DIY saddle question???

[justin.dunn.77377]

Howdy,

I hunted out of a sit drag/rock climbing harness this year and decided that saddle hunting is for me. I want to upgrade to a tethrd/aero hunter style saddle but I’m toying with the idea of building my own. I don’t have any of the material or a sewing machine so is it more cost effective for me to build my own or just buy a tethrd or aero hunter? Thanks!!!


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[ImThere]

A Mantis or Kite can be had for $200 if you have all the other things , lineman, tether and biners.
How much can you buy a sewing machine, material, buckles, webbing for?


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[Squirrels]

It would be more cost effective to buy, I'm going to assume you don't have much experience behind a machine since you said you don't have one. Which is the other big piece to your question, if you don't have some good experience sewing you do not need to be building yourself a saddle.

 

[justin.dunn.77377]

A Mantis or Kite can be had for $200 if you have all the other things , lineman, tether and biners.
How much can you buy a sewing machine, material, buckles, webbing for?


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That’s what I’m asking. I have no idea what that stuff costs


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[Chistavocat]

If you have never owned a manufactured saddle I would recommend buying one. There are a few new versions in the works from different companies so if what is available now doesn’t interest you, hold off and see what they come up with.

If building other gear is of interest to you (pack, pouches, aiders, clothing, saddles, etc) then buying a machine from the get go may be a money saver. If your intent is to only make a saddle, it is probably more cost effective to buy one. They hold there resale value and are proven safe. The $200 you pay for a top notch saddle, tested, rated and backed up by great costumer service is a bargain IMHO.

I don’t think I would have been confident in building a saddle without having owned at least one. I have owned 4. Can you produce a saddle of similar quality, fit and function as a manufactured one that you can feel confident in using? Only you can answer that question.




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[EricS]

I’ve got a T-shirt from a hardware store at home. I forget the exact wording but basically the great thing about diy is when it fails you’ll have no one to blame but yourself. I personally want to know if I fall while tethered in a professional made the only thing keeping me from taking the fast way down. Not saying don’t make a saddle. Just saying I wouldn’t build a saddle while learning how to sew. I would either order a new kite/mantis or buy a sewing machine and make some upgrades to your sit drag. Maybe some pouches, a custom backpack etc. Then once your skills are refined build a saddle. It’s definitely cheaper/safer to just buy one. Now if you want to sew aiders, pouches, packs, hammocks etc get you a thread injector and go to work.

 

[JCLINE84]

I have a fair bit of sewing under my belt. I'm the guy that makes the knaiders and swaiders for sale in the classifieds. I use to play around with my grandmas sewing machine when I was a kid and later in life I started modifying some gear for hunting or I might fix a shirt or pants or something every now and then. But anyway I'm decent at sewing so I tried to make a saddle before taking the plunge and buying one. The newer home machine I tried it on wasnt up to the job. So I got a heavy duty machine and that helped but still I probably spent enough on that heavy duty machine and all the materials I went through to buy 2 production saddles. Just never could get it right. Or right enough to be totally satisfied with the function and safety. So I bought an evolution, then later a kestrel. They're both fantastic saddles and allowed me to learn to saddlehunt without worrying about my gear. Now in the past few years I've made tons of gear on the sewing machine and gotten my sewing skills up to par. With real saddles to reference and a better understanding of proper stitching I can pump out a kestrel clone in a few hours that is every bit as good as my kestrel and is custom fit to me. But the point is it took me a lot of time and experience to be able to do that. It isnt very cost efficient to make your own saddle unless you are an experienced seamstress and have access to a really heavy duty machine already. If neither of those are the case you will likely spend more money on materials and a machine than what you would spend on a production saddle. I think everyone should have an older singer or singer clone and make as much of their own gear as possible. Its honestly just fun and rewarding. But it's a marathon not a sprint. You have to become proficient with smaller projects before jumping to a saddle. My new thing is a backpack. I assume it will take me a year of prototypes to get to the point that I can make a pack that is good enough to take my badlands off my back. So my advice is buy an old machine that can handle sewing webbing and start small. In a year you'll probably be good enough to make a saddle.

 

[wayne county]

I bought a machine and have made many saddles. I overkilled with the stitching, used mil spec supplies but I still wore my rock harness. Last year I bought a mantis and love it. I have owned a Guido's, treesuit, treesaddle ....buy a a mantis and hunt! I still sew some accessories but I'm done making saddles.

 

[justin.dunn.77377]

Jdndn


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[mattsteg]

The only reasons to make one are enjoying the process as a hobby, making something you can't otherwise get, or this is already a hobby and the material is on hand.

It's not a cost saving measure - especially considering resale value of commercial saddles.

 

[BFI]

The only reasons to make one are enjoying the process as a hobby, making something you can't otherwise get, or this is already a hobby and the material is on hand.

It's not a cost saving measure - especially considering resale value of commercial saddles.

Another reason is to make something that is better than what is sold commercially available , safer than what is sold and something that fits your style, size or climbing preference. Those are the reasons I built the Eagles Nest for myself. When I try to promote it here or on fb areas I was attacked by other saddle manufactures who have shills and trolls squashing DIY KITS. So now I just keep it to myself and enjoy all of these benefits.

 

[mattsteg]

Another reason is to make something that is better than what is sold commercially available , safer than what is sold and something that fits your style, size or climbing preference. Those are the reasons I built the Eagles Nest for myself. When I try to promote it here or on fb areas I was attacked by other saddle manufactures who have shills and trolls squashing DIY KITS. So now I just keep it to myself and enjoy all of these benefits.

that would be "something you can't otherwise get".

Based on memory of the "Eagle's Nest" - for better or worse that was something that's pretty far removed from what most here seem to be looking for. a 13 pound device presented to a community mostly looking at saddles in the 1-3 pound range. Maybe a good idea - but at 10x the weight of what's in the mainstream you need to better support the benefits.

Claiming that another company's product (whose product's predecessors have been on the market for years) was a "copy" of the idea didn't come across great either.

I don't doubt that there was some feedback driven by those with interests in other products as I've seen enough of that to feel pretty sketchy about some peoples' motivations around here...but to be honest you were also sending out a lot of kinda outlandish claims that you couldn't really back up.

I'm sure it's a fine product, and is perfect for you.