i am just starting saddle hunting. we are in the "mountains" of central PA.
There is major mountain laurel here. (it is the state flower after all). during mid day the deer lay down in the laurel and sleep. they don't move unless you move-them. so we put on drives through the thicket. When it's my turn to watch, I have always wished there was a fast easy way to get up just 5 or 6 feet to be able to see over the laurel and see deer sooner. that lead me to the saddle. so far I have 6 screw in steps. I don't feel good about harming the trees, and it takes a bit of time. with your method i could scoot up a few feet in half the time, and leave no trace. i'm only staying up about 30-45 minutes at a time anyway. I love how the foot board incorporates your platform too. Lightness is an issue because after I watch. everything needs to go into my pack so I can turn around and drive the next section.
 
Ben_from_PA said:
by the way. did you ever try the carabiners for your cinches instead of just a girth hitch, as you mentioned earlier?
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Yes, I did. Thought it would make it easier to get around limbs. It actually made it harder to keep the rope in place each time I moved it up because there was no friction keeping the loop around the tree semi-tight. Kept sliding down the tree. The carabiner was also constantly twisting, clunking, and getting so full of bark that it was almost non-functional. Feel free to try it. It's safe, just didn't work for me.
 
I tried it as well and had to take off the caribeaner to get the rope to stay in place. What if it we diped in plastidip?

Sent from my LGMS631 using Tapatalk
 
My guess is it would wear off very quickly. I'm fine without it myself. I'm trying to cut out as much noise making metal as possible.
 
Ben_from_PA said:
I love this! i'm going to try my own adaptation. one thing i'll do is use a length of paracord or gear line between my two cinches. I just envisioned loosening the foot line cinch and dropping it by mistake and having it slide down out of reach. a line connecting the two, with enough slack to not interfere would make retrieval of the leg loop easier if it slid down too low. i am out of rope i could use, but I've got 1" tube webbing I think i could rig up as my initial test unit.

This is ideal for me since i am just starting saddle hunting. we are in the "mountains" of central PA.
There is major mountain laurel here. (it is the state flower after all). during mid day the deer lay down in the laurel and sleep. they don't move unless you move-them. so we put on drives through the thicket. When it's my turn to watch, I have always wished there was a fast easy way to get up just 5 or 6 feet to be able to see over the laurel and see deer sooner. that lead me to the saddle. so far I have 6 screw in steps. I don't feel good about harming the trees, and it takes a bit of time. with your method i could scoot up a few feet in half the time, and leave no trace. i'm only staying up about 30-45 minutes at a time anyway. I love how the foot board incorporates your platform too. Lightness is an issue because after I watch. everything needs to go into my pack so I can turn around and drive the next section.
Click to expand...
If you just need to get up 6' or so just get a stagger step and put a loop on the bottom rung. You can use the loop as a carry strap when you're not hunting. Would be way easier and faster to setup and would weigh about 3lbs. You could go even lighter with one of those hawk helium sticks.
 
6' with a single 5 Step Aider strapped onto the tree is really easy. You just strap it on about as high as you can reach.
If you want to be able to climb a little higher with it you would need to have second tether.
 
Love this thread, has anyone made any modifications recently? I'd love to see some more pictures. SamPotter are you still using the 18" board? Being new to Saddle Hunting, I like this simply because it reduces the financial impact of climbing rigs, can't wait to try this.
 
donnieballgame said:
Love this thread, has anyone made any modifications recently? I'd love to see some more pictures. SamPotter are you still using the 18" board? Being new to Saddle Hunting, I like this simply because it reduces the financial impact of climbing rigs, can't wait to try this.
Click to expand...

It's a lot of work to get up and down the tree. Time consuming. Imho 3 sticks with aiders I can be treetop in no time. I can start after you and be setup and hunting before you reach hunting height.
BTW same can be said to me from someone using Gaffs.
That being said I have tried it and I did think it had its uses I was walking scouting last year and I only had a stick, sitdrag and some rope and was able to get about 16-18 ft with a couple of pounds of gear.


Sent from my
Sit drag, Ernie's outdoors linesman belt,
At 20' up
 
Did anybody still use this method?? I plan to make a modified version of this idea and soon enough i 'm gonna test it to the woods.
 
I was hoping to see Stoney’s sketch up but must have missed it.

Also, a triple crown knot works well for stirrups (for me at least)
 
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