• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

DIY Minimalist Saddle

djlr55

djlr55

Active Member
SH Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2021
Messages
103
Location
AR
This has been in my mind for a little while, got some time this weekend to bring it to life. I am newish to sewing so I expected there to be aesthetic flaws, especially using two high contrast colors tan and black (I think it will also make me better in the long run). I am planning on making the bridge adjustable but had this length of amsteel laying around and attached it for testing.

I was trying to use as little material as possible and no metal parts.

I'd love to hear some outside input to improve the design.

Pictures in the second post.
 
I’ll be honest - that thing doesn’t look safe at all. Remember it has to keep you from hitting the ground not just when you are sitting still but also when you’re climbing, contorting your body for a shot, descending and in the event of a fall like a stick or platform failure.
 
To be specific, are we talking about lacking two things for fall arrest?
1. Rated buckle/ attachment to the main belt and

2. Leg attachment to keep from riding up

If more, what else?
 
Last edited:
djlr55 said:
To be specific, are we talking about lacking two things for fall arrest?
1. Rated buckle/ attachment to the main belt and

2. Leg attachment to keep from riding up

If more, what else?
Click to expand...

djlr55 said:
To be specific, are we talking about lacking two things for fall arrest?
1. Rated buckle/ attachment to the main belt and

2. Leg attachment to keep from riding up

If more, what else?
Click to expand...

I can’t see much from your pics because of the black webbing and thread but the little bit of sewing I can see on the belt is not sufficient for life support. Think about what would catch you if your stitching let go while you were leaning back into your LB. Did you do calculations on your seams using your thread type, length and SPI? Does the weight bearing webbing (tether loops, LB and waist belt) go all the way around your body?

Sorry if I sound harsh, man, but there are reasons that saddles are made so beefy - to keep you from dying. I make my own saddles and it was only after years of reading, looking at real manufacturers saddles, practice and testing that I considered them safe. And safe at ground level hanging off the lally column in my basement is not the same as safe when your stick kicks out when you’re 20’ up a tree.
 
drew13 said:
I can’t see much from your pics because of the black webbing and thread but the little bit of sewing I can see on the belt is not sufficient for life support. Think about what would catch you if your stitching let go while you were leaning back into your LB. Did you do calculations on your seams using your thread type, length and SPI? Does the weight bearing webbing (tether loops, LB and waist belt) go all the way around your body?

Sorry if I sound harsh, man, but there are reasons that saddles are made so beefy - to keep you from dying. I make my own saddles and it was only after years of reading, looking at real manufacturers saddles, practice and testing that I considered them safe. And safe at ground level hanging off the lally column in my basement is not the same as safe when your stick kicks out when you’re 20’ up a tree.
Click to expand...

Not taken that way, and I am appreciative. We all start somewhere and looking to experience to guide me as I work on this concept.

The honest critiques help move it forward.
 
Last edited:
tree saddles are not fall arrest systems or even saftey sytems they are a tree stand replacement.waist buckles dont need to be shock loaded nither do leg straps we are not rock climbing ar bunggie jumping we are sitting.treestands platforms sticks steps and the straps that conect them to the tree are rated at 300 lbs. and the harness that comes with tree stands is conected to the tree with a strap..i love my dudes for being concerned but i like it
 
Hey man, I would have a few questions….
1st what size thread was used. Seat belt webbing is plenty strong enough to use for your saddle chassis. So that’s good. Is your amsteel bridge a whoopie sling? I can’t tell. Now onto a couple bigger fears I would personally have. One is your waist belt buckle is a small plastic side release buckle which has a breaking strength of less than 500 lbs. in your design any fall would put load into the waist belt because there’s no mesh, cordura or additional strapping to share the load aka your put will slip through and the waist belt needs to be strong enough to hold you in place.
2- is it looks like some mil spec 17337 that you used for your mollies as well as your waist belt. That has a breaking strength of 1200 lbs which honestly even if your buckle was a fall rated buckle, the webbing wouldn’t be strong enough. I would suggest seat belt webbing, tubular webbing, or a thicker flat webbing for the waist belt. You want at least 3000 lbs break strength in your webbing.
3- would be that it appears you used a single box x as your pattern for your belt. Hopefully you used a lot more than this for how you joined your seat belt over lap. A normal box x at 1 3/8” by 13/16” (looks like about the size of yours) has between 70 and 80 total stitches. Depending on your thread size that could produce a breaking strength as low as 1450 lbs (for size 69 thread) and as high as 2500 lbs (for Tex 135 thread). Both of those numbers are for80 stitches. If it only has 76 or so it’ll be weaker. Anyway if it were me personally, I’d add some extra stitching to the over lap. I would use tubular webbing with a cobra buckle for the waist belt and leg straps. If you are trying to stay metal free, maybe sew in an extra piece of webbing and tie in a rope belt with a friction hitch like a couple other saddle companies are making. Leg straps don’t have to be load bearing BUT I would add some form of body material to assist with holding your weight in place if you do not make them load bearing.
The weight sounds great with it being like 3/4 of a pound but for literally 6 more ounces you could add features that will not only make it safer, but also more comfortable to use. Again this is just my two cents, this is not meant to offend you or instruct you to alter your design, I am solely stating if it were me. A fall is bad enough in a properly built harness, I wouldn’t want anyone to suffer the force of a fall and then have to also deal with additional injuries from hitting the ground. Feel free to message me on here if you would like some sources for sewing, materials, or even some build ideas from you tube. Jerry and a few other guys on here have built some phenomenal DIY saddles that could still be considered minimalist in nature and would only weigh 6 or 8 ounces more than yours.
 
Don’t take this the wrong way, but my Kite is the lightest saddle I own & I’ve lightened them up a bit more with different hardware. But end the end what do you gain by having the “lightest possible” saddle? The weight savings is so negligible. Then there’s safety & comfort. You’ll just be torturing yourself in a tree & for what gain?
 
tailgunner said:
tree saddles are not fall arrest systems or even saftey sytems they are a tree stand replacement.waist buckles dont need to be shock loaded nither do leg straps we are not rock climbing ar bunggie jumping we are sitting.treestands platforms sticks steps and the straps that conect them to the tree are rated at 300 lbs. and the harness that comes with tree stands is conected to the tree with a strap..i love my dudes for being concerned but i like it
Click to expand...
Tailgunner I respect your toughness and willingness to advocate the at your own risk mentality. I wish more people shared that view to some extent. However elevated hunting needs a minimum bar set for what’s safe and what’s not. I mean driving a car, they added seatbelts, stop lights and speed limits for safety reasons. A car isn’t designed to crash, it is designed to drive but car manufacturers still added seat belts and airbags right? In my mind same principles apply to our method of hunting. And actually at the end of December, ANSI voted and I believe three standards for testing will be in place very soon for hunting saddles. One of those tests are for dynamic loading (fall arrest). So while you are right they are not true fall arrest harnesses (and trust me they are not), since there is a risk of falling, they should be able to handle a certain dynamic load. I think what people were warning him was that if his stick cut out or he slipped making a shot, that his diy, would most likely leave him SOL when or if he fell… lol if you get my drift
 
Bigterp said:
Don’t take this the wrong way, but my Kite is the lightest saddle I own & I’ve lightened them up a bit more with different hardware. But end the end what do you gain by having the “lightest possible” saddle? The weight savings is so negligible. Then there’s safety & comfort. You’ll just be torturing yourself in a tree & for what gain?
Click to expand...

Not taken the wrong way. This is more of a challenge to keep unnecessary components from making their way into the design. Not seeking to hold a title or stake claim to the lightest. It means nothing if it's not capable to bring into the field.

Please note, this is nowhere near a final design, I have not taken this into the field and looking for this type of honest feedback to improve!
 
djlr55 said:
Not taken the wrong way. This is more of a challenge to keep unnecessary components from making their way into the design. Not seeking to hold a title or stake claim to the lightest. It means nothing if it's not capable to bring into the field.

Please note, this is nowhere near a final design, I have not taken this into the field and looking for this type of honest feedback to improve!
Click to expand...
I love innovation & improvement. The saddles I have tried that were modeled after this style were wildly uncomfortable. If I’m not comfortable then I’m prone to movement & my mind is not where it needs to be to stay in the game. Just my 2 cents. See where it takes you, just be honest with your abilities & don’t take this off the ground until your confident it’s safe.
 
Fl Canopy Stalker said:
Tailgunner I respect your toughness and willingness to advocate the at your own risk mentality. I wish more people shared that view to some extent. However elevated hunting needs a minimum bar set for what’s safe and what’s not. I mean driving a car, they added seatbelts, stop lights and speed limits for safety reasons. A car isn’t designed to crash, it is designed to drive but car manufacturers still added seat belts and airbags right? In my mind same principles apply to our method of hunting. And actually at the end of December, ANSI voted and I believe three standards for testing will be in place very soon for hunting saddles. One of those tests are for dynamic loading (fall arrest). So while you are right they are not true fall arrest harnesses (and trust me they are not), since there is a risk of falling, they should be able to handle a certain dynamic load. I think what people were warning him was that if his stick cut out or he slipped making a shot, that his diy, would most likely leave him SOL when or if he fell… lol if you get my drift
Click to expand...
i lke this bar.idea you are always on the ball.and i always love sturin the pot with you .these focus groups are how we advance what we love.people need to understand this climbing thing is at your own risk.it started with sit drags.but there are sue happy people who slow the rest of our progress down. i would hate to see some one hurt there selves .but would dislike it more if they try to sue some one like Jamie Cline for thier own misteak.you know i will always test the bar.any one hireing a test dumby
 
tailgunner said:
i lke this bar.idea you are always on the ball.and i always love sturin the pot with you .these focus groups are how we advance what we love.people need to understand this climbing thing is at your own risk.it started with sit drags.but there are sue happy people.you know i will always test the bar.any one hireing a test dumby
Click to expand...
I think you are just more confident in your abilities than a lot of us are. Or maybe you’re the guy that believes in survival of the fittest (letting Mother Nature sort the population out :sweatsmile:
Nothing wrong with it! Besides you don’t stir the pot in my mind, I enjoy reading the pick yourself up by the boot straps state of mind comments. It reminds me of listening to my gramps back when I was young.
 
djlr55 said:
This has been in my mind for a little while, got some time this weekend to bring it to life. I am newish to sewing so I expected there to be aesthetic flaws, especially using two high contrast colors tan and black (I think it will also make me better in the long run). I am planning on making the bridge adjustable but had this length of amsteel laying around and attached it for testing.

I was trying to use as little material as possible and no metal parts.

I'd love to hear some outside input to improve the design.

Pictures in the second post.
Click to expand...
I applaud your efforts and I know you don’t want metal, but G hooks on leg straps wouldn’t add much weight!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top