Greater Carolinas Hangtime! Saturday, March 7, 2020

[pilgrimhunter]

I want to hear more thoughts on how the saddles stacked up against each other..


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[Scupstatehunter]

I want to thank everyone who hung out with us today, with some driving 2+ hours. We had 28 total, despite several last minute cancellations. The ONLY downside to this event is there were so many great guys, but so little time to spend getting to know each one even more. We had 10+ that qualified as newbies and it was great to see them soaking in the gear and techniques.

Thanks again to Ben (@Benman) for hosting today and his son for chauffeuring folks on the cart.

Thanks to Dan (@Wasp) and Spence (@Spence71) for the awesome bbq, beans, and slaw. As good food as you can get!

Thanks again to the vendors that contributed to the event, especially Trophyline (2 full saddle kits and hats) and Treehopper (Recon saddle and Treesuit platform) for their major contributions, and Out on a Limb, Eastern Woods Outdoors, and Wild Edge for the additional giveaway items. I add a post specifically for those pics and details.

I know some thought I was exaggerating about the amount of saddles and gear coming before the event, but we had so much, and many great DIY and vintage items never made it to display. We raised the bar today.

I will post many more pics, but I wanted to share my favorite of the day with this post. If this one doesn't make you smile, it's time to choose something else to do with your free time!

We proved again that Carolinians know how

I want to thank everyone who hung out with us today, with some driving 2+ hours. We had 28 total, despite several last minute cancellations. The ONLY downside to this event is there were so many great guys, but so little time to spend getting to know each one even more. We had 10+ that qualified as newbies and it was great to see them soaking in the gear and techniques.

Thanks again to Ben (@Benman) for hosting today and his son for chauffeuring folks on the cart.

Thanks to Dan (@Wasp) and Spence (@Spence71) for the awesome bbq, beans, and slaw. As good food as you can get!

Thanks again to the vendors that contributed to the event, especially Trophyline (2 full saddle kits and hats) and Treehopper (Recon saddle and Treesuit platform) for their major contributions, and Out on a Limb, Eastern Woods Outdoors, and Wild Edge for the additional giveaway items. I add a post specifically for those pics and details.

I know some thought I was exaggerating about the amount of saddles and gear coming before the event, but we had so much, and many great DIY and vintage items never made it to display. We raised the bar today.

I will post many more pics, but I wanted to share my favorite of the day with this post. If this one doesn't make you smile, it's time to choose something else to do with your free time!

We proved again that Carolinians know how to do things bigtime!

Thanks guys we had a great time and my son loved it all hes talking about is going hunting in a saddle yall know how happy that makes me. To all that helped put it on thank you and yall did a great job cant wait till next time.

 

[Bwhana]

More pics...

 

[Bwhana]

More...

 

[MaxJac]

@Bwhana, first, a big shout out to you and Ben for putting this together. And.... Dan and Spence for the excellent food. No need for me to bring my own BBQ sauce, the one supplied was delicious.

Looking at the pictures, I realized I somehow missed to obtain a fancy shirt like yours. Any pointers on where and how to get one? Since I'm going to increase the Amazon stock anyway by ordering more cool stuff, I might just as well get a t-shirt on top of all the other orders.

 

[BudgetBuck1]

This was a good time.....thanks guys. I can learn more from a few hours at one of these events than I could learn in several years browsing online. Now for more tweaking equipment and DIY tinkering...….whitetails will be the only losers to come out of this event!

 

[Bwhana]

I want to hear more thoughts on how the saddles stacked up against each other..


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I am going to reply based on what I heard folks say all day and not my own opinion at this point, and I hope they weigh in this too. We had the major brands laid out side by side for the demos so everyone could try them all side by side. Reality vs. media is interesting. Here are the top 3 in order (with a critique item for each):

#1 - Treehopper Recon - From newbies to 15+ yr saddle veterans...this thing is friggin comfortable and light. It generated the most buzz. The leg loops could be improved and most preferred it without them.

#2 - Trophyline - Guys either loved them or didn't, not much in the middle, but were still popular overall. The bridge needs to be improved to smaller webbing or rope, and I'd bet they are already working on new designs.

#3 - Tethrd Phantom - It was way better than the Mantis, not bad. Their utilibrige is great, very easy to adjust, and more so than sewn webbing bridges. The common theme was it felt like the bottom band was taking too much of the weight, even when using the comfort channels and adjusting tether height. We didn't take pics of butt cracks, but you could actually see a gap at on the top band on the wearers.

All the other commercial options fell behind these.

I do have to point out that the top comfort saddle of the event was a DIY from Adam (@BudgetBuck1). It's hard to beat 2+ inches of foam. cushioning!

 

[Bwhana]

@Bwhana, first, a big shout out to you and Ben for putting this together. And.... Dan and Spence for the excellent food. No need for me to bring my own BBQ sauce, the one supplied was delicious.

Looking at the pictures, I realized I somehow missed to obtain a fancy shirt like yours. Any pointers on where and how to get one? Since I'm going to increase the Amazon stock anyway by ordering more cool stuff, I might just as well get a t-shirt on top of all the other orders.

Thanks, and I was glad to get to know you yesterday!

So a common question yesterday was where do I buy those things, and 90% of the time, the answer is from @DanO at doublesteps.com. Most of the ropes, gadgets, and other accessories can be found there, even my shirt! His site hosts orders for our own @Jefferson10940, who makes the shirts. If you want something custom, reach out to Jeff in pm before you order the shirt to work out the details. Also, for those that want the micro hoist kit, @DanO is working on getting them available on his site very soon.

 

[Benman]

I also enjoyed how several guys who were admittedly brand new to saddles jumped right in. Trying on saddles, one sticking, SRT climbing, and rappelling. It was also cool to see them and almost all the veterans go back and forth between saddles. You could see the wheels turning on what they liked and didn’t like.
Adam’s DIY saddle should be called the Antler Recliner, that thing is like a lazy boy in a tree.
Dalton916’s platform stick combo was really cool too.


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[Benman]

I also enjoyed how several guys who were admittedly brand new to saddles jumped right in. Trying on saddles, one sticking, SRT climbing, and rappelling. It was also cool to see them and almost all the veterans go back and forth between saddles. You could see the wheels turning on what they liked and didn’t like.
Adam’s DIY saddle should be called the Antler Recliner, that thing is like a lazy boy in a tree.
Dalton916’s platform stick combo was really cool too.


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[Hughes03]

I want to hear more thoughts on how the saddles stacked up against each other..


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Just my take on things. I tried on about every saddle out there to compare to my H2 as comfort level and top one was Adams lazy boy. That foam was incredible. Next in line was the kite and the flex. After that the recon was very nice and light weight. Hell I forgot I had it on at one time. The phantom came next. Like John said there was a lot of pressure on the lower band. I adjusted it a few times some of the pressure went away but not all of it. Lastly for me was trophy line. I did enjoy being taught the single stick method and repelling. Looks like I got some practicing to do. Thanks to all that show us the technique. It was cool to put my hands on all the equipment rather than see from my computer screen. Lol. Thanks again to all the good men that showed me more on my addict. Lol

 

[kelly.jayp]

I want to hear more thoughts on how the saddles stacked up against each other..


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At risk of creating a ruckus - these were MY takeaways. If you exclude the crazy comfortable fleece (still my personal favorite) or DIY foam seat budgetbuck built and eliminate them due to the need for a RCH, sling style designs won the comfort debate. I’d go as far as to say most of this group agreed - and it was a mixed bag of a lot of experience, some experience and literally brand new. Whether it was the Treehopper, or a @bwahna design. Here is some detail from MY point of view.

TrophyLine - took a while to find a comfortable slot but eventually got there. The straps are bulky and the bridge is still terrible. Honestly the old leather version was considerably more comfortable than the new versions - I do love their pouches and knee pads. They stepped up big in the donation department so they deserve some love.

Phantom - I just received it the night before - I bought one after talking to some of the field testers - I wanted to see if it really was better than the Mantis which was not comfortable to me because of the ride up. I have a Kestrel and to me the difference between the Mantis and the Kestrel was bulk and weight. They made significant improvements in the lineman loops, leg straps and adding cupping to the mesh which made the “riding up” sensation much less noticeable. The bridge is genius. The comfort channels I could see being valuable in one stick climbing esp when in a dead hang but these will take time to sort out. Overall a huge step up but I’d still like to see more material that spreads over a bigger area - that to me makes a big difference in the saddles I sat in. It will see a lot of use but I have more to say on another saddle below.

The Aerohunter flex was comfortable but felt similar to the kestrel in bulk and weight. I’d upgrade my Kestrel to a Flex in a heartbeat. (So pm me any interest LOL).

The H2 had really iffy stitching and offered no unique design elements from what we have seen from Aerohunter.

Saw the Tactisaddle but I think the thong element just mentally puts me off so I did not try it but the owner (Mtnsrunner) swore it was awesome - again a sling style design.

John’s Wraith, Wraptor and current experiments all were incredibly comfortable and the adjustability he’s getting with sling foundations and added mesh are fantastic. Really creative, innovative thinking in solving for details.

Treehopper Recon sling - extremely comfortable- super adjustability and well thought out enhancements to the Anderson design - leg straps come off and belt is great plus the bag it comes in is a gear pouch. Looks as good as it feels. At $150 in my opinion you can’t find a better value in a commercially made saddle that delivers on ultralight, adjustability and total comfort. I had almost bought one when they first came out and had been talking with Mark and just got sidetracked. As soon as I put it on yesterday I knew I’d buy one. Turns out I won it so I couldn’t be more pumped. I see this being my go to saddle. I really like the Phantom but I love the Recon.

We also saw some cool DIY seat style designs from budgetbuck made with foam that took a Sitdrag design and radically improved comfort. Lounge chair style comfort. But still needs a RCH

Let the crucifixion begin....haha

On platforms
The Ridgerunner is well made rock solid after a day of jumping up and down on it

The Treehopper Treesuit. Light and rock solid. If he can solve for folding the legs it’s a cool option. Plus - again affordable. Can get both a platform and saddle that are super light for the price of other saddles - or less.

Predator- still my favorite - and I have both Gens. For me the size and weight and ease are all hard to beat. Just wish they were cheaper I’m ditching the Versa strap this year though. The original strap is really best for a good tight fit.

The DIY scooters were cool. Real solid options for those that DIY.

Footnote: mtnsrunner’s attachment method for steps was super cool. I could see that being a good way to do a gear hanger really fast too




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[dalton916]

I came home and watched an episode of Narcos Mexico and then it dawned on me that @DanO is Felix, The Godfather..... everywhere I looked there was something that came from the Eastern Woods Cartel.

Every demo at one point or another had a conversation that went like this.....

“Where did you get ________?

“Oh, I got that from DanO” or “oh, I got that from double steps dot com” or “oh, I got that from eastern woods outdoors”

 

[Bwhana]

I came home and watched an episode of Narcos Mexico and then it dawned on me that @DanO is Felix, The Godfather..... everywhere I looked there was something that came from the Eastern Woods Cartel.

Every demo at one point or another had a conversation that went like this.....

“Where did you get ________?

“Oh, I got that from DanO” or “oh, I got that from double steps dot com” or “oh, I got that from eastern woods outdoors”

DanO Gallardo! He will be buying a fleet planes to deliver merchandise.

 

[dalton916]

 

[dalton916]

While we’re on the subject of shady characters....

.....that dude right there is as shady as they get.

 

[mtsrunner]

I will echo how comfortable the Treehopper Recon sling is. I have been exclusively saddle hunting almost 15 years. I’ve hunted out of dozens of saddle designs. I bought a Recon today.
The Treehopper platform is also super light and solid, but has some serious squeaking. We all thought that it was probably the paint, so a little sanding or vet tape should take that away.
The BBQ was awesome

 

[mtsrunner]

While we’re on the subject of shady characters....



.....that dude right there is as shady as they get.

Take it easy. The kid was half way through that mason jar of shine at that point.

 

[dalton916]

I started out liking him. Then it all changed when I found out how selfish he really was. That was a dang nice EWC shirt I was offering to trade him and he acted like my dog just took a dump in yard.

 

[Benman]

I started out liking him. Then it all changed when I found out how selfish he really was. That was a dang nice EWC shirt I was offering to trade him and he acted like my dog just took a dump in yard.

Hahahaha...he wasn’t budging


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