Rico
Active Member
This will be our first year to hunt from a saddle. We learned about this method of hunting by reading Eberhart books and viewing the videos years ago, but didn't go the saddle route because lock-ons were working just fine for us. Last year one of our friends purchased a Kestrel and we learned first hand just how much of a step up a saddle was over a lock-on. I tried to go the cheep route with the sitdrag last year, but was totally unimpressed. This summer found me still wrestling with the cost benefit ratio, when I was introduced to the Warren Womack journals and heard him speak on the Down South podcast. After listening to Warren I knew I had to get this saddle thing going asap.
I chose the Kite over the Kestrel, because it was going to be a bit lighter and perhaps somewhat cooler for hanging in South Louisiana.
I did consider the Mantis, but not having had an opportunity to put my hands on one before buying, I decided pass for now.
My son and I have had our Kites for about two weeks now and we are very pleased with our purchase. The construction is top tier for sure. We are not put off by the buckles as some have been. We have used safety harnesses for years that had the same type of buckles. We do like the two rows of MOLLE because it helps stabilize the pouch we added. We also appreciate that the MOLLE is looser than our friends Kestrel and that it runs all the way around the saddle. We also prefer the new leg strap buckles compared to our friend's Kestrel buckles.
Having said that, a couple of days ago, I did add a COBRA buckle as suggested by Bigterp. It is nice, but not a game changer over the original buckle.
We each added a mag dump pouch as recommended by G2 on his sitdrag video and KUIU hip belt pouch recommended by DIY Sportsman. The dump pouch works very well for the tether and the lineman's when they are not in use. The hip belt pouch is perfect for our gear hanger.
We had WesSpur splice five inch eyes into Predator rope for our tether and lineman's.
Slinging arrows with a compound bow from the Kite has been flawless. We haven't shot past 30 yards, but from zero to 30 we're in the kill zone.
Looking forward our annual 5 day bow hunt in October!
I chose the Kite over the Kestrel, because it was going to be a bit lighter and perhaps somewhat cooler for hanging in South Louisiana.
I did consider the Mantis, but not having had an opportunity to put my hands on one before buying, I decided pass for now.
My son and I have had our Kites for about two weeks now and we are very pleased with our purchase. The construction is top tier for sure. We are not put off by the buckles as some have been. We have used safety harnesses for years that had the same type of buckles. We do like the two rows of MOLLE because it helps stabilize the pouch we added. We also appreciate that the MOLLE is looser than our friends Kestrel and that it runs all the way around the saddle. We also prefer the new leg strap buckles compared to our friend's Kestrel buckles.
Having said that, a couple of days ago, I did add a COBRA buckle as suggested by Bigterp. It is nice, but not a game changer over the original buckle.
We each added a mag dump pouch as recommended by G2 on his sitdrag video and KUIU hip belt pouch recommended by DIY Sportsman. The dump pouch works very well for the tether and the lineman's when they are not in use. The hip belt pouch is perfect for our gear hanger.
We had WesSpur splice five inch eyes into Predator rope for our tether and lineman's.
Slinging arrows with a compound bow from the Kite has been flawless. We haven't shot past 30 yards, but from zero to 30 we're in the kill zone.
Looking forward our annual 5 day bow hunt in October!
