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DIY Kestrel Clone

DanO said:
I just went to 30 ft and tested it right out, who needs a RCH (my insurance is up to date).
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Mentally, I'm telling myself it should be nearly impossible for this thing to fail. I really took my time and the stitching looks better on this than any other project I have done. I had so many clothes on yesterday I could hardly tell the RC harness was there with it. So it wasn't a big deal to me. I figured I will run them both a couple of times and examine the stitching. This way if my wife asks, I can at least say I tested it safely a couple of runs. :)
 
I found that initially my faith in my workmanship dissipated the higher i climbed! I was pretty cocky at 6 or 8 feet testing. Less so at 20 feet hunting lol. She is tested and proven now though.

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So I’m new to saddle hunting and I saw this thread and haven’t had a chance to read everything yet, but I have some questions. Is making your own saddle like some of the guys here cheaper than buying say a kestrel or any of the other name brands that are out? And if it is fairly cheaper how easy (or hard) is it to see all the materials to make one? I like the idea of making my own b/c then you can customize it all you want and it will be fitted to your body better. Any info is greatly appreciated.


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Ronnin1010 said:
So I’m new to saddle hunting and I saw this thread and haven’t had a chance to read everything yet, but I have some questions. Is making your own saddle like some of the guys here cheaper than buying say a kestrel or any of the other name brands that are out? And if it is fairly cheaper how easy (or hard) is it to see all the materials to make one? I like the idea of making my own b/c then you can customize it all you want and it will be fitted to your body better. Any info is greatly appreciated.


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Cheaper is dependent on what you have and your experience.
Don’t have a sewing machine or access to one? Prob short term more expensive.
 
Ronnin1010 said:
So I’m new to saddle hunting and I saw this thread and haven’t had a chance to read everything yet, but I have some questions. Is making your own saddle like some of the guys here cheaper than buying say a kestrel or any of the other name brands that are out? And if it is fairly cheaper how easy (or hard) is it to see all the materials to make one? I like the idea of making my own b/c then you can customize it all you want and it will be fitted to your body better. Any info is greatly appreciated.


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Just be careful if you aren't going to back up a DIY saddle with a rock climbing harness. Safety is worth an extra $100 or so over the 5-10 year lifespan of a saddle.

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sb220 said:
Look at parachute stuff for load-bearing webbing and hardware http://www.paragear.com/ for instance, look at the "raw materials" and "hardware" pages. Think I remember a few other parachute sites from back when I was researching diying a treesaddle.

For your fabrics (lot of cool mil-spec stuff) https://www.ahh.biz/. Not sure about the cool Kryptek stuff though
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Awesome thanks I'll check it out!

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ckossuth said:
What to build, what to build........:smirk::smirk::smirk:
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I want a hunting vest with various sized pockets all over the front so I don't have to hang a backpack in the tree with me, and so I can reach magnetic or bungee (read: quiet)-closed pockets to access hooks, calls, linesman belt storage, snacks, water, haul rope, gloves, handwarmers (edit: and phone) etc - all in front of me with little and quiet movement.

I'm thinking a turkey vest is the best existing approach to this, and found a couple that look like good starting points (Cabelas Tactical Tat'r 2 and Hunters Specialties Undertaker) but they're not cheap or easy to find. They have the right-looking combination of pockets I want available - box call pockets would fit grunt tubes, etc.

I'd probably remove or cut the padded seats off (knee rest?) and I'm looking to see if I can securely fit a predator/podium sized platform in the game pocket on the back and find any reasonable way to attach sticks to them that'd be quiet and accessible. I could use the seat-attachment clips on the bottom to attach sticks when climbing, though I also have hooks on my saddle for that, I guess.

Things I want: bino attachment point, handwarmer pockets, lots of D-loops so I can customzie what I attach where (and simplify my tree gear hanger), and maybe molle loops on the sides for re/movable pocket configuration.
 
JBDaddy said:
I want a hunting vest with various sized pockets all over the front so I don't have to hang a backpack in the tree with me, and so I can reach magnetic or bungee (read: quiet)-closed pockets to access hooks, calls, linesman belt storage, snacks, water, haul rope, gloves, handwarmers (edit: and phone) etc - all in front of me with little and quiet movement.

I'm thinking a turkey vest is the best existing approach to this, and found a couple that look like good starting points (Cabelas Tactical Tat'r 2 and Hunters Specialties Undertaker) but they're not cheap or easy to find. They have the right-looking combination of pockets I want available - box call pockets would fit grunt tubes, etc.

I'd probably remove or cut the padded seats off (knee rest?) and I'm looking to see if I can securely fit a predator/podium sized platform in the game pocket on the back and find any reasonable way to attach sticks to them that'd be quiet and accessible. I could use the seat-attachment clips on the bottom to attach sticks when climbing, though I also have hooks on my saddle for that, I guess.

Things I want: bino attachment point, handwarmer pockets, lots of D-loops so I can customzie what I attach where (and simplify my tree gear hanger), and maybe molle loops on the sides for re/movable pocket configuration.
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Something like this: http://www.alpsoutdoorz.com/products/nwtf/hunting-vests/long-spur

This caught my eye recently. It offers what you just described with some additional storage in the back with a fanny pack. Plus it has several different configurations available. I used a large fanny pack the second half of this year and loved it.
 
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