I love the saddle, but...

[Swampwalker]

SlingR™ Knee Comfort Band

Knee Comfort Solved. Revolutionize your saddle hunting experience with SlingR™ - the ultimate knee comfort solution. Say goodbye to traditional kneeling methods and embrace unparalleled comfort and versatility. Simply attach our hanging knee sling to your saddle, rest your knees in the padded...

huntarsenal.com

 

[DelaWhere_Arrow]

ROS users seem to prefer sitting by straddling or normal knee pressure. Straddling, platform or ROS, is more comfy IMO if the tree is skinnier than your hip width. Side-saddle can work well with platform as long as your tether is dialed in comfortably.

 

[JC3]

Come to the light, the JX3 tree saddle light..............
Don't be afraid, you will sit from dark to dark very comfortably, no fidgeting, be able to snooze when you want, no dreaded hip pinch, no back aches, you can shoot 360° around the tree with any weapon, bow or gun, no weak side shot.
No platform required, only a ROS, or a JX3 wide top climbing stick, no sore feet, no knee pads required, no sore knees, no tired legs from leaning as you can sit all day, built in pack frame for carrying all your needs. No getting into “saddle shape” as your Lazy Boy at home does it for you. Buy once, cry once.
Come to the light, the JX3 light...........

 

[rhagenw]

Come to the light, the JX3 tree saddle light..............
Don't be afraid, you will sit from dark to dark very comfortably, no fidgeting, be able to snooze when you want, no dreaded hip pinch, no back aches, you can shoot 360° around the tree with any weapon, bow or gun, no weak side shot.
No platform required, only a ROS, or a JX3 wide top climbing stick, no sore feet, no knee pads required, no sore knees, no tired legs from leaning as you can sit all day, built in pack frame for carrying all your needs. No getting into “saddle shape” as your Lazy Boy at home does it for you. Buy once, cry once.
Come to the light, the JX3 light...........

About time you showed up lmao

 

[woodsdog2]

Pursuit Platforms makes a knee pad too. Looks pretty slim and quick to setup:

https://pursuitplatforms.com/product/the-pursuit-kneepad/

 

[Plebe]

My preachers seat is great at ground level but not sure how you use it w/a saddle? You fasten it to your bridge ?

There’s different configurations to explore.

But most use a rock climbing harness and the set up is typically like a sit drag, with the seat‘s bridge attached to a hitch on the tether, vice something like a work positioning (prolonged suspension) seat that attaches directly to a harness.

 

[TommyDee]

another vote for ROS, or add 2 “kickers” so you can go pigeon toed and straddle the tree With the platform, at 4 and 8 o clock. Looks a little weird straddling the tree, but i shift between lean, sit-knees on tree, sit-straddle, with about 70-80% of the time sitting. Like others said above, I’ve got a good balance so not so much pressure on my knees. I’m sure i could switch just between lean and straddle if my knees were banged up or forgot pads.

I was planning to just do the setup pictured for 2-3 hour sits then drag out the Predator XL, but honestly i‘ll probably Keep the big platform on the sidelines until weather gets very cold. Was hoping to fill freezer before then, but no time to scout this summer, and I’m 0 for 3 so far this season.

 

[Iron_llama]

I hunt in a Drey but this would probably work with a backband, too. Instead of facing the tree, rotate 90 degrees and rest with your feet on a branch or your platform and your side against the trunk. No knee contact or pressure. Just make sure you have enough foot contact to re-adjust without flailing about if a deer comes in.

 

[Plebe]

I hunt in a Drey but this would probably work with a backband, too. Instead of facing the tree, rotate 90 degrees and rest with your feet on a branch or your platform and your side against the trunk. No knee contact or pressure. Just make sure you have enough foot contact to re-adjust without flailing about if a deer comes in.

Mark Dohring does this in some of his videos. I tried it and it wasn’t my favorite. Maybe I didn’t get it dialed in quite right, idk. Seems to squeeze the saddle more, and now you’ve got leg/hip pressure to manage (he uses his pack like a pillow to soften that). It’s certainly an option I wouldn’t rule out, especially in the case of knee issues, but I haven’t found it to be super desirable personally.

When I use my climbing platform, which is like 22” deep, I use my frame pack as a knee cushion and it’s really pretty nice when stuffed with a few layers of clothing. All the knee cushions that wrap the tree underachieve. You need something flat like @Samcirrus made. That’s more low hanging fruit for the saddle companies.

 

[C.J.M.]

Never thought to adjust the tether?

Seriously?

Yeah its crazy that with my 2 total months of experience in the saddle I haven't figured it all out yet. Too bad there's not a place I can ask questions to improve.

 

[Islandshooter]

I'm using a platform. I wear the Sitka Stratus set up. I thought about those other pants, but I've determined i really just don't like knee pads.

Haven't tried adjusting the tether. Don't know why I didn't think of that.

I'm not bashing my knees into the tree.
I generally stand, but there are times I go into the sit position. The pain on the knees against the tree is almost instant.

These are some great tips though, many of which I haven't thought of so I appreciate it.

I got some sitka pattern on amazon and stitched some knee pads on my stratus bibs. Otherwise i wear Pnuma with built in knee pockets.

 

[Samcirrus]

Mark Dohring does this in some of his videos. I tried it and it wasn’t my favorite. Maybe I didn’t get it dialed in quite right, idk. Seems to squeeze the saddle more, and now you’ve got leg/hip pressure to manage (he uses his pack like a pillow to soften that). It’s certainly an option I wouldn’t rule out, especially in the case of knee issues, but I haven’t found it to be super desirable personally.

When I use my climbing platform, which is like 22” deep, I use my frame pack as a knee cushion and it’s really pretty nice when stuffed with a few layers of clothing. All the knee cushions that wrap the tree underachieve. You need something flat like @Samcirrus made. That’s more low hanging fruit for the saddle companies.

Here's a picture if anyone else wants to see what Plebe was talking about...its so easy to make. I use carbon fiber, but it could be aluminum or even plexiglass...

 

[C.J.M.]

Is it the surface pain from pressure or more like internal aching? Instant pain even with knee pads sounds more like knee problem than saddle problem.

You could be right. My knees do have pain, but it is more the pressure on the tree. All these suggestions have been awesome. I'm thinking I may give a ROS or bolts a go. It kind of elimates even mashing knees into the tree from what I see. The analogy of placing your legs like riding a motorcycle makes sense to me

 

[bfriendly]

another vote for ROS, or add 2 “kickers” so you can go pigeon toed and straddle the tree With the platform, at 4 and 8 o clock. Looks a little weird straddling the tree, but i shift between lean, sit-knees on tree, sit-straddle, with about 70-80% of the time sitting. Like others said above, I’ve got a good balance so not so much pressure on my knees. I’m sure i could switch just between lean and straddle if my knees were banged up or forgot pads.

I was planning to just do the setup pictured for 2-3 hour sits then drag out the Predator XL, but honestly i‘ll probably Keep the big platform on the sidelines until weather gets very cold. Was hoping to fill freezer before then, but no time to scout this summer, and I’m 0 for 3 so far this season.

This, cept I have them on my platform strap at 9 & 3 o’clocks. No way I’ll change this set up.


Cheap knee pads from Walmart are light, work perfect. I did replace the Velcro with snap connectors on the straps.

 

[SNIPERBBB]

Anyone try just grabbing a stout stick on the way in as an impromptu ROS for the purpose of knee relief? Just thinking about this as I have rubber wire ties on me and can easily tie the stick to the platform.

 

[raisins]

I lean the vast majority of the time. I put my tether around head height on the tree and adjust its length so that when I do sit knees against the tree my thighs are at a 45 degree angle to the trunk. This puts weight on my feet, saddle, and knees somewhat evenly. I do not wear thick knee pads (usually just Arc teryx but I have thicker options) and I've experienced no knee pain.

This leg geometry also helps transitioning from sitting to leaning in a smooth manner.

 

[Empostarr]

Another option I've used with my platform, and saw on here somewhere at one point, is 2 steps at knee height on both sides of the tree. Sitting, you rest your knees against the tree and the steps and its actually pretty comfortable with knee pads.

The arsenal slingr looks interesting, but I've not seen any reviews of it. Anyone used that thing yet?

 

[WHW]

This homemade tubular webbing helps, especially for smaller diameter trees.