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Big guys test run in a saddle

SETXsportsman6

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2019
Messages
357
Location
South East Texas
Got my set up in the mail today. Ordered 11/15.

Only had about 15 minutes to play with it prior to having to leave for work (shift worker)

First impression:
Surprised with the overall weight of everything in the box (mantis, predator, two sys haulers, hys strap, s biners, and hero clip, caribiners, linemans rope, and tether.) Very light in comparison to a XOP Maximus clamp on.

Comfort: Take this with a grain of salt since obviously I was only in it for 15 minutes. First thing I noticed was the lower leg strap attachments weren't going to ever work for me since I have huge thighs and every step the leg straps would fall and become uncomfortable. Put the straps on the belt loops and they were very comfortable at that point. Had a little hip pinch at first (nothing major) but noticed the top of my saddle was about belt level, moved my saddle down on my butt and no more issues with that. I did find that when swinging around the tree my body tends to take me further than what I'm looking to go, but I'm sure that will change as I get more proficient at learning to control my movement's. Could've also been cause of a lean on the tree or something else. I was on a basketball sized tree, and found that both leaning and sitting were both comfortable.I could probably see myself preferring to switch back and forth as needed to achieve comfort throughout the hunt. I played with tether height a little and found that about forehead level I could essentially take a 2 o'clock shot from the strong side. I went through a few different shot scenarios; drop shot, weak side, and believe that with practice they could all be easily executed.

Predator platform:
This thing is fantastic. I expected quite a bit of flex in the platform when I stepped on but was surprised it was nothing noticeable (my XOP lock on flexed bad and always made me nervous) Don't think I've ever seen a platform lock in as tight. I cammed it over by hand at first and put some side pressure on it and it eventually worked a little loose, so I stepped on the post and toe hooked it and at that point it felt like it was concrete. I will test that exact same scenario multiple times before I go to height. I'm a big boy 6'4 320 (working on shedding weight) and want to be certain it's big boy approved before putting myself at height with it.



I became a little skeptical of my choice of the mantis after doing a bunch of reading about the kestrel flex working better for big guys. After my 15 minute test run today I became more optimistic about it. As I stated, this was a quick test run before going to work just because I was so damn excited I couldn't stand to go work 12 hrs without trying it first. But I'm excited to have it and ready to take the plunge head first into saddle hunting.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for the report, I am a big guy also. Used my H2 for 30 minutes yesterday at one stick height and believe it will be great.
 
Just to add to the big guy perspective, i have the kestrel Kite and couldnt be happier 3/4 of a season in plenty comfortable. Unfortunately i dont have experience with any other saddles to compare. I think the take away is that it can work for anyone, even bigger guys.
 
How the heck you did all that in 15 minutes, wow!
Congrats on your first practice sit and welcome to SH.
 
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