- Joined
- May 19, 2019
- Messages
- 343
Just posted this on THB and figured I’d share with those of you interested. Dissatisfaction with the seat size on the helo has been well-documented (here and elsewhere). The overall complaint (mine included) is that it is disproportionately large, relative to the platform’s size.
I went a little nuts and bought a scratch and dent beast seat and swapped it out. I’m quite happy with how it turned out. See below for details:
1. The helo seat with pad weighed 2.2lbs on my scale. The beast seat with all hardware but no cushion weighed 14.784 ounces (0.924lbs). So this mod will cut your weight by 1 pound, which brings a budget stand ($190 when I bought it), into the 8lb club. For many, the price of the seat won’t be worth it for the weight of a water bottle, but for me it was (see #3 below).
2. The seat fit great no problem. The only “issue” is the welded tab on the seat for the leveling function; it lines up exactly on the end of the stand platform. This means it cannot fold entirely flat when the seat is folded down in transport. It’s a non issue for me because I always run it in shelf-mode while it’s on my back.
3. What I personally like most is how much more appropriate the size of this seat is for the platform size. Yes, I’m peculiar.
All in all, fully loaded with stealth strips, a turret bow holder (~0.4lbs), and shoulder straps (0.572lbs), the stand is 9.3lbs on my scale. Add one cam buckle and it’s 9.7 completely hunt ready (minus a seat cushion, which I do not have yet).
I run just two beast sticks with aiders that weigh 2.0lbs each (which gets me to a max height of 18’). So total carry weight is 13.7lbs plus or minus an ounce or two.
I went a little nuts and bought a scratch and dent beast seat and swapped it out. I’m quite happy with how it turned out. See below for details:
1. The helo seat with pad weighed 2.2lbs on my scale. The beast seat with all hardware but no cushion weighed 14.784 ounces (0.924lbs). So this mod will cut your weight by 1 pound, which brings a budget stand ($190 when I bought it), into the 8lb club. For many, the price of the seat won’t be worth it for the weight of a water bottle, but for me it was (see #3 below).
2. The seat fit great no problem. The only “issue” is the welded tab on the seat for the leveling function; it lines up exactly on the end of the stand platform. This means it cannot fold entirely flat when the seat is folded down in transport. It’s a non issue for me because I always run it in shelf-mode while it’s on my back.
3. What I personally like most is how much more appropriate the size of this seat is for the platform size. Yes, I’m peculiar.
All in all, fully loaded with stealth strips, a turret bow holder (~0.4lbs), and shoulder straps (0.572lbs), the stand is 9.3lbs on my scale. Add one cam buckle and it’s 9.7 completely hunt ready (minus a seat cushion, which I do not have yet).
I run just two beast sticks with aiders that weigh 2.0lbs each (which gets me to a max height of 18’). So total carry weight is 13.7lbs plus or minus an ounce or two.
