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- Jan 17, 2019
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One thing the pandemic has underlined for me is that if I sit around at home and don't go out or out to eat that I can save a lot of money to buy saddle and hunting gear
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Budget friendly
- Thread starter Hlzr
- Start date
One thing the pandemic has underlined for me is that if I sit around at home and don't go out or out to eat that I can save a lot of money to buy saddle and hunting gear
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2015
- Messages
- 3,515
I think people forget how many deer died because of a sit drag and homemade platforms. U can still get a sd cheap and platforms show up all the time. Last I checked hawks still climb trees and are inexpensive in comparison. You don’t have e to have 1000s in dollars of gear to be successful.
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2019
- Messages
- 6,284
Excellent point, I'm glad you brought it up. A safe rock climbing harness can be had new for less than 50 bucks and a fleece saddle is basically free and a sit drag is like 30 bucks new.
I bought a new Cruzr, but I'm planning on making a fleece and sit drag soon.
There is nothing budget about buying the cheapest available and then losing on it when you sell it because it wasn’t for you. Buying api climbing sticks are budget minded but not if you order new standoffs and steps for it.
The best budget saddle is the one you can wear to the tree and be comfortable in it the next couple decades. Regardless of initial cost from the budget friendly recon sling to the jx3 hybrid the best one on your budget is the one you’re still sitting in ten years from now.
Budget climbing methods? It’s hard to beat a treehopper drill and a handful of grade eight bolts for a compact lightweight climbing method but if they aren’t legal in your area they are worthless.
Public land legal I would go with a helium four pack.
There are plenty of budget options on ropes. Just stick with climbing rated ropes and learn how to tie the proper knots.
Platform prices are all over the place as are designs. Someone might spend more on a jx3 and just use the top of their stick. Another may buy a really cheap saddle but still be comfortable because they went with one of the oversized platform. I use a ring of steps most of the time but if I’m going to use a platform I want a big one. So I use the predator xl. My Ring of steps was less than $100 so pretty budget friendly but it would be money wasted if I didn’t like it and use it.
The best budget saddle is the one you can wear to the tree and be comfortable in it the next couple decades. Regardless of initial cost from the budget friendly recon sling to the jx3 hybrid the best one on your budget is the one you’re still sitting in ten years from now.
Budget climbing methods? It’s hard to beat a treehopper drill and a handful of grade eight bolts for a compact lightweight climbing method but if they aren’t legal in your area they are worthless.
Public land legal I would go with a helium four pack.
There are plenty of budget options on ropes. Just stick with climbing rated ropes and learn how to tie the proper knots.
Platform prices are all over the place as are designs. Someone might spend more on a jx3 and just use the top of their stick. Another may buy a really cheap saddle but still be comfortable because they went with one of the oversized platform. I use a ring of steps most of the time but if I’m going to use a platform I want a big one. So I use the predator xl. My Ring of steps was less than $100 so pretty budget friendly but it would be money wasted if I didn’t like it and use it.
Hlzr
Active Member
That's becoming obvious with the array of opinions already.
Remember that in the very recent past this was almost completely a DIY pursuit, with little to no commercial gear available. As equipment came available, the supply was limited, lead times were long, and resale value of quality gear was near that of new - only cheap crap has consistently depreciated.
The cheapest way to try saddle hunting isn't cheap gear - it's some combination of good gear and DIY from on-hand supplies.
Hlzr
Active Member
I was basically trying to recommend a pinned post to highlight that "good gear" and best place to acquire it, Brand A cost this much and there's a sale or coupon code available for this price or % off here, for example. But that seems to not be possible. I'd bet we'd have 20 pages of pics and recommendations if the parameters were "show us the best", most expensive gear lol. Thank you for the well thought out responses Matt.
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2020
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- 1,604
Used and off brands can usually save a bit of money. I have also given equipment to people getting started in hunting. I work hard and my money has to go a long way so impulse buys are always out. Be patient and things will pop up that work in your budget. Hell, if I was any where near you I would give you a great deal on some unused Hawk Helium’s. Good luck to you.
I don't think it's feasible to provide what you're looking for (other than the existing classified and deal/coupon threads).
Pretty much all commercial saddles are probably good, and mostly about the same price. I'd avoid Hawk on anything life support. Selection comes down to personal preference.
Most of the saddle companies sell premade ropes for similar prices. If you want to make your own, appropriate climbing rope typically starts at .90-1 a foot.
Climbing methods - depends on what's legal where you are. My go-to is bolts. They're cheap but not legal everywhere. Other people like sticks - i can't stomach hauling the bulk of a bunch of sticks. Some people like cranford rope steps - i used my set a few times but not for me. Squirrelsteps are my preferred "legal everywhere" option - but multiples the price of the cranfords.
Ring of steps/platform? There are all sorts of options at similar prices, and diy stuff as well.
The easiest suggestion would be to shop at treehopper and doublesteps.
There is no best, or best-value. Most stuff costs pretty similar unless you DIY. There's a lot of personal preference - and whether a piece of equipment is cheap or expensive there will be people that love it and people that can't stand it.
Look at each piece of equipment individually.
Hlzr
Active Member
To be honest I'm not looking for suggestions, I was posting an idea to make the forum better for new hunters and/or saddle hunters looking to get into this as hassle free as possible. If a guy is taking up archery hunting for his first time he has enough new things to research and work through, having a single post with a summary of where he or she could begin there journey into elevated hunting would be beneficial I'd think. This would involve work from the moderator/owner of the site. I hear people throw rocks at Tethered quite often, they are at the top because they are a company that supplies everything and the customer service to back it up, people appreciate the "one stop shop" process, it would be beneficial financially for all vendors to be involved in such a resource imo.
There is at least one newbie sticky. It's out of date though. There's an entire forum dedicated to helping newcomers with lots of discussions. I suspect redsquirrel has other priorities for his time - and most people here value discussion on safety and function, rather than cheapness. With the sketchy **** that we see, especially on facebook, there'e been a growing reluctance among some to recommend anything other than commercial equipment to newcomers - and that all pretty much costs the same.
Hassle free and "budget" are very much different concepts. Non-budget equipment exists largely to minimize hassles. If you want hassle free there are multiple vendors that can supply a complete package.
Patriot
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2019
- Messages
- 842
Hawk minis with the hawk HSP on top of one for your platform. Used saddle, mantis’ tend to be the cheapest used saddles, muddy linesman and tether. Probably the cheapest functional setup your going to find. No sticky needed. Just do that
Marmuzz
Well-Known Member
You saddle veterans who've tried the RCH + Sit Drag method, anyone tried using a Speedy Stitcher to manually sew molle loops for dump pouches onto a Sit Drag? I'm a newb to the saddle game- I think the concept of DIYing it to learn the overall saddle method for a lower "entry fee" before upgrading to a commercially made saddle could be smart. DIY molle loops that way seems very cost effective but a ton of work to get right. I know elbow grease, budgets, comfort, etc. are all subjective but I'm also open to hearing experience if you guys would say "Been there done that, and never again."
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2020
- Messages
- 230
Not molle loops per se, but I used a Speedy Stitcher to attach a webbing loop for the lineman's loops and attached my dump pouches to that. I put some 8mm chord sections in the webbing for the lineman's loops to hold them open make them easier to hook into. I tied the webbing into a loop (forget the webbing knot I used) and tacked it to the back of the RCH and at the sides to position the lineman's loops. The webbing is weight-rated but the stitching is not.
Been there done that. Not only molle, you also have do a belt to hold it all up.
If I were to do it again, I’d do a battle belt mod and skip the sewing.
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Marmuzz
Well-Known Member
The battle belt idea is intriguing. I suppose you could modify the battle belt to include some linesman’s loops and then copy DIY Sportsman’s idea, substituting the battle belt for the Sit Drag (link below... though no doubt y’all have seen this already). However, from what I’ve seen, the width of most battle belts is thinner than a Sit Drag. So it seems you’d have a great back band for leaning but not so much something you’d want to sit in?
On the flipside, I can see if there’s a way to make it work, the battle belt with dump pouches would be a great utilitarian gear add. Possibly a more ergonomic replacement to a backpack when stomping around on bear or small game drives.
@bj139 I follow your logic, definitely seems like an affordable method, although I suspect I’d be climbing back down shortly without some kind of additional support to the RCH.
On the flipside, I can see if there’s a way to make it work, the battle belt with dump pouches would be a great utilitarian gear add. Possibly a more ergonomic replacement to a backpack when stomping around on bear or small game drives.
@bj139 I follow your logic, definitely seems like an affordable method, although I suspect I’d be climbing back down shortly without some kind of additional support to the RCH.
I was thinking you could stand on the top step of your stick from time to time to release pressure on your legs. When I first started, I used a RCH at first for an hour and felt no discomfort. It had wider than normal leg loops. I sewed my own saddle and use that now but I am sure the RCH would have worked fine. It is always tempting to spend more money on improvements, which I did. You could easily get started cheap. Here is picture from two years ago with the local park official truck in the background. It is still undetermined if I can climb here. No laws or regulations but the manager does not like it. I think if I say nothing and he says nothing I am GTG.
tailgunner
Well-Known Member
2 sitdrags 2camstraps 2carabiners.shhhhh.its a secret