I am currently think/working towards saddle hunting.

[J0nd33r3]

I am currently tring to get set up for saddle hunting for the 20/21 season. I was going to switch over for this season but the lead times were going to put me at the end of the season. So after extensive youtube research, i found the G2 outdoors channel and it helped me quite a bit. I then decided to wait till ata before ordering anything. I did jump the gun and bought some helium sticks because they were on sale for 100 bucks. I havent posted really in saddle hunter just because i havent saddle hunted yet and felt like i couldnt really contribute. Anyways, my question so far is, how do you decide? There are so many options and every little thing cost so much. I really like the tethrd brand(just because the guys who make it use it) and it seems the most thought out complete package. Only thing that seems to buy after the fact is ropeman1s. I also need a little advice on modding my heliums. I bought some 7/64s amsteel and was going to do a daisy chain. But not sure which knitting needle to cut down yet. Any advice or tips would be much appreciated. I also thought about doing a youtube channel to document the whole new saddle hunter journey so everyone wanting to switch could have a starting point to go to. Thank you in advance! Any links or webpages would be great too.

 

[tim_dawg22]

I can’t remember the size of the needle but it’s the blue one from Walmart that I cut down and works well on 7/64 amsteel.

But the 7/64 is so small that you can’t run it down the middle to do the bury at the end. To do the bury I use some small wire doubled over with a loop.

To keep the loops the same size throughout I used a roll of tape as a template taped to my work table.

It’s a time consuming process but the daisy chains are pretty nifty.


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[bigjoe]

First off I own a mantris and a kestrel. Both have their advantages. The mantis is more comfortable. The Kestrel is safer.
To have a saddle wait time for More than 3-4 weeks is ridiculous. Tethrd and others have said from the get go, that they would store saddles and have them in stock. That hunters would not have to wait. This was almost 2 years ago. So they are taking orders and making them per per size, per style and camouflage want. Working off your $$. These are not custom made by the way.

This is not rocket science. My father made me a harness back in the early ‘80’s that was a saddle. It was made out of seat belts. He was a signalman in the army and knew the ramifications of not being tied in properly.

look at the safest system out there.

 

[cspot]

I ordered this kit. Works decent for 7/64 and 1/8". The rope wouldn't stay stuck in the ends of them so I just taped them to the ends.

Amazon.com

 

[Squatch]

I hunt out of a Kestrel Flex
It felt safer to me and a little more robust
I’m a big guy though so that’s subjective, but I got a Tethrd Mantis for my wife and while it seems pretty good there doesn’t seem to be much there in terms of catching a big guy. And lack of leg strap buckles
If I slip somehow from 25 feet I want everything I can get on my side
Tethrd Phantom is dropping in 4 days though so who knows what might be on the new one
I personally love the customer service I got from Debbie at Aero Hunter and awhile back there was a kestrel flex issues thread in which Sophia responded and said they will stand behind everything that happens. I don’t have experience with Tethrd, but Greg seems to be pretty cool and the podcast they had out is what got me into saddle hunting. This year they’re doing more events and there is also a map on Saddle Hunter where you can contact other Saddle hunters and demo plus have a mentor.


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[J0nd33r3]

Great stuff, the tape trick is a really good idea. If i was to order something like a predator platform or other similar platform, what size amsteel would yall recommend using as a daisy chain? And does anyone have a good source to get gear, like ropemans and attachments?

 

[tim_dawg22]

Great stuff, the tape trick is a really good idea. If i was to order something like a predator platform or other similar platform, what size amsteel would yall recommend using as a daisy chain? And does anyone have a good source to get gear, like ropemans and attachments?

I did the daisy chain for my Predator with 1/4” amsteel. Little bit overkill IMO. I don’t think I’d use 7/64 on a platform but no need to go 1/4. Honestly I’m not a big fan of the daisy chain on the Predator. The strap worked better for me.

Best deal I’ve found on Ropeman outside of used ones on here is from REI. They ship free on orders over $50.

DanO at doublesteps.com is a good spot that has a good majority of the gear that you might want for saddle hunting.



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[Razorbak66]

I just made a whole bunch of 7/64 daisy chains this weekend for my modded api sticks..i use 1/4" fid and used a doubled up wire to do the bury..worked perfect..i use the marking on the fid to make my loops..came to 1.75 after locking it down

 

[J0nd33r3]

Well, here goes nothing. 100 foot of amsteel and a knitting needle set. I think i can make some chains for 3 hawk heliums!

 

[cspot]

Well, here goes nothing. 100 foot of amsteel and a knitting needle set. I think i can make some chains for 3 hawk heliums!

After you get a system down for the daisy chains they go pretty good.. Just have to pay attention which one you are feeding thru which rope to that you don't feed it thru yourself. For a DIY project it is actually pretty easy and it saves a fair amount of money over buying the amsteel daisy chains that are premade. It does take a little time though.

 

[J0nd33r3]

Yeah, from what i could see, it was a good starting point for the Diy portion of the while thing. I wanna do some versa straps in 1 inch webbing but cant sew. I thought about making some daisy chans instead. See how it goes with the 7/64s first though

 

[cspot]

Yeah, from what i could see, it was a good starting point for the Diy portion of the while thing. I wanna do some versa straps in 1 inch webbing but cant sew. I thought about making some daisy chans instead. See how it goes with the 7/64s first though

I haven't used it yet, but I made a gear hanger out of some 7/64" I had left over similar to the HYS strap. I just left the one side of the loop longer than the other side.

 

[J0nd33r3]

Tbh, i thought this amsteel would feel more like metal then it does. Maybe i bought some cheap stuff...

 

[J0nd33r3]

Well, it took me a minute. But most of the time was spent working on tools. Takes a minute to figure out exactly what you need. Got one complete and gonna do the other two tomorrow and make a gear hanger!

 

[J0nd33r3]

How do yall reccomend finishing a daisy chain? I think i got about the best way but idk. I have 3 made but cant decide on the completing method.

 

[tim_dawg22]

How do yall reccomend finishing a daisy chain? I think i got about the best way but idk. I have 3 made but cant decide on the completing method.

With mine I always took the shorter tag end and buried it in the long tag end. Then I’d bury the longer tag end back into itself.

If you wanna get fancy you can run some shock cord through it and hit it with some shrink wrap.


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[tim_dawg22]

With mine I always took the shorter tag end and buried it in the long tag end. Then I’d bury the longer tag end back into itself.

If you wanna get fancy you can run some shock cord through it and hit it with some shrink wrap.


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Heat shrink not shrink wrap lol.


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[J0nd33r3]

I tried three different ways, the last one is my personal favorite so far, just used an elastic hair tie of my wife's and girth hitched it around a continuous loop at the end. Its the one on the top. Then i painted my heliums for the coming year!