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New and improved jx3

First sit with new model. Right backpack strap popped completely loose.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
Are you saying the stitching detached from the frame?
No. It's where it goes thru the small slot on the backside of the upper frame. The slider clip is missing!

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The same thing happened to me while I was on my first hunt. i had practiced at ground level several times and all was fine. Then i went on my first hunt and I was in the middle of my climb in the dark when the backpack strap popped off. It scared the crap out of me. I thought I was going to hit the ground. I climbed back down once I realized the entire thing didn't fail on me. I then hunted on the ground for a bit and had to make a mile hike out of the swamp without one backpack strap. I ended up carrying it. It wasn't a good first experience. I sent JX3 outdoors an email about this when I got home and John from JX3 called me right away and apologized for my bad experience. He told me they are working through quality control issues and a video so people that get a new Hybrid can check things over. He also said he was going to send some accessories to me that day because he felt bad. I believed him on all accounts. That was a month ago and I have not heard anything else or received any accessories and I haven't seen that they have a video released about this.

I also submitted a review about the hybrid from a link JX3 Outdoors sent me. I shared this experience in my review. They did not post my review on their website like they did with all the positive reviews.
That's not good. I sent a picture and message via FB to him tonight. Meantime just passed it thru the slot and tied an overhand knot. Seems to hold for now.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
That's not good. I sent a picture and message via FB to him tonight. Meantime just passed it thru the slot and tied an overhand knot. Seems to hold for now.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
I found the buckle in the back of my JX3 so I was able re-thread mine. Of course I didn't find until I got back to my vehicle and looked it over more carefully.
 
Sorry your hunt got screwed up.

What strikes me about the feedback and videos I have seen about this new version is that a lot of the changes he made were for TMA approval. I have expressed my thoughts on TMA before-I think it’s a joke. Nothing but a CYA, good ole boys club who tries to keep the little guy (John) down. They aren’t about your safety.

I guess John has an idea that he might eventually scale the product and try to get it in big retail stores. That would probably require the TMA certification. I wish he would keep it more of a direct to consumer product and not worry about TMA.

The old version has a bridge and a tether. That’s really all you need to not fall out of the thing. Anything beyond that is up to the user’s comfort level. All those metal buckles turned me off when I saw the new version. I don’t have a JX3 (yet), but have the old version on the way. Everything I have read and watched tells me that the old system works and has been proven in the field.

I assume John is still small enough and nimble to call and audible and make the new one right. Mark at Treehopper and Matt at OOAL have made changes on the fly with their stuff based on user feedback. I hope John makes this right for you guys. I usually modify my gear, so I wouldn’t have a problem making those straps right for me. I know a lot of people would be seriously pissed to spend $400 and have to alter the product immediately.
 
Sorry your hunt got screwed up.

What strikes me about the feedback and videos I have seen about this new version is that a lot of the changes he made were for TMA approval. I have expressed my thoughts on TMA before-I think it’s a joke. Nothing but a CYA, good ole boys club who tries to keep the little guy (John) down. They aren’t about your safety.

I guess John has an idea that he might eventually scale the product and try to get it in big retail stores. That would probably require the TMA certification. I wish he would keep it more of a direct to consumer product and not worry about TMA.

The old version has a bridge and a tether. That’s really all you need to not fall out of the thing. Anything beyond that is up to the user’s comfort level. All those metal buckles turned me off when I saw the new version. I don’t have a JX3 (yet), but have the old version on the way. Everything I have read and watched tells me that the old system works and has been proven in the field.

I assume John is still small enough and nimble to call and audible and make the new one right. Mark at Treehopper and Matt at OOAL have made changes on the fly with their stuff based on user feedback. I hope John makes this right for you guys. I usually modify my gear, so I wouldn’t have a problem making those straps right for me. I know a lot of people would be seriously pissed to spend $400 and have to alter the product immediately.

I echo this sentiment precisely. In fact, when I was reading it I felt like it was coming from my own keyboard.
I have an OG JX3 and there are no metal buckles and is bullet proof so far as I can tell.
What really gets me is his lack of response to this issue. Man, I would be pissed if I had spent $400 and the thing failed. This post on SH is going to reduce sales of the JX3 immensely, especially with some new saddles hitting the market that address most of the issue with a traditional saddle.
Sorry you had this issue @herd90
 
The clip came undone in shipping.

it’s a simple fix, and something that should be inspected before a user takes their equipment into the woods. The shoulder straps are not part of the “life support” system of the saddle. Would one expect that every single saddle be pulled out of the box, and ensure that every single clip, strap, buckle, etc is adjusted to fit the user it’s going to? Would you complain of your bridge carabiner was not connected to the bridge when you put the saddle on for the first time? This is no different.

ok, that was my internal thoughts. Now I can put my nice face on.

A quick fix on the fly if you lose a clip is to thread end of strap through any one of the clips on back of frame and knot the end of it about where you wanted it adjusted. Then handle permanently at home that night.

One of the big issues John had was some of the bigger fellas needed shoulder strap adjustability, and width of harness Adjustability. Yes, apparently everyone who uses saddles are not hobbits, though I was convinced of this for a while. In order to make the straps adjustable, he redesigned how the shoulder straps clip in. That’s great - especially for tall folks like me. Now, in solving one issue, it creates a little more time/thoughtfulness for the user.

when you buy a backpack at academy, you put it on, cinch straps tight, and go hunt. It fits or it doesn’t. When you buy a frame pack designed to be adjustable to fit your body, you will be making some adjustments when you first get it to make it fit you. The hybrid is more like the latter.

to anyone getting a new run hybrid - inspect all components of the saddle. Look for anything that is adjustable, and make sure it is adjusted properly to fit you, and is threaded properly, and hasn’t come loose.

The whole reason for the new version of the hybrid is so that they don’t have to be assembled in seven different places. 1000+ are getting boxed up at a time and sent to John. The issue has been relayed back to the supplier to pull those strap adjusters tight. But it doesn’t make sense to open 1000 boxes to see if a shoulder strap clip has been adjusted and tightened. It’s not a safety concern, and the user can and should put eyes and hands on every single adjustment on the thing.

I Am not affiliated with the company in any way, but I am intimately familiar with the hybrid, and talk to john regularly. - if you have a question, feel free to ask, I’m happy to help!

As far as a lack of response, I’m sure that if you called john and left a voicemail Telling him your hybrid fell apart, he’d call you back. Just a hunch.

I will concede it’s not a great thing to happen, and sucks it happened to you guys. But it’s a very minor issue, and one that does notaffect the safety of the system in any way.
 
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Sorry your hunt got screwed up.

What strikes me about the feedback and videos I have seen about this new version is that a lot of the changes he made were for TMA approval. I have expressed my thoughts on TMA before-I think it’s a joke. Nothing but a CYA, good ole boys club who tries to keep the little guy (John) down. They aren’t about your safety.

I guess John has an idea that he might eventually scale the product and try to get it in big retail stores. That would probably require the TMA certification. I wish he would keep it more of a direct to consumer product and not worry about TMA.

The old version has a bridge and a tether. That’s really all you need to not fall out of the thing. Anything beyond that is up to the user’s comfort level. All those metal buckles turned me off when I saw the new version. I don’t have a JX3 (yet), but have the old version on the way. Everything I have read and watched tells me that the old system works and has been proven in the field.

I assume John is still small enough and nimble to call and audible and make the new one right. Mark at Treehopper and Matt at OOAL have made changes on the fly with their stuff based on user feedback. I hope John makes this right for you guys. I usually modify my gear, so I wouldn’t have a problem making those straps right for me. I know a lot of people would be seriously pissed to spend $400 and have to alter the product immediately.

I think John would be thrilled if box stores wanted to sell his stuff. But I think he’s more concerned with two things: liability, and the chance that the industry gets shut down for people who don’t meet the requirements. He’s just hedging his bets.

the harness of the hybrid is the same as the web - it was TMA approved. The changes are the waist and belt buckles, and full contain lineman’s loops, to pass drop test when you’re climbing with It. This is certainly an improvement worth the weight and changes, from a business perspective.

As a person who spends too much time thinking about this stuff, I can’t understand why a system would need to pass a drop test with a linesman’s belt and loops, because lineman’s belts are not fall arrest systems. But here we are.
 
The clip came undone in shipping.

it’s a simple fix, and something that should be inspected before a user takes their equipment into the woods. The shoulder straps are not part of the “life support” system of the saddle. Would one expect that every single saddle be pulled out of the box, and ensure that every single clip, strap, buckle, etc is adjusted to fit the user it’s going to? Would you complain of your bridge carabiner was not connected to the bridge when you put the saddle on for the first time? This is no different.

ok, that was my internal thoughts. Now I can put my nice face on.

A quick fix on the fly if you lose a clip is to thread end of strap through any one of the clips on back of frame and knot the end of it about where you wanted it adjusted. Then handle permanently at home that night.

One of the big issues John had was some of the bigger fellas needed shoulder strap adjustability, and width of harness Adjustability. Yes, apparently everyone who uses saddles are not hobbits, though I was convinced of this for a while. In order to make the straps adjustable, he redesigned how the shoulder straps clip in. That’s great - especially for tall folks like me. Now, in solving one issue, it creates a little more time/thoughtfulness for the user.

when you buy a backpack at academy, you put it on, cinch straps tight, and go hunt. It fits or it doesn’t. When you buy a frame pack designed to be adjustable to fit your body, you will be making some adjustments when you first get it to make it fit you. The hybrid is more like the latter.

to anyone getting a new run hybrid - inspect all components of the saddle. Look for anything that is adjustable, and make sure it is adjusted properly to fit you, and is threaded properly, and hasn’t come loose.

The whole reason for the new version of the hybrid is so that they don’t have to be assembled in seven different places. 1000+ are getting boxed up at a time and sent to John. The issue has been relayed back to the supplier to pull those strap adjusters tight. But it doesn’t make sense to open 1000 boxes to see if a shoulder strap clip has been adjusted and tightened. It’s not a safety concern, and the user can and should put eyes and hands on every single adjustment on the thing.

I Am not affiliated with the company in any way, but I am intimately familiar with the hybrid, and talk to john regularly. - if you have a question, feel free to ask, I’m happy to help!

As far as a lack of response, I’m sure that if you called john and left a voicemail Telling him your hybrid fell apart, he’d call you back. Just a hunch.

I will concede it’s not a great thing to happen, and sucks it happened to you guys. But it’s a very minor issue, and one that does notaffect the safety of the system in any way.
I understand how it came loose. I inspected the JX3 before I used it. Where the strap came free is not easily inspected as it just disappears into the hidden pocket of the frame. It is not evident that that is something that could fail. In my email to John a month ago I told him I was sending this so he could be aware of this issue to ensure it doesn't happen to someone else. He agreed and that is when he told me they had a video almost ready that showed people what to inspect. I am an experienced saddle hunter and climber. I check my gear before every hunt and I missed this. I feel there should be something that shows that it can fail. Even if I had checked it, the strap was threaded through and held, it just wasn't threaded properly. I wouldn't have known that.

As for this being a safety issue, I disagree. I was climbing with ameristeps and had my line mans belt attached properly. I twisted to get another step out if my bag when the shoulder strap popped off which caused me to reach and grab the tree. I was on two steps and my too foot fell off the step. I almost fell off the lower step to. I was really close to slamming into the tree.

As I said in my earlier post, John called me right away and apologized. I respect that.

Despite these negative experiences I do still love my hybrid. I am just not happy that I spent $400 on a product that failed the first time I used it and that I had to modify so I didn't have to deal with those terribly difficult to adjust leg straps.
 
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I understand how it came loose. I inspected the JX3 before I used it. Where the strap came free is not easily inspected as it just disappears into the hidden pocket of the frame. It is not evident that that is something that could fail. In my email to John a month ago I told him I was sending this so he could be aware of this issue to ensure it doesn't happen to someone else. He agreed and that is when he told me they had a video almost ready that showed people what to inspect. I am an experienced saddle hunter and climber. I check my gear before every hunt and I missed this. I feel there should be something that shows that it can fail. Even if I had checked it, the strap was threaded through and held, it just wasn't threaded properly. I wouldn't have known that.

As for this being a safety issue, I disagree. I was climbing with ameristeps and had my line mans belt attached properly. I twisted to get another step out if my bag when the shoulder strap popped off which caused me to reach and grab the tree. I was on two steps and my too foot fell off the step. I almost fell off the lower step to. I was really close to slamming into the tree.


Fair enough on both counts. I meant that it does not disrupt the integrity of the TMA approved harness. You’re right, anything that could cause a shift in weight or momentum suddenly at height is an issue. And they are not easy to see.

I think I’ll recommend to John he shoot an email to everyone who’s bought one to check them out and adjust them.
 
John contacted me last night and apologized for the issue and is sending me the replacement clip first thing Monday morning. I just climbed down from a tree in the jx3, very comfortable hunt with no problems.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
I understand how it came loose. I inspected the JX3 before I used it. Where the strap came free is not easily inspected as it just disappears into the hidden pocket of the frame. It is not evident that that is something that could fail. In my email to John a month ago I told him I was sending this so he could be aware of this issue to ensure it doesn't happen to someone else. He agreed and that is when he told me they had a video almost ready that showed people what to inspect. I am an experienced saddle hunter and climber. I check my gear before every hunt and I missed this. I feel there should be something that shows that it can fail. Even if I had checked it, the strap was threaded through and held, it just wasn't threaded properly. I wouldn't have known that.

As for this being a safety issue, I disagree. I was climbing with ameristeps and had my line mans belt attached properly. I twisted to get another step out if my bag when the shoulder strap popped off which caused me to reach and grab the tree. I was on two steps and my too foot fell off the step. I almost fell off the lower step to. I was really close to slamming into the tree.

As I said in my earlier post, John called me right away and apologized. I respect that. I just wish he wouldn't have told me he was going to send me something and then not do it. It leaves me checking the mail every day only to be disappointed.

Despite these negative experiences I do still love my hybrid. I am just not happy that I spent $400 on a product that failed the first time I used it and that I had to modify so I didn't have to deal with those terribly difficult to adjust leg straps.
I agree the leg straps are terrible to adjust. Going to check the shoulder straps again, haven't had any issues while hunting yet, broke my back 12 years ago and the back support makes such a difference compared to a regular saddle.
 
i have jx3 generation 1 ,question if necessary to replace by generation 2 ??
 
My shoulder strap came undone as well. The clips on the strap were not installed right. But it was a simple enough fix.
 
Hey man, I have only practiced out of it. The few hunts I have been on have either been more suitable to my trophyline saddle or ground hunts.
I shoot a pretty short bow - 60" recurve - so it is possible to shoot the trad out of the JX3Hybrid for sure, but there are also way more limitations. (Don't read that as me not liking this thing, because I do and I am trying to make adjustments so that I can use it all the time).

1) The bridge and bridge height of the JX3 is high and when you are shooting a trad from the seated position, well it's just proven to be quite difficult for me to do that. And since sitting in the JX3 is a HUGE selling point of that saddle for purposes of being able to comfortable sit still... I just don't think you can do much trad wise while seated.

2) shooting from the lean or standing position is very similar to any other saddle, the bridge and bridge height is a little wonky, but you get used to it. But standing/leaning in the JX3 defeats the purpose IMHO.

3) USing the JX3 from the ground, either in "turkey mode" or using a support system as a seat is an excellent way to shoot; you get all the comfort of the JX3 without any of the bridge interference.

4) Shooting trad already introduces movement into the scene when an animal is potentially pretty close; if you have to also go from JX3 seated position to standing/leaning... I just think that would be no bueno. I was in the mountains not too long ago and had a black bear at 11 yards. I had to switch to my weakside behind the tree. I didn't end up killing the bear because he didn't read the script, but he also didn't bust me. I just know if Had to stand, then move to weakside there would be no question he'd have seen that movement instead of the simple liftig the bow over behind the tree withno other body movement that I did with my trophyline.

I hope that helps man. I am really new to hunting, and even newer to saddles so i am sort of learning as I go.
Do you shoot trad?
Splatek-
I have only ever shot a recurve from the Guido's or JX3 or my early pre Guido's home made saddles.
My advise to you is to "lean into" the side webbing to get the clearance you need for your drawing hand and arm.
I rarely have to stand to shoot.
If you need more bridge clearance, use a separate carabiner to attach to the carabiner that completes the bridge and then to the opposite side of the bridge.
This will squeeze the bridge together and give you more clearance.
 
i have jx3 generation 1 ,question if necessary to replace by generation 2 ??
I have a generation 1 JX3 and I see no reason to upgrade. Some of the upgrades are nice but not getting me to switch.
 
I have a generation 1 JX3 and I see no reason to upgrade. Some of the upgrades are nice but not getting me to switch.

Same here! Only thing I’ve thought about changing out is the belt buckle with something easier to cinch down.
 
I've owned both. You can answer your own question by asking yourself if the upgrades are worth it to you. You can always sell your original and only need a little cash to upgrade if you choose.

The only thing I didn't like about the new version at first were the leg straps. They would be a pain if you had to adjust them every sit but I have them set where I never need to adjust them. I've even put my coat and other gear between the seat on the way in a few times and didn't have to adjust the straps. On the way back I don't even take the leg straps off I just flip the seat up and have the hook hold it and walk out. I've walked to and from my stand sites with my leg straps on without any problems.

I'm an old school Guido's Web user and the thing I like most about the JX3 is I never have to take it off my back when I get to my stand or when I'm done hunting.
 
I've owned both.

On the way back I don't even take the leg straps off I just flip the seat up and have the hook hold it and walk out. I've walked to and from my stand sites with my leg straps on without any problems.

Same here. I adjusted my leg straps right after I unboxed it and haven't moved them since.

My two favorite upgrades on gen2 are the linesman belt loops and metal waist/leg buckles. I attached a dogbone to my gen1 linesmans loop to extend it and make it easier to access which worked pretty well. And the metal buckles look and feel safer, which is probably a simple DIY upgrade. I know people say they aren't designed to be part of the life safety harness, but when **** goes wrong, it usually goes very wrong. The metal buckles go a long way with peace of mind.

Gen1 is just as comfortable as gen2, so I'm holding on to both in case I ever need to take gen2 out of service for maintenance during the season. This is my second season with it and it's hands down my favorite piece of hunting gear ever. John is a great guy to do business with as well.

Also very happy with all the changes I made to my setup last year based on recommendations and reviews in this forum. Did a complete overhaul last year and tested a ton of gear. This is the first time in 30 years I haven't wanted to make a single change to my setup.
a4dbd758fd21b944eed88b74f1446603.jpg


Sent from up in a tree
 
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