Hawk Helium Hammock Saddle / review

[TreeCreep]

2 out of 5
I went for this as I thought $250 was a steal for a “ saddle package.

I missed a few posts ( “my two cents “) and would of held off on purchase in hindsight.
My initial concern with this Product is the lack of Instructions or link to online instructions. Called Hawk customer service line and was on hold for 1/2 hour. After Midway punted as this is a “tree stand” . Hawk Rep emailed a few youtube videos Of helium sticks? and then sent me a blank One Drive document. She also sent me a return form if I decide to return as the lineman loops are misaligned . One seems to have extra stitching making it shorter.

The saddle fits well enough and seems reasonably comfortable. I have had 3 - four hour hunts to date.
The Pad for cold weather might be a nice touch but I have not tried other than practice.
Metal Cams on leg straps? They are heavier than an old Muddy tree stand harness I have in storage. I have already replaced with 1” plastic pinch buckles. There is excess strap material on each strap.
Back relief strap is effective , also excess material on straps.
Dump bag is roomy. Nylon rip stop material rustles a bit.
The Ropeman knock off works fine.
Carabiners are of acceptable material / quality.
Lineman and Tether rope is the type that shows wear quickly from climbing rough bark trees.
lineman loop is only large enough for carabiner. Cannot be girth hitched.
Tether Prusick has a stopper with metal crimp.
Bridge is permanently attached. Bridge loops do not have pressure Adjustment or orientation options.
I am 5’10” and 160lbs so a little roomy with belt almost all the way tight.

At this point I am going to give it a run for saddle hunting this season and sell or try to trade for another saddle on here. Plan to upgrade all the ropes.

I strongly suggest anyone new to saddle hunting, like me, search the classifieds here or buy from a knowledgeable domestic company that has YouTube / website content and pdf of instructions.
I’m not commenting on offshore manufacturing or corporate acquisitions . Just- It is nice to send an email to a vendor and get ahold of someone that uses the equipment they are selling.
Let me know if any questions.

 

[Bwhana]

Thanks for the writeup, confirms my suspicions.

 

[PEEJAY]

good review brudda

 

[POC]

I bought one recently too. It is my first saddle so I don't have anything to compare it to. I did note that although the package says the lineman and tether are interchangeable, they are not as the one has a smaller eye.
I'll use it this season and see how it goes. I might go with something different after that.

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[BlackDiamond]

Just bought this too. TBD on how well it works. Like a lot of other outdoor products, saddles are sold out by a lot of manifacturers.

 

[Camelcluch]

I have no experience with the saddle kit but with GSM. As a company there is no care for quality control nor any for customer service. They knowingly sold helium sticks with defective parts. It took me five months and countless phone calls to get this corrected. The general answer that the order was placed and the warehouse has been notified, seems to be what they use to get you off the phone. I called and asked to speak to a supervisor and was denied by the girl on the phone. She stated that there was not a reason for me to speak to anyone. This was after my 10th call. I finally got to a supervisor and he shipped out the parts I needed to fix the sticks. He asked me to call when I got the parts. The guy refused my calls when I complied with his request.
So in short, I understand the value and importance of stretching a dollar. However, 20’ in the air is not a place to hope a company’s quality control was good that day. GSM does not care about you but only wants your money. I would be very cautious about any of the products. I hope you all stay safe and have a great season.

 

[iamcorey]

I have no experience with the saddle kit but with GSM. As a company there is no care for quality control nor any for customer service. They knowingly sold helium sticks with defective parts. It took me five months and countless phone calls to get this corrected. The general answer that the order was placed and the warehouse has been notified, seems to be what they use to get you off the phone. I called and asked to speak to a supervisor and was denied by the girl on the phone. She stated that there was not a reason for me to speak to anyone. This was after my 10th call. I finally got to a supervisor and he shipped out the parts I needed to fix the sticks. He asked me to call when I got the parts. The guy refused my calls when I complied with his request.
So in short, I understand the value and importance of stretching a dollar. However, 20’ in the air is not a place to hope a company’s quality control was good that day. GSM does not care about you but only wants your money. I would be very cautious about any of the products. I hope you all stay safe and have a great season.

I had the opposite happen when I contacted them about a missing screw. They contacted me the next day. By then I had found it in the box between some cardboard. I emailed stead of calling btw.


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[Camelcluch]

I was always able to contact GSM but not able to get any kind of results. Sad part was I only needed a few small parts that could have been easily placed in a envelope and mailed for about a dollar. They were almost always very polite and easy to speak with. I just could not get any real results.

 

[TreeCreep]

Update -* I posted a 3 star Midway review as the saddle has held up well and was a good value.
They didn’t approve my abbreviated version of original.
I thought I should update this in event users happen on this write up.
Hawk sent me a new saddle at the end of season no questions asked - due to the lineman loop.
I am using a Recon now and hope to try out a few more single panel offerings .

 

[Lunardriven1]

2 out of 5
I went for this as I thought $250 was a steal for a “ saddle package.

I missed a few posts ( “my two cents “) and would of held off on purchase in hindsight.
My initial concern with this Product is the lack of Instructions or link to online instructions. Called Hawk customer service line and was on hold for 1/2 hour. After Midway punted as this is a “tree stand” . Hawk Rep emailed a few youtube videos Of helium sticks? and then sent me a blank One Drive document. She also sent me a return form if I decide to return as the lineman loops are misaligned . One seems to have extra stitching making it shorter.

The saddle fits well enough and seems reasonably comfortable. I have had 3 - four hour hunts to date.
The Pad for cold weather might be a nice touch but I have not tried other than practice.
Metal Cams on leg straps? They are heavier than an old Muddy tree stand harness I have in storage. I have already replaced with 1” plastic pinch buckles. There is excess strap material on each strap.
Back relief strap is effective , also excess material on straps.
Dump bag is roomy. Nylon rip stop material rustles a bit.
The Ropeman knock off works fine.
Carabiners are of acceptable material / quality.
Lineman and Tether rope is the type that shows wear quickly from climbing rough bark trees.
lineman loop is only large enough for carabiner. Cannot be girth hitched.
Tether Prusick has a stopper with metal crimp.
Bridge is permanently attached. Bridge loops do not have pressure Adjustment or orientation options.
I am 5’10” and 160lbs so a little roomy with belt almost all the way tight.

At this point I am going to give it a run for saddle hunting this season and sell or try to trade for another saddle on here. Plan to upgrade all the ropes.

I strongly suggest anyone new to saddle hunting, like me, search the classifieds here or buy from a knowledgeable domestic company that has YouTube / website content and pdf of instructions.
I’m not commenting on offshore manufacturing or corporate acquisitions . Just- It is nice to send an email to a vendor and get ahold of someone that uses the equipment they are selling.
Let me know if any questions.

I concur on the Hawk quality. I bought the 20 inch sticks and they had several quality issues: Metal slag stuck inside of sticks rattling, cosmetic issues (no big deal since they would get wear & tear in the field, but still expect a new product to look new when purchased, Dents on sticks, and the suction cups broke right after I assembled an put together. Contacted Hawk Customer Service and on hold for a long time. They seemed nice and said they would send me only the Male ends for some reason. I never received them! They also offered to let me return and I was told I would receive a return auth number. Never received! Sent a nastygram to website customer service and never received a response. Poor company! The sticks seem like they would be a great product and everyone seems to be buying. I sent back to Camofire for a refund. I am in no rush since my saddle is not expected until Nov. I guess this company is not very concerned about their image. I also ordered their platform and may cancel the order since it has not been released.