My back is trashed and I can’t sit in a normal tree stand for more than 10 minutes, I used to stand the whole time, 2-3 hrs and then I was done, so I bought a cruzr xc and several platforms last year to try saddle hunting, what I learned.... For me the saddle for comfort is a game changer, I no longer feel any pain and actually have a hard time staying awake at times I am so comfortable, I sit a lot and lean some, the platforms and ROS and all that stuff was cool for a rifle as I didn’t really need to learn any ninja moves for shooting, with a bow it’s just not the same for me, to be honest I didn’t practice much but I have bow hunted for 28 years and I have never had a problem shooting and I really don’t want to change how I shoot with a bow I’m dialed in, so for this coming season I bought a .5 stand and plan on using my cruzr, my trial runs so far in the yard have been great, I just fold the seat up out of my way and sit in my saddle or lean, to shoot just stand up, no ninja moves, I’m back to a tree stand, thats how I plan to bow hunt next season, and probably a lot of rifle too, for a small packable setup sometimes during rifle I also will be using a preset solo scout, I will just watch the slack in my tether when using my .5 and cruzr and honestly think I will have the best of both worlds, there is basically no learning curve in my opinion, I’m reaping the benefits of a comfortable saddle and still have a shooting position I am comfortable with, for the record I am an arborist by trade and have zero fear of heights and climb on a weekly basis, I just feel more confident shooting a bow from a stand like I have my whole life, hope this helps. And to answer your question yes I definitely think the .5 has enough room for a 5 hr sit when wearing a saddle.
