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Sit Drag questions

d_rek

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2014
Messages
2,495
Location
SELP Michigan
All,

There is a ton of info about mods for your sit drag, and i've scoured many of the threads as i'm getting really close to pulling the trigger on a sit drag so I can monkey around with it in the off season. Naturally I have some questions and forgive me if they have been answered before...

Sit Drag Purchase + Accessories - is it worth purchasing any of the extra stuff they sell along with the sit drag? ie: carrying case, extension straps, caribineers? Or should I just buy the sitdrag by itself. I have all of that stuff already (except a carrying case) but wondering if it's high-quality and worth purchasing.

Safety harness w/ sitdrag - Is everyone wearing their sitdrag with a safety harness or no? I have seen some pics of guys wearing a RC harness along with their sit drag, and some not. This might be a deal breaker for me if I have to purchase an additional RC harness just to wear a sitdrag. But, just out of curiosity, which RC harness are you using?

Modding your SitDrag - what accessories are you using to stitch additional webbing/gear into your sitdrag? Looks like most are hand-stitched using a speedy stitcher style awl. Can I get a recommendation on the awl you have and what kind of thread you are using?

Thanks,
d_rek
 
I would not buy any of the extras. Just the sitdrag is all you want.

I don't use a harness with mine but it would be recommended too probably. Some do some don't. It's intended for the ground though.

I use the speedy stitcher awl. Got it off of amazon for less than $10. It comes with thread that works good and definitely enough for everything you would want to do on a sitdrag.
 
Well, well, well. Another convert.

Get the whole kit. I use the straps it comes with to do the modifications.

Add a belt. This is the most important mod. Use the webbing bridge (1.75" webbing) and a cobra buckle (milspec monkey) to make the belt.

Add a bridge from 1/4" Amsteel blue.

Dump pouches on molle loops are essential for the way I hunt, but may not be for you.
 
Well, well, well. Another convert.

Get the whole kit. I use the straps it comes with to do the modifications.

Add a belt. This is the most important mod. Use the webbing bridge (1.75" webbing) and a cobra buckle (milspec monkey) to make the belt.

Add a bridge from 1/4" Amsteel blue.

Dump pouches on molle loops are essential for the way I hunt, but may not be for you.

^^^^^This^^^^^^
That's basically exactly how I do it. Though, mine came with 2", not 1.75".

Also, when you attach the belt... make sure the stitching stops where the Sit Drag naturally separates from your hips. You don't want to force it in tight around your hips, creating hip pinch. This may mean that you set the Sit Drag up with the feather before modding it to mark everything up.
 
Well, well, well. Another convert.

Get the whole kit. I use the straps it comes with to do the modifications.

Add a belt. This is the most important mod. Use the webbing bridge (1.75" webbing) and a cobra buckle (milspec monkey) to make the belt.

Add a bridge from 1/4" Amsteel blue.

Dump pouches on molle loops are essential for the way I hunt, but may not be for you.

I am all about lightweighting my saddle as I want to get very serious about public land this year. As it stands I can barely pack in my aerohunter evolution in my 2200 cu. in. day pack. It's a great piece of equipment but definitely not packable enough.

So do you use a RC harness with your sit drag or no?


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Ok. Looks like the initial investment is minimal cost wise. Going to pull the trigger on everything but a rc harness. Can always drop that in at a later date if I feel it's necessary.


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I typically include a caveat that I don't recommend the Sit Drag without a rock harness for others. Although I have become comfortable with my saddle alone, and the same for my new Sit Drag, I know that it is not anywhere near climbing approved. We typically use these in static positions and I feel my Sit Drag performs the function of a linesman's belt, even when tethered in due to my use as a "leaner". It is there to swing me into the tree, and the tree is what catches me.
I have intentionally simulated falls of many types both with, and without, my belt attached and my fall has been arrested in each case.
Being that Sit drags are not designed for this use, and are typically further modified to some degree, all liability falls on myself in the event of a failure. These are in no way a suitable life support system, hence all the recommendations to use traditional, proven systems as backup.


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I ordered two sit drags last Monday. One with the accessories and one without. George upgraded both to the special deal at no extra cost. Little did he know most of it will go into a bin to be used possibly at a later time. As far as using it stock I can say it will hold weight fine. The tether was so noisy on the tree when moving around that I wouldn't use it as shipped to hunt from the ground. It was also too short to wrap Arita medium sized oak without using the extensions or hooking around the bridge. The carry case holds everything included fine but wouldn't hold it and my tether mostly because of the figure 8 I have the loop tied with. I am going to try something a little different with mine and sew a belt in one loops for foam in the other. One will be my linesman belt and back rest while the other will be a seat. The seat will have a fixed bridge and the flip line will become an adjustable bridge for the back rest. I may decide having both is a drag but I'm not doing any mods to either that I wouldn't want if I was only going to use one. Maybe I will have it figured out by pigmageddon but today is the last day of deer season for me.
 
I ordered two sit drags last Monday. One with the accessories and one without. George upgraded both to the special deal at no extra cost. Little did he know most of it will go into a bin to be used possibly at a later time. As far as using it stock I can say it will hold weight fine. The tether was so noisy on the tree when moving around that I wouldn't use it as shipped to hunt from the ground. It was also too short to wrap Arita medium sized oak without using the extensions or hooking around the bridge. The carry case holds everything included fine but wouldn't hold it and my tether mostly because of the figure 8 I have the loop tied with. I am going to try something a little different with mine and sew a belt in one loops for foam in the other. One will be my linesman belt and back rest while the other will be a seat. The seat will have a fixed bridge and the flip line will become an adjustable bridge for the back rest. I may decide having both is a drag but I'm not doing any mods to either that I wouldn't want if I was only going to use one. Maybe I will have it figured out by pigmageddon but today is the last day of deer season for me.
If it's not perfect by Pigmageddon, I'll fix it up right for you.
 
I use a rock climbing harness with my sit drag for two reasons -

I use the one stick climbing method, so I need to be suspended from the tree while I move the stick. This is a requires pretty large range of motion - one I'm not comfortable doing hanging in the sit drag (if it's even possible, I haven't tried yet). It also helps if I am set up and decide I need to relocate platform to a different height or angle on the tree.

Two - I want to live. Yes, my sit drag is modified, and I'm hunting from above ground, so if it were to break I wouldn't be able to hold the manufacturer responsible. Odds are I'm not going to care about that when I'm dead though. I'm not saying the folks that make them don't do a fine job. It' just doesn't have the super conservative approach taken to design that life supporting equipment does.

It's less than a pound, and very little effort to wear. All of my layering clothes for cold weather are slightly oversized any way. For instance - I can have a few layers on my legs, slip on the RC harness, pull on my heavy bibs, and unzip the front zipper from the bottom a couple inches. I can then connect carabiner to the loops on my RC through there. Warm weather it's no issue.


If I weren't using the RC for one stick climbing, I would do one of two things - a rescue rated belt with cobra buckle and d loop (I bought one and intend to affix it to the sit drag), or one of the minimalist RC harnesses that is just webbing and no gear loops or padding. They weigh a couple ounces, which is not much for an added level of safety. Neither of these will be fun for my body in a fall- but the way i'm hunting, unless my tether system fails, I can't fall more than a couple feet. Speaking of, I'm going to add a second tether for redundancy.
 
^^ if I end up doing any backup tie in, I will do a riggers belt. I figure since I have to wear a belt anyways, it could do double duty and be a backup tie in point for my tether. No extra weight, no extra bulk. The hard part is finding a riggers belt that will fit through regular belt loops, have an easy buckle, and a load rated fabric tie point. (Don't want any more pieces of metal that can make noise if I can avoid it)


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Ok, here's what it looks like budget-wise for sitdrag investment...

$40 - SitDrag w/ extra crap
$12 - Speedy stitcher awl kit w/ thread and needle
$20 - Mil-spec cobra buckle male/female ends
$45 - Black Diamond Alpine Bod RC harness size XL

Total Cost excluding shipping: $117

I have extra biners and rope already.

Couple more questions...
  • Can I just use my existing yale bandit for my bridge? Or should I order some lengths of amsteel blue? I don't have extra equipment to splice rope, however, so i'll be tying it in, if that's an issue.
  • For those hooking in with a RC harness are you using an additional tree tether to hook up to your RC? What rope are you using for that?
 
You can definitely use your Yale rope. I use Amsteel because it's lighter, smaller, and stronger. But I had some already in my garage. Keep in mind, 1/4" Amsteel runs around $1 per foot. A 24" bridge will only cost about $4.
 
Can I use the webbing from the extension strap they include with the cobra buckles? There are no specs for it on the sitdrag website.
 
Ok, here's what it looks like budget-wise for sitdrag investment...

$40 - SitDrag w/ extra crap
$12 - Speedy stitcher awl kit w/ thread and needle
$20 - Mil-spec cobra buckle male/female ends
$45 - Black Diamond Alpine Bod RC harness size XL

Total Cost excluding shipping: $117

I have extra biners and rope already.

Couple more questions...
  • Can I just use my existing yale bandit for my bridge? Or should I order some lengths of amsteel blue? I don't have extra equipment to splice rope, however, so i'll be tying it in, if that's an issue.
  • For those hooking in with a RC harness are you using an additional tree tether to hook up to your RC? What rope are you using for that?
You don't need anything extra for splicing. You can use a wire hanger.
 
Can I use the webbing from the extension strap they include with the cobra buckles? There are no specs for it on the sitdrag website.

Some have gotten 1.75", but I got 2". Wait until the SD arrives and measure before ordering the cobra buckle.


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