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Predator Platform broke on me last night

Killingtime

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Joined
Aug 30, 2018
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Murphy’s Law paid me a visit last night on the opening day of my quota hunt. Looks like I will have to knock the dust of my climber. Kinda sucks because the tree that I was planning on a climber could only dream about getting into.
 
That sucks! I know it wont save your hunt now but I'm sure a call to Tethered and you'll be taken care of!

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A good reminder to never climb on any platform without your tether attached FIRST.

Good point. Out of curiosity what level of liability do you think the company would have if someone were to fall as a result of platform failure? Assuming either a failure in life support system or absence of one. I’m sure there is some fine print somewhere.

Most treestands ship with life support systems is why I ask.


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Those Gen 1 preds are failures waiting to happen, unfortunately. That back section was not terribly well-framed. It’s almost incomplete without the extra metal back there. The extra support on the G2, especially in the back, makes me wonder why they ever released the G1 as it was. It was definitely rushed just to have a platform hit the market. Why else would you only rate G1 to 300#, which is clearly heavier than it can actually take? I have to just shake my head when guys offer to buy or are looking for a G1. This has to be at least a dozen with almost identical breaks that I’ve seen since May. The G2 is a tank though. It’s the one that should have been released from the start. I’m pretty sure the rating on IT is understated at 350#, and they really nailed the design of the platform framework on the G2. Now if we could just get a sharper batwing and a stomp-pad on the G3...
 
To be honest I didn’t find out this was a issue until after it broke and I searched it. I never received a recall for it, so I assumed it was all good.
That's 100% my point. Tethrd is replacing platforms for people who ask/know. But they haven't published anything on their site, social media accounts, or sent out any email/calls to people who ordered a gen 1.

In my mind, that's extremely irresponsible. Not everyone spends their days crawling around every thread that gets posted here and knows that gen 1s break fairly regularly.
 
I'll also point out that this platform didn't fail due to toe hooking it. So it's not just that. There is not enough material on that back end.

I understand the guys who see the failure and go "meh, it's light." I take a calculated risk on carbon bolts. BUT, the predator is sold as a device specifically to be used at height. It should be robust enough that the average user does not break it. Folks aren't breaking ameristeps, cranfords, ridge runners, bullmans, etc.
 
I mean, Lone Wolf has been recommending the toe hook for like 20 years. Same with XOP, since they’ve been around at least. Both companies are known for ultralight aluminum construction, pretty much identical to the way the Predator is poured. Even some of the Tethrd employees have been seen on video and forums recommending the toe hook. It’s aircraft-grade aluminum. With the correct framework design, that aluminum should be more than sturdy on a toe hook.
 
I mean, Lone Wolf has been recommending the toe hook for like 20 years. Same with XOP, since they’ve been around at least. Both companies are known for ultralight aluminum construction, pretty much identical to the way the Predator is poured. Even some of the Tethrd employees have been seen on video and forums recommending the toe hook. It’s aircraft-grade aluminum. With the correct framework design, that aluminum should be more than sturdy on a toe hook.
I know they are made well and tested I'm sure, but that is a lot of leverage pressure from tip to tip.
 
These should be recalled, period. I've said it before. It's irresponsible and just plain dangerous that it hasn't happend...

These aren't a garage diy hack like carbon bolts, or seat platforms...these are commercially available products-that were discontinued and replaced with a stronger version for a reason. Why isn't there still a production gen I, like a predator light version? The cost is already sunk into the molds and tooling...
 
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