KCbuckeye22
Member
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2018
- Messages
- 43
I’m totally new to saddle hunting, as in I’ve never been in one. I have done a fair amount of repelling in the military (12B). I’ve been a mobile public hunter for over 7 years now. I’ve used a old aluminum loggy bayou predator stand and muddy pro sticks. Going saddle seemed like a logical choice. I banked on it this year, going all in and....I waited....and waited....and waited....
My saddle came in the mail Monday. I’m 6’3” 220lbs ordered a XL. I didn’t get my micro adjusters, stuff pouch, and platform in the order, so I’m waiting for it to arrive.
Again I have zero experience in the saddle. Ive been interested in it for about 4 years, just couldn’t pull the trigger. My loggy has been used and abused and I was looking to get a new safety harness. I figured it was now or never, so I ordered a Tethrd Mantis. I’ve been stoked about this since my order in July. I’ve pre gamed by watching the on line videos, YouTube, etc on how to set up this rig and such.
At first glance the product looks good. I had the saddle put on rather quickly. Everything seems stitched well and tough.
I noticed that one prusik had a knot on the end where the binger would land. I think I recalled something from military training so I moved the knot so the binger didn’t touch the knot, problem solved.
The bingers seem loud, the waist band seemed loud as well. I put some green 100 mph tape on both which quieted them down.
Honestly the ropeman is a scary little dude to me, so I doubled it with the prusik. I figure with time I will get use to it. I put it on my linesman belt. I also tied figure 8s on the ends of the tether and belt.
I found the rope tether to be a huge improvement over the old Treestand safety buckle. I will need to get a ropeman for it, the prusik takes more effort. The tether is much quieter, faster, and easier than the old safety buckles.
I used on muddy pro stick as a platform and tied in. The lineman belt was extremely nice. The ropeman works well and it’s easy to adjust, however for now I’ll continue to use the prusik with it.
The saddle felt comfortable, yet I felt uncomfortable. Leaning back felt good, sitting in it felt a little awkward. I picked a tree that was to big, so straddling it wasn’t comfortable. In the future I’ll stick to smaller trees.
Positioning. This is were the wheels came off. I was standing on one stick, not a platform. I found it extremely hard to position myself without making a ton of movement. I felt it was an endurance check most of the time, my body and footing fighting to keep balance. Strong side was okay, however I still felt unbalanced. Shooting to the rear was full of movement and a balancing act. Weak side was a pain as well. I added an extra stick to get my footing to get my balance. My shooting form wasn’t the best, and at most very difficult to perform a good shot. Strong side wasn’t bad tho. I came to the conclusion that I need a platform, some knee pads, and way more practice than I expected. Movement is going to be much more than I expected. I figure this comes with more experience in the saddle to fine tune movements.
I plan on going out tonight to play around with it some more. The saddle itself seems to be a win, using it is going to take much more time than I expected.
I felt I should give my first time saddling a review since I believe some others will be in the same boat as me. If you think you’re going to be saddle ready after a couple hours and a few shots you’re going to be disappointed. I went all in and ordered thinking I would have a month and a half of practice before the start of the season. Missouri’s bow season has started and I am definitely behind the curve. Luckily I don’t plan on getting much hunting in until Columbus Day weekend. I’m also lucky to have my saddle, as many might be waiting for a couple more weeks. I could see myself dragging out the Loggy Treestand if the platform doesn’t come soon, I would advise anyone in my boat to start PLAN B. I’d hate for someone thinking they could get it together with a couple hours and a couple days of practice in late October. I honestly really don’t think you can workout what footing, balance, platform, movement, and shot form in that time period.
However, I am optimistic that’s it’s only up from here. Once I have knee pads and a platform I think my balance and comfort level will increase. I also believe once I’m more confident in the equipment the ease of use will make it stellar and flow fluidly.
Any questions please ask, I’m a newbie so I apologize for any ignorance.
My saddle came in the mail Monday. I’m 6’3” 220lbs ordered a XL. I didn’t get my micro adjusters, stuff pouch, and platform in the order, so I’m waiting for it to arrive.
Again I have zero experience in the saddle. Ive been interested in it for about 4 years, just couldn’t pull the trigger. My loggy has been used and abused and I was looking to get a new safety harness. I figured it was now or never, so I ordered a Tethrd Mantis. I’ve been stoked about this since my order in July. I’ve pre gamed by watching the on line videos, YouTube, etc on how to set up this rig and such.
At first glance the product looks good. I had the saddle put on rather quickly. Everything seems stitched well and tough.
I noticed that one prusik had a knot on the end where the binger would land. I think I recalled something from military training so I moved the knot so the binger didn’t touch the knot, problem solved.
The bingers seem loud, the waist band seemed loud as well. I put some green 100 mph tape on both which quieted them down.
Honestly the ropeman is a scary little dude to me, so I doubled it with the prusik. I figure with time I will get use to it. I put it on my linesman belt. I also tied figure 8s on the ends of the tether and belt.
I found the rope tether to be a huge improvement over the old Treestand safety buckle. I will need to get a ropeman for it, the prusik takes more effort. The tether is much quieter, faster, and easier than the old safety buckles.
I used on muddy pro stick as a platform and tied in. The lineman belt was extremely nice. The ropeman works well and it’s easy to adjust, however for now I’ll continue to use the prusik with it.
The saddle felt comfortable, yet I felt uncomfortable. Leaning back felt good, sitting in it felt a little awkward. I picked a tree that was to big, so straddling it wasn’t comfortable. In the future I’ll stick to smaller trees.
Positioning. This is were the wheels came off. I was standing on one stick, not a platform. I found it extremely hard to position myself without making a ton of movement. I felt it was an endurance check most of the time, my body and footing fighting to keep balance. Strong side was okay, however I still felt unbalanced. Shooting to the rear was full of movement and a balancing act. Weak side was a pain as well. I added an extra stick to get my footing to get my balance. My shooting form wasn’t the best, and at most very difficult to perform a good shot. Strong side wasn’t bad tho. I came to the conclusion that I need a platform, some knee pads, and way more practice than I expected. Movement is going to be much more than I expected. I figure this comes with more experience in the saddle to fine tune movements.
I plan on going out tonight to play around with it some more. The saddle itself seems to be a win, using it is going to take much more time than I expected.
I felt I should give my first time saddling a review since I believe some others will be in the same boat as me. If you think you’re going to be saddle ready after a couple hours and a few shots you’re going to be disappointed. I went all in and ordered thinking I would have a month and a half of practice before the start of the season. Missouri’s bow season has started and I am definitely behind the curve. Luckily I don’t plan on getting much hunting in until Columbus Day weekend. I’m also lucky to have my saddle, as many might be waiting for a couple more weeks. I could see myself dragging out the Loggy Treestand if the platform doesn’t come soon, I would advise anyone in my boat to start PLAN B. I’d hate for someone thinking they could get it together with a couple hours and a couple days of practice in late October. I honestly really don’t think you can workout what footing, balance, platform, movement, and shot form in that time period.
However, I am optimistic that’s it’s only up from here. Once I have knee pads and a platform I think my balance and comfort level will increase. I also believe once I’m more confident in the equipment the ease of use will make it stellar and flow fluidly.
Any questions please ask, I’m a newbie so I apologize for any ignorance.