Hello fellow saddle hunters! As the title says, this is a cautionary tale of my pre-season prep. First a little background, I'm a brand new saddle user recently converted from an XOP setup. Got my Tethrd Phantom setup up a month ago paired with a Predator. My usual prep for this season got sidetracked early this summer when my hunt rig decided to give up the ghost. Not wanting to part with her I started down the path of fixing, wasting 3 weeks of my summer prep. Shortly after that had a large family vacation. Next is the real meat and potatoes of my tale. I started to buy new gear. Usually during winter I buy a piece here and there, never during the summer, in peak prep time. First came the new arrows, went from a 400 spline to 340, which requires sighting in you're bow and of course I had very little time for. So as one does when they see a few sales, you buy more things. Next came the hawk mini sticks, financed with trading my full length XOP sticks. After climbing around a few local trees I quickly realized I needed to get higher then what the mini sticks could get me, next came the carry as you go aider. At this point in my tale I hope you are realizing my folly, buying too much stuff too quickly and not giving yourself enough time to adjust. In Wisconsin we kicked off our season last Saturday and here I am, getting used to a completely new setup, with arrows that I have only gotten tuned at 20 yards. I now realize my mistake of course and hope that other newbies such as myself take their time with the new gear they purchase. In the end I'm headed up a tree tomorrow morning on a plot of land that is very familiar to me, hoping to do a dress rehearsal. Best of luck everyone.