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Alternative Method for Platform Attachment

Man, this method is slick. Thanks!

Bought 10' of 3/16 amsteel and a fid from EWO, watched a YouTube video to splice in a loop, girth hitched the loop to one side, and we're off to the races. Light, quiet, and solid.
 
EricS said:
I just saw this but I like it. I tried the timber hitch on cranfords also. It works well. It wouldn’t matter in your application but depending on which way you wrap the rope it will either loosen or tighten if it slides down the tree some.

The first time I saw the timber hitch in use saddle hunting was an old video on you tube. The guy demonstrated a preacher seat and used a timber hitch to attach it to the tree. I wouldn’t use it for a tether attachment
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Very good point about which way you wrap it. You definitely want to wrap the bottom strand over the top each time.
 
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Please tell me I wasn’t the only one looking around for the bugs buzzing around me while watching that video......
 
I will need to test this out. Only concern I have is if I catch my toe on my Ridge Runner as I transition - wondering if it will disengage and drop to the ground; better the stand than me though!
 
PeterA said:
I will need to test this out. Only concern I have is if I catch my toe on my Ridge Runner as I transition - wondering if it will disengage and drop to the ground; better the stand than me though!
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Upward pressure on the platform/stick can disengage. Definitely something to keep in mind.
 
Anyone experiment with timber hitching the stock strap with a Predator or Mission?
 
boyne bowhunter said:
As I've previously stated, I'm not a big fan of the cam buckle straps supplied with most of the current saddle platforms for attachment to the tree. The buckle feels big and bulky to me and, worse yet I always seem to clank it off the metal platform at the most inopportune times. For the last couple of years I've used an Amsteel daisy chain with my Tethrd Predator and it has worked pretty well. The only downside is that it is only incrementally adjustable so you can never really cinch it fully tight before camming.

This year I bought a couple of Out on a Limb platforms to try and because they cam more like a Wild Edge stepp, the attachment strap needs to be tight to really hold them securely to the tree. That pretty much rules out the use of a daisy chain for me on those. To that end I started looking or alternative hookup methods. I tried a whoopie sling but also had difficulty getting the tension correct on that. I ended up stumbling back across @Nutterbuster's video showing his use of a timber hitch for securing climbing steps to trees and thought I'd give that a try.

Well I've been trialing it for a couple of weeks and have been impressed with the results. When done right that hitch creates a rock solid attachment to the tree. It's worked well enough I thought I'd post a video to share it with you guys.

Remember, always safety first. If you try this, do so at low height first until you're comfortable that it works for you. And, ALWAYS be securely tethered to the tree before transitioning to any platform or ROS regardless of how its attached to the tree.

Thanks for watching and I hope this helps some of you that are struggling with the cam buckles like I have.

EDIT: I've been getting this question a lot so I'll post a general reply here. The amteel I'm using is 3/16" although I've also used 1/4" and it works as well. Length after splicing the eye on mine is about 9 feet. You need enough to pretty much encircle the bigest tree you're planning on sitting in twice. A reasonable approximation for length in feet required to get two wraps around a tree is to simply divide the tree's diameter in inches by 2, for example an 18" diameter tree will require about 9 ft of rope to go around twice.


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Great video ,I had seen the video by Nuterbuster .
where did you get spliced eye amsteel ?
 
I needed this thanks... I started using a ratchet strap because I couldn't get it right like I wanted and I sick at camming so I've been told.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk
 
Tree hunter said:
Great video ,I had seen the video by Nuterbuster .
where did you get spliced eye amsteel ?
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I spliced it myself. Splicing eyes in amsteel is really pretty easy. Step 1 of the attached splicing guide gives pretty good instructions. There's a ton of youtube videos out there on it as well. For reference 1 FID length is equal to 22 times the rope diameter (i.e. for 1/4" amsteel 1FID = 5.5 inches).

 
Jokerswild said:
Would this work as well with accessory cord, rather than amsteel? ?
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I haven't tried it but I don't see why not. The one advantage amsteel may provide is its slippery on itself so it's easier to pull the excess slack out of the twists with the tag end. As with anything try this at ground level until you're sure it will work for you and that you've mastered the idea. I've used this all year, in excess of 60 sits with no issues yet.
 
Jokerswild said:
And Amsteel has Zero stretch right? That would be huge in the binding factor?
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Fact is I've only tried/used amsteel. I can't speak in absolutes for other ropes. As I said above, if you try it do so at ground level to make sure it works before moving to height.
 
So I use a 7/64 Amsteel daisy chain to attach hawk helium sticks, and very recently started tentioning it like a truckers hitch as was described in a utube vid. But it's a little fussy imo while hanging and a little tricky w gloves on when it's cold. Just tried this timber hitch w a stick and the same 7/64 daisy chain, works perfect and is way easier to set up and remove. Only problem is my daisy's are a little too short for bigger trees.
 
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