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Greater Carolinas Hangtime! Saturday, March 7, 2020

kelly.jayp said:
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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Good review . Covers a lot of saddles. I just got a recon. It is comfortable I cannot wait to try it for 8 hours.


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Hey did anyone video the gear hoist? I was teaching one sticking and rappelling so I missed it.


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I’m up for it any time. In my opinion, no need to wait till spring... but then there is hunting season and all of us are already in the woods.
 
MaxJac said:
I’m up for it any time. In my opinion, no need to wait till spring... but then there is hunting season and all of us are already in the woods.
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My time is booked pretty solid the rest of this fall, but if anyone else wants to plan one or even a gameland hunt gathering, that is cool too. I want to have it when it is warm enough to enjoy it, bit not too hot to sweat, and under no circumstances can it interfere with turkey season - there were many of us there that would give up deer for turkey (or ducks) any day :)
 
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