I agree. I tried it and ended up adding a military type chest rig to a battle belt fastened to my saddle. I can hang most of my climbing gear on this set up and carry a small sling pack for my clothes and platform.
I LOVE the basket idea that the tree hugger has, kinda like the MR treehouse, don't know how well it will actually work, but in theory, I think it's great. If it does the job I'll have to look at adding some backpack straps if it's suffering the fate you're describing.