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Hybrid Sit-Drag and Rock Harness

bowhunter15

bowhunter15

Well-Known Member
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Joined
Feb 1, 2016
Messages
646
My turn! This SitDrag setup is pretty similar to Cbigbear's. Since I'm not 100% saddle, and still want to be able to use my rock harness in conjunction with my hang on tree stand, I had a couple requirements:

-Sit drag needed to be removable
-Lineman's belt needed to be dual purpose, both lineman's belt and bridge.
-Needed to be easy to walk in
-Needed to have back-up safety in case of SitDrag failure (even though highly unlikely)

So to attach the SitDrag, I just tied two loose paracord loops from the tie-ins to the webbing loops for my harness lineman's belt (camo webbing). Then I also had my girlfriend sew a buckle to the back center. Those two attachments allow me to walk unimpeded. I can use both the tether and lineman's belt as normal, neglecting the SitDrag while climbing if I want to. One last addition was to add an additional prusik/carabiner on my tether above the one I'd normally clip to the belay loop.

When I'm at hunting height I would tether myself to the tree with the tether hooked into my belay loop. That carabiner never gets touched after that. Next, I'd take my linemans belt and clip it to the Sit-Drag on each side, effectively making it a bridge. I can also run the carabiners through the webbing loops for additional backup if I really wanted to. I would then unclip the SitDrag from my butt and let it hang loose. I would then hook the bridge into the 2nd carabiner on the tether and adjust the length of the bridge and location of the prusik. Upon sitting down, the bridge is taught, and the additional length of tether going to the belay loop should have just an inch or two of slack. This way, if the SitDrag or bridge were to fail for whatever reason, I'd be caught instantly by the belay loop.

As many have experienced, this is very comfortable!!! The only thing I don't like is how bright green my lineman's belt is. What I may end up doing is making a fixed length 1" camo tubular webbing bridge, and then throw my lineman's belt into my pack when I'm ready to hunt.


 
If the weather's good tomorrow I'll go ahead and do a whole video on it.
 
Very nice. What kind of knot(s) are you using on the right side of bridge and bridge to tether? Looks like a ropeman on your left for adjustable bridge? Does this imply your bridge will double duty as a lineman?
Great job, look forward to the video.
 
kenn1320 said:
Very nice. What kind of knot(s) are you using on the right side of bridge and bridge to tether? Looks like a ropeman on your left for adjustable bridge? Does this imply your bridge will double duty as a lineman?
Great job, look forward to the video.
Click to expand...

The right side of the bridge is connected to the carabiner via a Figure 8 follow through and stopper. Ropeman on the left. As shown, the bridge doubles as the lineman's belt.

However, I don't like how bright green the rope is. So I made a fixed length bridge out of camo 1" tubular webbing. That will stay permanently tied onto the SitDrag, and I can throw the lineman's belt in my pack when set-up, just as I would do when hunting out of a hang-on.
 
[youtube]z_OVhk7U2JY[/youtube]

The rock harness is a Mammut Ophir 3 Slide, covered in stealth strips.
 
Re: RE: Re: Hybrid Sit-Drag and Rock Harness

bowhunter15 said:
[youtube]z_OVhk7U2JY[/youtube]

The rock harness is a Mammut Ophir 3 Slide, covered in stealth strips.
Click to expand...
That video was so good, that I thought it was some kind of advertisement instead of a forum poster self filmed demonstration. Nice work with your sit drag and awesome video

Shaun
 
I was looking at RC harnesses and thought that was the Mammut. My BOD is tight in the family jewels area and wanted something else but after studying them I believe that I must have a size too small so I got another BOD the next size up coming. What I like about the BOD is the snap on leg straps. I hate stepping into a harness. I want to put it on like a belt. The padding on the Mammut would be nice but I don't plan to use it as weight baring every hunt. Only as back up fall protection. Hard to beat the light weight bod for my application. I like how you have the sit/drag attached to your harness. I'm gonna do that also. Great ideas and videos. Thanks for sharing.
 
Another great video bowhunter15, always enjoy watching them. I see your tether is a mile up the tree, have you tried a lower hook up? Some of us are finding eye level is great, especially using a platform.
 
kenn1320 said:
Another great video bowhunter15, always enjoy watching them. I see your tether is a mile up the tree, have you tried a lower hook up? Some of us are finding eye level is great, especially using a platform.
Click to expand...

I haven't played around with it too much yet. I first tried it lower, and the prusik was almost right at the tree when I snagged it up. But it was comfy. Then I tried moving the tether up a ways and that was comfortable too, so I just went ahead and filmed the video. I might play around with it a bit more to see what feels best for me.
 
That's a great method for a hybrid system.

I'll second the comment about hookup height. I used to hookup in a similar height as you demonstrate in your video. As you play around with it more and get some more hours in the sling, you may find a lower hookup to be more comfortable. A possible solution could be to shorten your webbing bridge. A shorter bridge will enable you to have more flexibility with your prusik. FYI - My bridge is just over 2 feet long.
 
g2outdoors said:
That's a great method for a hybrid system.

I'll second the comment about hookup height. I used to hookup in a similar height as you demonstrate in your video. As you play around with it more and get some more hours in the sling, you may find a lower hookup to be more comfortable. A possible solution could be to shorten your webbing bridge. A shorter bridge will enable you to have more flexibility with your prusik. FYI - My bridge is just over 2 feet long.
Click to expand...

I'll try it out and see how I like it. I like being able to flip the bridge onto my shoulders while walking, but I can go a decent amount shorter before that is no longer an option.
 
I'm similar to the guys above. I really like the eye level hook up with a shorter bridge. Very comfortable and opens you up. I also find it easier to film with this hook up.

I'm using a setup very similar to your first post. I'm dual purpose with the lineman's belt many times or using a 24 inch climbing runner. However, after adding spurs to my climbing arsenal, I really like rappelling down. I need to experiment more with essdub's single rope method for tether, linemans, bridge, and rappel to see if I can quiet it down.
 
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