H2 to Recon

[007hunter]

I’ve decided I’m going to sell my H2 saddle and pick up a Recon. I’d like to try the belt style as I’m mostly a leaner. I also like how minimalistic it is. Anyone make the move and regret it? Any other belt style saddles out there I should consider?

 

[Rich1201]

Not form H2 but moved from a Mantis and don't regret it. The Recon is extremely comfortable for me.

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[sweats]

I have a Kestrel and a Recon. I don't regret getting the Recon, but it does come with tradeoffs.

The belt has to be loosened when sitting and the leg loops are less than optimal. Anytime you stand up, unless you've done the bungee belt mod, the sling falls down.

It is very adjustable, which to my surprise means you can make it uncomfortable. I was on an all day hunt, things were going great, super comfortable. I decided to try the top panel as lower back support. The panels adjusted and I sunk down into the bottom panel. It took a lot of adjusting and fiddling and I still couldn't get it back to how comfortable it was. I think the panels had shifted and I couldn't them back to where they were at height.

I don't want to give you the wrong impression. I really like the Recon and would buy it again even knowing what I know now. I plan to put a bungee cord for the belt and I'm still brainstorming about the leg loops.

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[MN_Bowhunter4]

I got my recon earlier this week. Been in it for 18 hours so far and it is incredibly comfortable. Coming from a mantis, it’s a huge difference. Zero hip pinch, zero saddle fatigue.

Mine is straight stock and I removed the leg loops. It does sag when you give slack, but I seem to be able to cinch down the belt to get around that a bit. All in all super happy.

 

[enkriss]

I wouldn’t sell your H2 until you have some time in the recon and decide if you actually like it.

 

[007hunter]

I wouldn’t sell your H2 until you have some time in the recon and decide if you actually like it.

I’m just not in love with it. So if I end up not loving the Recon, I’ll sell it too and move on to another. I typically don’t sell gear even if I don’t use it much but I blew the hunting budget this year and want the money to fund the Recon.

 

[007hunter]

I just pulled the trigger on a Recon. Anyone want a H2 with triad bridge?

 

[DeadHeadSpread]

I'm thinking about making this same switch from H2 to Recon after this season. I upgraded from my old school trophyline to the H2. I was expecting a huge jump in comfort but I don't think the H2 is any better than the old trophyline in the comfort department. H2 is quieter, much lighter, and more packable which is nice. Linemans loops on the H2 are a complete joke and make unhooking/rehooking when going around branches very tough, so considering that along with the slight discomfort I'm contemplating the switch to a Recon with my old Trophyline as a backup.

 

[KeithinPA]

I have a Kestrel and a Recon. I don't regret getting the Recon, but it does come with tradeoffs.

The belt has to be loosened when sitting and the leg loops are less than optimal. Anytime you stand up, unless you've done the bungee belt mod, the sling falls down.

It is very adjustable, which to my surprise means you can make it uncomfortable. I was on an all day hunt, things were going great, super comfortable. I decided to try the top panel as lower back support. The panels adjusted and I sunk down into the bottom panel. It took a lot of adjusting and fiddling and I still couldn't get it back to how comfortable it was. I think the panels had shifted and I couldn't them back to where they were at height.

I don't want to give you the wrong impression. I really like the Recon and would buy it again even knowing what I know now. I plan to put a bungee cord for the belt and I'm still brainstorming about the leg loops.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

This was my exact experience as well. I have a TX5 which I've finally been able to get to be pretty comfortable but didn't think I liked the bulk. Don't get me wrong, its not bulky by saddle standards but it's just more going on around my butt than what I'm used to since I've been out of diapers. My 5 minute sits at home in the Recon were pure heaven and I thought I found Saddle Nirvana. Saturday was my first hunt in it and like a dummy, I went out into the woods without doing any practice. I one stick climb and as soon as I stood on my top step to move the tether the Recon was around my knees. That was very interesting getting that situated on top of a stick. I cranked the belt down and completed the climb without incident. I found adjusting the panels tricky because with bulky clothing on it's very difficult to see what strap and panel you're grabbing and trying to move. I tend to lean more than sit and found the sweet spot pretty quickly and was super comfortable and was loving the minimalistic feel of it. When I went to sit it took some more adjustments and could never really find an optimal spot when I didn't have pressure somewhere. I'm sure it can be done, I just wasn't able to find it. When I'd go back to leaning it took some maneuvering but I could find the sweet spot fairly quickly. But after about 4 hours everything started to bother me and I just couldn't get comfortable no matter what I tried. In my TX5 after that amount of time I was a bit more comfortable but not by much so it's most likely my issue than a problem with either saddle. I'm hanging onto both and will continue to switch back and forth to see what I end up settling on. I'd encourage anyone to give it a shot because there are some things I really like about the Recon. Because it's so small and compact I found using my tunnel pocket was way easier than in the TX5. I found I could run a lower tether and shorter bridge with no issues which is nice because I shoot a recurve and the low tether is easier to maneuver around. In regards to the squeak that people complain about, I rubbed bees wax on the straps and had zero noise issues. I really didn't want to cut the rubber off the plates like some do because I'm a clod and will definitely find a way to make noise at the worst time with bare metal plates around my waist. For $150 it's definitely worth experimenting.

 

[sweats]

This was my exact experience as well. I have a TX5 which I've finally been able to get to be pretty comfortable but didn't think I liked the bulk. Don't get me wrong, its not bulky by saddle standards but it's just more going on around my butt than what I'm used to since I've been out of diapers. My 5 minute sits at home in the Recon were pure heaven and I thought I found Saddle Nirvana. Saturday was my first hunt in it and like a dummy, I went out into the woods without doing any practice. I one stick climb and as soon as I stood on my top step to move the tether the Recon was around my knees. That was very interesting getting that situated on top of a stick. I cranked the belt down and completed the climb without incident. I found adjusting the panels tricky because with bulky clothing on it's very difficult to see what strap and panel you're grabbing and trying to move. I tend to lean more than sit and found the sweet spot pretty quickly and was super comfortable and was loving the minimalistic feel of it. When I went to sit it took some more adjustments and could never really find an optimal spot when I didn't have pressure somewhere. I'm sure it can be done, I just wasn't able to find it. When I'd go back to leaning it took some maneuvering but I could find the sweet spot fairly quickly. But after about 4 hours everything started to bother me and I just couldn't get comfortable no matter what I tried. In my TX5 after that amount of time I was a bit more comfortable but not by much so it's most likely my issue than a problem with either saddle. I'm hanging onto both and will continue to switch back and forth to see what I end up settling on. I'd encourage anyone to give it a shot because there are some things I really like about the Recon. Because it's so small and compact I found using my tunnel pocket was way easier than in the TX5. I found I could run a lower tether and shorter bridge with no issues which is nice because I shoot a recurve and the low tether is easier to maneuver around. In regards to the squeak that people complain about, I rubbed bees wax on the straps and had zero noise issues. I really didn't want to cut the rubber off the plates like some do because I'm a clod and will definitely find a way to make noise at the worst time with bare metal plates around my waist. For $150 it's definitely worth experimenting.

It was actually pretty interesting in retrospect. After having tried to use the top panel for lower back support, there was a point where even after overlapping the panels again that the hip pinch was just terrible. I managed to get it back to tolerable, but nowhere near how comfortable I had been prior to that.

I had sunk down into the lower panel considerably when I had separated them and I think the panels couldn't slide back into their original position again while there was weight on it. When I got down for the day, I took it off completely, overlapped the panels exactly, and pulled the plates apart to try to equalize everything. Tried it again at ground level and it was very comfortable again.

Lesson learned and I won't be separating the panels while I'm hunting again. However, my hunting this year is probably done so I likely won't have a chance to try another all day hunt with it until next year.

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[Noonespecial]

I sold my H2 in October after I did several 4-5 hour hunts. I then bought a Recon and love it. It’s the best so far after doing several 8 hour hunts. I do not use the leg straps as this saddle doesn’t move when you sit in it. I also modified the waist buckle. I put on a heavier 1” tubular web bridge and left enough excess on both sides through the metal plates to add on a simple cobra buckle. This eliminated the need for their waist buckle that has the plastic clips which rubs on the rubber plates making noise.