Glad your OK Autumnrider!
I was able to get some good hours in the Hybrid over this weekend, unfortunately no videos this weekend as it kept raining on and off.
The comfort of this puppy is legit. I was able to pack in my FL Sanctuary Jacket and put that on after cooling down from the walk/climb while in the Web at height with no trouble whatsoever. Pivoting on the whale tail to look around was dead quiet. I really like the new whale tail design. First I thought it was too sharp, but after some use I found that it is very helpful. You can ease your way around a tree by moving that tail to a new position and letting it grab, then just slowly pivot to your new position. It does do a little damage to the tree, but I was also hunting out of a very soft birch tree (first time hunting one of those with the Wild Edge Stepps as well, and boy those suckers dig right in!) The damage will really just be to the spots that you like the tail to position to, I found that I would used the same marks each time I moved around the tree. If that is of concern to you, you could easily file the points to be more dull, but you would lose some of its “grabbing” power.
It was easy to find a comfortable setting for the backrest angle and is super easy to adjust, I would vary the angle now and then to sit in slightly different positions. I have a crap back and being able to do this made longer sits much more enjoyable. I am more of a sitter than leaner even in my minimalist Mantis saddle, their is no comparison with sitting comfort between the Hybrid and any other saddle I have used, this is definitely an all day worthy stand. You can still lean and stretch your legs out, as I would do on occasion.
Packing everything in on the walk is very comfortable, handling weight is not a problem. I just need to find a way to attach my backpack to the Hybrid so I can keep that on me as I climb, my backpack usually is around 20 lbs with all my hunting gear for the day and my camera setup. I don’t care for hauling that up via a rope and would prefer to keep it on my back while I ascend and descend the tree.
Unfortunately, I did not get any shots at deer the past 3 days, but did take several practice shots when getting up to height or before getting down (I always carry a judo tipped arrow or two for this) and the shots from the stand were comfortable and easily managed from a 62” longbow. Sitting and leaning shots were just as good as the shots from a minimalist saddle in my opinion.
I have a week off for hunting again beginning November 10th and plan on getting some serious hours in with this bad boy... and hopefully some videos this time as well!
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