Read through the whole thread so I would like to add my initial experience with the JX3 (Gen 3)
I want to say I got about 10 sits in the hybrid. Took it with me to my late season trip to PA, so got a lot of sits with it in a short time.
First of, it is, of course, comfortable as heck! I definitely dozed off once. In order to achieve the most comfort, I do find it necessary take off the backpack straps and loosen the belt to the point where it likely would not serve as fall arrest very well. I have been backing the JX3 up with a RCH.
Initially I thought the JX3 carried load very well, but after more time with it I felt more encumbered compared to my soft saddle setup. Halfway through the PA trip, I switched back to the soft saddle. With the lighter setup, felt like I could go further and longer. These were several miles we were hoofing each day. I may need to play with fitting a frame back to myself.
Packing out a deer is not a priority.
There is more fiddling compared to my soft saddle. Flipping the seat, or stowing the seat with it on my back and sometimes you'd catch the hook and sometimes not. Stowing all the straps. There seems to be less convenient places to put pouches that you'd want to reach while wearing the JX3. These issues I could probably work through.
The deal breaker right now is I feel like I can't walk around the tree. The hybrid seems to want to pull me back to center. The fork is also rather loud on the bark, I feel. Given all the reports on here, I figure this is user error so advice is welcome. For reference, my tether was tied as high as I could reach. Feet were on an OOAL Scout with additional steps around tree (similar to squirrel steps). Tree lean may have been a factor in some cases, but not all. Basically, with my soft saddle and a platform I would not have had these issues in the same tree.
To be fair, I have years of dialing in the soft saddle versus less than a dozen hunts with the hybrid.
Working with the JX3 did teach me that I need remarkably little in front of me while hunting. Most of the stuff we bring into the woods can stay behind you mounted on the backrest. So basically instead of having a whole pack hanging from the tree, all I had was something like a molle admin pouch.
Lots of your issues will go away with time for sure. But it's a good thing you stacked up several hunts with the hybrid. That's the best way to see what actually causes problems, and what's in your head.
I'll try to help with a couple...
Load carrying - I only have one major complaint with the hybrid, and that is that the belt is attached to the back of the frame. All issues with using this thing as a true load carrier stems from that. I've modified mine to have the belt on the inside. That, coupled with proper torso length adjustment, a comfortable shoulder harness, and load lifters, and I can carry as much weight as either of my frame packs. But for the masses, I understand why John designed it the way he did. Bottom line - no matter what pack system you use, if you can't distribute the weight as needed across your hips, shoulders, and chest, your comfort will suffer. The hybrid is no different. It will work FINE for most people. But to carry a lot of weight, and for some significant portion of folks, you're going to be limited to sub 30lbs, or be uncomfortable. This can all be mitigated with tinkering. And accessories. I have lots of content in this thread, and a couple others, and some videos. If you want help dialing it in there, there is a way.
Stowing the seat - I highly recommend using a piece of cord tied to the fork, that runs over your shoulder, and attaches to the shoulder harness or sternum strap with a hook on a prussic loop. The cord will be 18-30" long. You use it to pull the seat up and against the frame. The cord is running over your shoulder. You use the prussic loop to adjust the length and tension, and have a hook or small biner on that prussic. This attaches to your sternum strap or shoulder strap. To let the seat down, just unhook and let it fall down. Or if you're trying to be super stealthy, go over your shoulder and down your side holding the cord and slowly let the seat fall. I removed my hook for the seat long ago.
Walking around the tree/Bark Noise - I made a short video on this. This is a big deal to me, but is probably overlooked by 90% of people when they first get a hybrid. Take your time setting tether height/bridge attachment height, fork contact to tree height, and length of fork. As in, think through what you're doing, don't just wing it. An explanation...
You did good with reaching as high as you can to set tether. This will make sense most of the time. Shorter hunters, and being on small diameter trees, you'll want us short of a tether height as you can get away with. You will want to play with this adjustment in your yard to see how it impacts walking around tree, bridge angles affecting shot clearance, comfort, etc. Just like any other saddle. But generally speaking, reach up and hook it up!
Next step, you want to get your feet set in the position you plan to be in the most. For me, this is the two steps I'll spend 90% of my time on for a hunt. I then want my lower legs exactly parallel to gravity, with my ankles at exactly 90*. This will allow me to guess at the next adjustment - fork length. While gravity is not easy to see, and orient your legs to, you can use the trunk of the tree as a rough gauge.
With my feet where they will usually be, and my lower legs straight up and down, I'll be in the seat where I'm most comfortable. I'll then slide the fork out until it contacts the tree. Sometimes this is all the way in, sometimes all the way out, sometimes in between. it all depends on tree angle, diameter, and where you like to set your feet. Try to do this with your seat as level to the ground (or perpendicular to gravity) as you can.
Once my tether height, platform height, and fork length is set, the most important setting comes in - getting the bridge connection height PERFECTLY dialed in. You want your knees to be bent 90*, your ankles 90*, your lower legs parallel to gravity, and the fork to contact the tree while being perfectly perpendicular to gravity. Here's why:
<iframe width="831" height="467" src="
" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Once you have this set, you can then use the fork as intended. It sounds long winded, and "fiddly". But it's really not. You just have to think through what you're trying to accomplish. If you take 200lbs, and transfer that force to the tree through the fork, and have any sort of side loading, you're gonna make noise. It's physics. It's also going to impede your ability to control your rotation around the tree. Bottom line - if you cant lift your feet off of your platform, and have all the weight in the seat of the hybrid, and the fork not budge, you're not in the optimum position. Of course, some trees will require you be off for some reason. But I'd say I'm able to get this exact 9 times out of 10.
The fork should be absolutely silent when you rotate on it, or when you reposition it. If it isn't, it's because you're not perfectly set like mentioned above, or you're dragging it across bark by not moving far enough away from the tree when repositioning it. I've got dozens if not hundreds of hours in my hybrid at this point, and the fork doesn't make a peep. This can easily be controlled.
Pulling back to center - this is definitely sitting on low side of trees. John has a tool on his website to combat serious leaners - check out his t handle set up. Works great. For the rest of the scenarios, you need to use the fork. If you lean back, and attempt to walk around the tree using your feet and hips as the control mechanism, it's going to act like every other soft saddle in wanting to return you to the middle. By disengaging the fork from tree using your legs, repositioning it in either direction you're trying to travel(or sometimes the opposite if you just want to rotate in the same spot you're in), you can use the fork to help you continue your travel around the tree.
Use the fork. Obviously you don't have to always be sitting. But the whole point of the hybrid is to minimize movement from discomfort. And if you're like most people, you can sit still longer than you can stand still. It is designed to be used sitting down. The fork is the focal point of all movement.
Happy to work through some of this stuff with you. Hard to explain through typing.