• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Saddle Death… Stay safe out there.

Depends greatly on the saddle. Certain designs pull from underneath you more than others. Same with certain lineman’s loops. Having them only attach at your hips helps keep you upright if you fall on your lineman’s rope verses other lineman’s loop attachment styles that go hips and down. As stated above by GRC, your weight and if you have a pack can also change your center of gravity. How you fall can do it as well, slipping off sideways on a platform or stick is more likely to flip you than a straight downward fall. So many factors make it possible although not probable
Jrain904 said:
Very sad, sending prayers.

Call me inexperienced but I genuinely wonder how you can become inverted if using a saddle and platform with tether and use a linesman for ascending/decending using sticks. Is this something that I legitimately need to be concerned about? Thanks.
Click to expand...
nds
 
gcr0003 said:
Someone mentioned it’s hard to get turn upside down. While I agree, I do think there are things that increase your odds of flipping upside down. Standing straight up and down the center of gravity of typical human is at or a little above the waist. This CG will move as you move your arms legs and body in different positions. If you’re overweight your center of gravity will be higher (proportional to how much you’re overweight), making you more top heavy with respect to your attachment point. If you are overweight and carry a backpack of gear, you’re going to be even that much more top heavy. We are tied in at the waist, and weight above that is adding to how top heavy we are. Center of gravity always wants to be directly below the hanging point. So, if the center of gravity is above the waist and you get turned side ways, the weight is going to pull you the rest of the way upside down, and as you go upside down it is going to be increasingly difficult to right your self. If you are rope climbing and unable grab or touch the tree, and if you’re not in shape enough to do a crunch up to grab the rope at a point above your attachment point, you will be unable to self right yourself.

If you have a backpack full of gear of significant weight 10-20lbs, losing that could make a difference, making it easier to right yourself.

I think throwing your legs down and crunching at the same time could help swing yourself enough to grab the rope above you.

I’ve fooled around with this self righting myself a couple times from a saddle and I’m able to right myself, but I’m lanky, in decent shape, and young.

Just some concepts to think about.

I wonder if a sling attached to your caribiner that falls a little past waste height could be used to right yourself. If would have to be there at all times when climbing though. It could run parallel to one side of your bridge and hang through a bridge loop. To be accessible but out of the way.
Click to expand...
So sling would be waist or lower so as long as you could lift one arm up to your waist you could grab it and try and pull yourself up? Maybe not through the lineman’s belt or bridge because that may be hard to get to but maybe soft hang on a clip or something that as long as you could get a hand on it you could pull. 7B306C66-D0B8-465C-90AB-5A80C774526E.jpeg58881A42-6677-4953-80CD-98DA6001DC67.jpeg
 
hokiehunter373 said:
What I don't understand is that he was able to let another hunter in the area know that he was not ok but he was not able to get himself upright. Just doesn't make sense to me
Click to expand...
We had a heavy weight guy at a deer camp that liked to drink, one day he fell out of his deer stand. He was smart enough to have a harness on but he was not able to pull himself back up. Luckily the crew went looking for him when he didn't show up at camp and found him and got him down, mostly unharmed.

I Personally haven't practiced going head over in my saddle but I would think it would still take some strength to be able to pull yourself up right, and after a possible fall that might make it even more difficult.
 
parkersdad said:
I read the post from his wife this morning as well. So sad. I’ve already been thinking about something like this, but this makes me think even harder. If a stick breaks and you’re using a lineman‘s belt you’re going to rip yourself up or possibly go upside down. I love my JX3 Hybrid but my but if I’m in a tree stand, the stand hast to break and my rock climbing harness and tether have to break. There are two things that have to happen instead of one. In my stand, I keep my tether tight. For some reason that makes me feel more comfortable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...
I’ve made this same comment pretty often with not much response… climber stand with good practices and a treestand wingman, for example… two systems have to fail, it’s just safer. My JX3 still goes out more than other methods but I keep mulling all of this over in my head.
 
Brocky said:
A chest harness helps to prevent inverting.
Click to expand...
No personal experience, but I've seen loop slings twisted into a figure-8, donned like a backpack, and then joined in front by a carabiner. Sort of like a backband with shoulder straps. This is something I'll have to experiment with, maybe a runner from a chest 'biner to a short bridge or tether 'biner?
 
Iron_llama said:
No personal experience, but I've seen loop slings twisted into a figure-8, donned like a backpack, and then joined in front by a carabiner. Sort of like a backband with shoulder straps. This is something I'll have to experiment with, maybe a runner from a chest 'biner to a short bridge or tether 'biner?
Click to expand...
I wouldn’t run a second bridge but a chest rig to a secondary prusik above your primary saddle connection point would help keep you upright if you fell.
 
Rpd3d said:
I saw where John RB had reached out and asked to be contacted to learn about details of this unfortunate accident. If anybody knows please share so we all can learn and take measures to prevent it in the future.

If anything it should make us all aware of the dangers we face ever time we leave the ground.

Condolences and prayers for the family.
Click to expand...
All in my prayers
Wirrex said:
I ran across this on the JRB Facebook group. It’s a somber reminder for everyone. Always prepare for worse case scenario’s and stay safe this season.

Condolences to his family and friends.

View attachment 71305
Click to expand...
In my prayers. So sorry.
 
First of all, thoughts and prayers go out to his family during this time. This is terrible news to hear and something that rings loud and clear with us in the hunting community, not just the saddle hunting community. We lost one of our own.

That being said, I will be very interested in hearing exactly what happened, what method, etc. I think we as saddle hunters should understand the accident and discuss ways to prevent it, what may have been done wrong in this instance, etc. We owe it to our families and ourselves to learn from this unfortunate accident.

This definitely prompts me to look at ways I can make my one stick system better, safer and have methods in place to get me out of the tree safely if something were to go sideways. I climb, hunt, and repel solely on a madrock safeguard and my repel line. I feel like my main repel rope is very last thing that would fail and in my instance, I can't for the life of me see how I could get upside down and not be able to right myself with the one stick and repel rope. But, I am looking to use a prussic to backup my safeguard while I climb and hunt. I like the idea of having a prusic or two with footholds to walk down the rope if I ever needed to. Those are going in my cargo pockets of my pants so they're always there.

anything I can do to make me safer and give me options for getting out safely if something were to happen....
 
HuumanCreed said:
Same. Maybe he release tension too fast on either knot or mechanical device, free slide for a few feet. The sudden catch might of jolted him and he fell inversely. Whatever saddle+belt+leg loop might of started cutting into his artery, stopping blood flow?
Click to expand...
That would make sense why no one could reach him because he one stick/2 tether climb(not to knock someone's preferred method)
 
rhagenw said:
That would make sense why no one could reach him because he one stick/2 tether climb(not to knock someone's preferred method)
Click to expand...
Regardless of the climbing method, it would be a chore to get up a tree and try and lift an unconscious person up while trying not to fall yourself. I feel for the family and the hunter that probably tried everything he could do to help. Terrible situation.
 
Man, that sucks. Just like that "broken oplux tether" fall I don't think we will ever know enough of the details to determine exactly what happened, but it's a good reminder to practice and have backups like you've all said already. My heart goes out to his family but also to the other hunter that watched him die, that must have royally sucked trying to but not being able to help.
 
WISCO said:
Regardless of the climbing method, it would be a chore to get up a tree and try and lift an unconscious person up while trying not to fall yourself. I feel for the family and the hunter that probably tried everything he could do to help. Terrible situation.
Click to expand...
I whole hardly agree in the difficulties, through various careers I had to practice elevated rescues on dummies who were inverted. I can't imagine an actually person who bends. I was just stating that may or may not add in an unexpected issue to an emergency crew or fellow hunter. Regardless very sad ordeal and I hope we are all safe and have a plan b.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top