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How to find saddle comfort --- my experience

DanielB89

DanielB89

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2017
Messages
1,381
Location
Monroe, LA
I thought this could be a cool resource for anyone who is experiencing any type of saddle discomfort while hunting. Feel free to share anything you've found along your way.
I want to share a few things I have been doing that really helped me find saddle comfort. At first I was doing a lot of things like I had read, and not as I had necessarily experimented and found for my self. I have since found true comfort in my saddle and rarely experience any type of discomfort that can't quickly and easily be adjusted out!
One of my most common discomforts is hip pinch. In my experience, this is based off of two things for me; 1) tether height and 2) where my bridge is connecting along my bridge loops(I will try to explain this more in depth in a second in a video I made while hunting the other day.

Just finished uploading the video and will post it here now!
 
play with the bridge height to get it set perfect. I have found that I like my bridge about eye level to get the most comfort and a tether hookup around the top of my head on a perfectly straight tree. If the tree lean's one way or another then my tether usually stays put and my bridge may be shortened down to chin level. Point is we are all different and where one person finds comfort may be unbearable for another.....Then again I am starting out this year and what I am doing could change in a second.
 
Daniel, that's why a lot of use a girth hitched bridge so we can slide the bridge down and it tightens up real good when you weight it. Nice video thank you for sharing
 
ImThere said:
Daniel, that's why a lot of use a girth hitched bridge so we can slide the bridge down and it tightens up real good when you weight it. Nice video thank you for sharing
Click to expand...

That is a great point! It got me to thinking about how to adjust the bridge loops on my next saddle to where they will pull in the middle instead of on the top.
 
For me to be comfortable for a prolonged period, I need to occasionally shift between leaning, sitting, and standing. Certain trees be it the lean or branches or whatever, one or another position just doesn't work. 3/3 is a perfect tree for an all day hunt. 2/3 is fine. 1/3 makes for an uncomfortable hunt.
 
I've been playing with my home made saddle...and even custom fit I find that my 62 yr old body and considerable bulk 6'4" 240# makes longer than a 2 hour sit tough. No doubt you young studs will laugh.

I love that I could pack my whole setup 3-4 miles and 1200' in elevation from 10,000' to over 11,000 on my elk hunts in NM and Idaho to remote wallows and water....that kicks azz.

I've played with not only bridge/teahter, but also saddle tweaking...and the hip pinch still creeps in. Maybe I should start another thread but has anyone tried adding some thick padding to these Saddles?

...
 
Been Dare said:
I've been playing with my home made saddle...and even custom fit I find that my 62 yr old body and considerable bulk 6'4" 240# makes longer than a 2 hour sit tough. No doubt you young studs will laugh.

I love that I could pack my whole setup 3-4 miles and 1200' in elevation from 10,000' to over 11,000 on my elk hunts in NM and Idaho to remote wallows and water....that kicks azz.

I've played with not only bridge/teahter, but also saddle tweaking...and the hip pinch still creeps in. Maybe I should start another thread but has anyone tried adding some thick padding to these Saddles?

...
Click to expand...
Thinking a little armaflex insulation in a few key spots might make a world of difference. Plan to find out this coming week. Look for updated under the trophyline review thread

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ImThere said:
Daniel, that's why a lot of use a girth hitched bridge so we can slide the bridge down and it tightens up real good when you weight it. Nice video thank you for sharing
Click to expand...
I do this as well. It helps a lot to change pressure points on a long sit. I think I'm going to get a piece of small looped daisy chain sewn in to the saddle bridge loops so I don't have to girth hitch it. Then I could move it up or down a spot as I feel necessary.

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Been Dare said:
I've been playing with my home made saddle...and even custom fit I find that my 62 yr old body and considerable bulk 6'4" 240# makes longer than a 2 hour sit tough. No doubt you young studs will laugh.

I love that I could pack my whole setup 3-4 miles and 1200' in elevation from 10,000' to over 11,000 on my elk hunts in NM and Idaho to remote wallows and water....that kicks azz.

I've played with not only bridge/teahter, but also saddle tweaking...and the hip pinch still creeps in. Maybe I should start another thread but has anyone tried adding some thick padding to these Saddles?

...
Click to expand...

I've been though several diy saddles. Here is the latest version that seems pretty comfortable.


Trying out a mesh sit drag

This is my fourth DIY saddle project. Started with a simple fleece hammock seat, then a fleece saddle, and next was mesh saddle. I liked the features of the mesh saddle but it wasn't comfortable. To get halfway comfortable I would have to loosen the waist belt and leg straps and pull the seat...
saddlehunter.com
 
elk yinzer said:
For me to be comfortable for a prolonged period, I need to occasionally shift between leaning, sitting, and standing. Certain trees be it the lean or branches or whatever, one or another position just doesn't work. 3/3 is a perfect tree for an all day hunt. 2/3 is fine. 1/3 makes for an uncomfortable hunt.
Click to expand...

x2 - You make the saddle work for you. Anything, even a bed, can create pressure points without adjusting - just a fact of life. Once you get that down, then it is just about finding positions that extended the "comfort" and adjust. Sometimes you get in a tree that leans a bunch and you will have to work it out in the moment. I do this all the time, just a factor of scout/hunting and climbing trees I have never been in before. And sometimes you just grit your teeth and embrace the suck factor because it is the right tree to be in.
 
One thing I never thought about was the pendulum effect on certain trees. Hunted a tree this weekend on a slight slope. Tree looked very straight, but 25 feet up I was fighting the lean all day and couldn’t get centered on my knees to rest on tree.
Something to think about.
 
That’s interesting. Can you tell a difference with the pvc?


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It may just be in my head, but it feels a bit better. I am gonna try a couple different sizes of pipe to see how they affect comfort.
 
I have the new trophyline. I’ve had it out 3-4 times and sat for about 4 hours or more each time and the longest is 6 hours. The most discomfort I have is my feet from standing on screw in steps. My last sit I couldn’t get comfortable at all for some reason. I shortened my prussic about 8” so I can try lowering my tether height. Eventually I’ll get a platform and switch to bolts so I can have pre set locations and not carry my sticks in unless I find a hot area.
 
Jason Wandling said:
I have the new trophyline. I’ve had it out 3-4 times and sat for about 4 hours or more each time and the longest is 6 hours. The most discomfort I have is my feet from standing on screw in steps. My last sit I couldn’t get comfortable at all for some reason. I shortened my prussic about 8” so I can try lowering my tether height. Eventually I’ll get a platform and switch to bolts so I can have pre set locations and not carry my sticks in unless I find a hot area.
Click to expand...

I could never saddle hunt without a platform, period! I used Ameristeps and i learned really quickly my fluffy body doesn't do well with them under my feet. A few things that has also helped me are stiff boot and allowing my feet to get into shape to stand on them IN PLACE for an extended period of time. I stand all day for my job, but I get the opportunity to walk around and that helps. Standing in one spot can be pretty miserable without my feet being in shape and a stiff soled yet cushioned boot.
 
I could not get comfortable in my trophyline or either of my New Tribe saddles. I bought a JX3 and all of that is solved. I use a Muddy Pro or a Stacked Outdoors stick as the platform and I can sit all day. Everyone has a different comfort level and for the long hours I sit I cannot do a minimalist saddle.
 
Scrotang said:
One thing I never thought about was the pendulum effect on certain trees. Hunted a tree this weekend on a slight slope. Tree looked very straight, but 25 feet up I was fighting the lean all day and couldn’t get centered on my knees to rest on tree.
Something to think about.
Click to expand...

Next time, try rotating the girth hitch on your tether to the opposite side of the gravitational pull. So if you are falling off to the left, move your girth hitch around the tree to the right. It doesn’t always work, but sometimes it helps considerably.

In the above thread, the guys described doing something very similar with their bridge loops. These two little tricks work wonders for comfort.


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