@blatallic and
@rutjr , have you guys figured out your climbing system yet? I highly recommend taking your time to figure everything out and practice, practice, practice. A big help also is if you can meet up with someone that has done it. We held a little get together this past Spring at my club for about fifteen guys and even though only a couple of guys had experience, seeing things firsthand made a world of difference.
I started using the system in March and tried a thousand different things, attempting to figure out how to get it to work right for me. I also used the climbing system and saddle setup for all of my scouting and tree prep. By the time the season starts for me (Monday), I will have probably climbed 200 trees. How you get up the tree is critical. It was the hardest decision for me, figuring out what to use. I am very happy with my decision (WE Stepps with aiders). Knowing what to hook up and when is very important. You are dealing with multiple ropes typically, so order is important for safety, speed and convenience. Doing everything with all your gear on is also a game changer.
I use a sitdrag and rock climbing harness, but will watch how the masses like their new fancy saddles. I suspect that there will be a number of people who buy a saddle, try it twice, then say "forget this". I will probably buy one of their saddles
Stick with it. It will be weird and probably frustrating at first but it literally is the best thing since the invention of the bow and arrow.
With all that said, when it is all figured out, it is super quiet, safe and efficient. Oh, and I think we will do another saddle get together in the Spring.
Pete
