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Knee pain and a saddle

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Ontariofarmer

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2015
Messages
5,249
One thing saddle hunting can do is create knee pain especially if you have arthritis in the knees . Trees against the knees, even with knee pads creates pain. The whale tail on the JX3 is the only excellent way to prevent this. Anyone using something unique to get the knees off the trees in a regular saddle.


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Following this one. That whales tail does the trick but I've yet to find a good way to achieve the same comfort in a regular saddle.

Last year I had a seat pad from a lone wolf hand climber that I taped to a piece of plywood. Cut slots in the plywood for an OCB strap to go through and tightened it to the tree wherever I needed it. It was ok, but all the pressure to hold your body away from the tree is still all on the knees. Worked for short hunts but not an all day solution.
 
denots said:
I very rarely sit but when I do I sit with my hip against the tree and one shoulder versus putting my knees against it. I have a pretty messed up knee so I don't even bother putting my knees against the tree.
Click to expand...

I prefer sitting. I will try that but maybe hip pain is next if you do it for a long time .
My knees hurt from loading pigs for 32 years. A three hundred pound mobile piece of bacon packs a pounding on the knees equivalent to an NFL lineman.


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I'm a full time JX3 guy....but I wonder if you could create a bar that connected your legs so you could spread your legs around the tree and the tree rests against the bar
 
Mark Doring done a video on using a knee pad from a home improvement store that is a kneeling pad for working on hard surfaces. I haven't tried it but I think that it's a viable solution to some knee pain. Of course everyone has different levels of knee issues so it may not work well for everyone. I have a Web for long sits to fall back to if this solution doesn't work for me.
 
It is one of the main reasons I use the JX3 frequently.


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JX3.

But with a ring of steps, and a strap between your legs(hooked right below your knees) resting against the tree, you can get pressure off the knees. I think there's a few threads on here about it.

Only thing that works for me is doing my best to evenly distribute the weight between my feet, knees, and hips. Something like halfway between a lean and a sit. This is what I do with the kestrel, whether I'm on platform or ros.

But mostly, JX3.
 
This is why I started going drt. Hang from rope 6' or more over my head takes the pressure off my knees. Hanging more than being pulled into tree, I don't even take knee pads now.
 
I blew out 2 of the 4 ligaments and half the cartilage in my knee 25 yrs ago. Still have some metal in there. I can’t really kneel for more than a few seconds (Not that I would other than to God). I wear my knee pads more at the top of my shin, not really on my kneecaps. I let my shins rest on the tree instead of my knees, or I straddle the tree when I sit.
 
Old squirrel said:
This is why I started going drt. Hang from rope 6' or more over my head takes the pressure off my knees. Hanging more than being pulled into tree, I don't even take knee pads now.
Click to expand...

I suppose that would work with a srt rope


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Ontariofarmer said:
One thing saddle hunting can do is create knee pain especially if you have arthritis in the knees . Trees against the knees, even with knee pads creates pain. The whale tail on the JX3 is the only excellent way to prevent this. Anyone using something unique to get the knees off the trees in a regular saddle.


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Click to expand...
I have noticed the knee pain as well, regardless a knee pad. Must be arthritis as well :) I'm envisioning something like the whale tail on the JX3. After reading your post, I took the saddle in the back yard and a 16'' long 1x2 with a metal tip sticking out on the end for the tree. Using a wool hat to cushion the other end and sitting on it, I noticed it gets pushed far back. Maybe the wood needs to be a bit longer. Also thinking of a full rubber or foam cushion in the shape of a football could do the trick. Want to make sure that area is well protected... lol.

Initial result is promising. Need to work on the cushion side. Open to any suggestions. Ideas?
 
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I dont have bad knees but still have discomfort if in the same position hours on end.....I try to pick trees in the waist to shoulder width so I can lean, use my knee pads, and straddle...alternating between those 3 positions I can stay comfy all day.

Once I get the backband set correctly, straddling the trunk is probably the easiest position to fall asleep in
 
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I have used a linemen’s belt in a u. My knees on each side of the tree and the rope on the tree. That helps a bit
The only perfect solution is the Jx3. I will try a very high tether with the Cruzr. I think the Cruzr is hammock like so it will not be uncomfortable like some are with a high tether or a rappel SRT rope on a branch overhead.


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Another possibility is using a lock on stand instead of a predator type platform so you can have a seat to set on until you need to move.
 
denots said:
I very rarely sit but when I do I sit with my hip against the tree and one shoulder versus putting my knees against it. I have a pretty messed up knee so I don't even bother putting my knees against the tree.
Click to expand...
I do this or stand. Last year I woke up while in this position and a doe was right below the tree looking up at me. :D
Edit: I straddle the tree mostly if I'm facing it. Knee pressure is brutal.
 
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I did this for a while in my TL saddle a few years ago. It worked.

TL Saddle - Kickstand???

Okay, many of you have followed my struggles trying to use my TL Saddle and get comfortable with it. Last time I used it I was dancing all around the tree trying to get and stay comfortable. The biggest issue I had was the constant knee pressure while kneeling against the tree and to a lesser...
saddlehunter.com
 
Ontariofarmer said:
I prefer sitting. I will try that but maybe hip pain is next if you do it for a long time .
My knees hurt from loading pigs for 32 years. A three hundred pound mobile piece of bacon packs a pounding on the knees equivalent to an NFL lineman.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...
I don't typically stay in that position very long. Just long enough to give my feet a break and get some blood flowing in different areas of my body. I can't say it's ever cause any hip pain that I can remember unless maybe there was a funky little knot sticking out of the tree where my hip was contacting it.
 
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