New Era of EQUIPMENT when is the start of the end?

[EricS]

I love new gear and innovation. There is some truth in saying that current innovation isn’t new technology but a response to a market for high end gear.
Carbon fiber and titanium climbing sticks have my attention for sure. They are a new application for old technology.
Other companies are coming out with copies of old gear but being marketed in a different way. This year I see a copy of the old api sky hooks from 30 years ago. Two companies released a version of an Anderson tree sling last year with their own tweaks and changes.
Either way I’m excited that we have a continually growing pool of saddle hunting gear.
As far as saddles go I think there is more room for innovation for the hybrid style saddle.

 

[Topdog]

The Drury Era:

Pushed the scent control and land improvement markets (AKA Biologic and ScentBlocker..even though Scentlok had started 5yrs earlier).

"Game changers" like Ozonics and C'mere deer followed the widespread popularity of their show that sewed widespread interest in these areas.

Many small parcel hunters, I believe, enjoyed a huge fallout following their commercialization of deer management. While the Drury's were managing thousands, every guy on 5 and 10 acre plots was shooting every doe they could because they weren't seeing any bucks, and they had to get the buck-doe ratio in balance "in order for the bucks to move". Lol.

Maybe the next big thing is in scent elimination or....active (adaptive) camouflage.

I was lucky enough to gun hunt property that bordered one of there farms in Iowa once, opening morning 30 minutes in I was tagged out on one of there pet bucks LOL, never turn a guy loose near a Drury farm that usually hunts the ADKs and at most will see 15 deer a season, it was definitely lucrative hunting.

 

[Robert loper]

The horse has been beaten with platforms, sticks and saddle designs. I want to see a climbing platform or someone try putting padding into a saddle?! I know Tactisaddle just did. I agree stop trying to out do another companies product by weight or small design changes. Make something totally new and unique. I’m very happy that people took a chance and started a company to bring back this style of hunting. I’ve waited for years but it seems like it’s been going around in circles lately.

Im actually having my flex being worked on as we speak. Im having a light padfing for early season and padfing with fleece for mid to late season. Both inserts will be removable

 

[Plebe]

Ghost blind clothing....

See Quantum Stealth....and this is only a low tech solution.

 

[HuumanCreed]

Hey, if it can kill giant, it can kill deer. Just need to quiet the technology.

 

[Robert loper]

Hey, if it can kill giant, it can kill deer. Just need to quiet the technology.

My kids love that show lol

 

[Weldabeast]

Hey, if it can kill giant, it can kill deer. Just need to quiet the technology.

USSR perfected that technology long ago....

 

[BuffaloBill]

I'm with Nutterbuster, I want a 10 pound climber that is functional and comfortable. Take my Summit Viper and make it out of titanium and I'll pay $600 for it but they'd probably want $1500.

Exactly. I feel like there is a demand for a lightweight climber that is actually comfortable. I tried a hand climber and it wasn't for me. But a Lone Wolf sit and climb is already $400. Can't imagine what LWCG would want. I'm hoping Novix will release an updated one.

 

[Plebe]

Exactly. I feel like there is a demand for a lightweight climber that is actually comfortable. I tried a hand climber and it wasn't for me. But a Lone Wolf sit and climb is already $400. Can't imagine what LWCG would want. I'm hoping Novix will release an updated one.

Ironically, the LW Sit and Climb seat is a lot like a saddle. When you can get it right, snooze city. When its off, hot spots get you on your feet.

Also, it's cost is a good barometer when folks talk economics of some of the new stuff on the market.

 

[Gator]

Exactly. I feel like there is a demand for a lightweight climber that is actually comfortable. I tried a hand climber and it wasn't for me. But a Lone Wolf sit and climb is already $400. Can't imagine what LWCG would want. I'm hoping Novix will release an updated one.

I just bought a LW Sit and Climb and only climbed about 10 ft and came back down but that thing sucks! I'm sure it would get better with more use but my first impression was horrible. Having to lower the top portion to step in and out of the sit bar and then those cinch straps getting hung up, oh my...Guess I need to practice with it more but I will stick to my Viper at this point.

 

[Plebe]

I just bought a LW Sit and Climb and only climbed about 10 ft and came back down but that thing sucks! I'm sure it would get better with more use but my first impression was horrible. Having to lower the top portion to step in and out of the sit bar and then those cinch straps getting hung up, oh my...Guess I need to practice with it more but I will stick to my Viper at this point.

Ha. I liked the S&C so much I bought two, many years ago when they hit the market with the cables. I had never seen one with the V for sale. One is now a saddle climbing platform.

Unlike others, I find them easy to use. Just bulky and heavy for long treks. The wait for a newer better modern climber continues.

 

[Blacksmith]

I think saddle hunting is going to still be a niche community once the manufacture boom is over. 1lb stick is as far as they go until cost is just not worth it. Not paying $1000 for 4x1lb sticks against $120 for 4x2lbs sticks. I still dont see saddle replacing treestands completely.

The lightweight obsession will fade away and at some point it will be at the bell curve just like most things in life. Just like there are the extremes in regular treestands. There will be a few .5 LWCG and a few Guide Gear 35lbs climbers , but most will fall under the middle at Lone Wolf/Hawk/Summit. Just like cars get you from A to B, there might be some BMWs and Miatas, but most people are driving F150s or sedans. I honestly dont see saddle company expanding to the level of traditional treestands maker because the community will not continuously expand.

I am hopeful that it will get people interested in hunting and as long as a few stay with it, its not going to die out. I'm going to strongly ENCOURAGE my kids to hunt, but if only 1-2 decide to stick with it, I think its enough.

I myself feel like most of us will go to phase in hunting. Like the saying crawl/walk/run but then back to walking because you realizes you dont need to run anymore because like John Travolta said, "You dont need a fast car, if you're important, people will wait."

Crawl is ladder stand/or ground blind on private land over a feeder.
Walk is saddle on public land
Run stalking public land
Final walking phase is leaning a seat against a tree and just waiting for a deer to come. @Nutterbuster hunts like an old man now. Just canoe down the river and sit against a tree from what I understand.

And what's wrong w/canoeing down the river and leaning against a tree? I really like simple. I can sit till too dark to shoot, get up and walk out. Nothing to carry but my bow. I love it.

 

[Plebe]

And what's wrong w/canoeing down the river and leaning against a tree? I really like simple. I can sit till too dark to shoot, get up and walk out. Nothing to carry but my bow. I love it.

There are some classic stories of Adirondack hunts from the canoe...but that was another era. Sometimes simpler is what we need.

I've enjoyed reading posts about some of the Bama canoe squad and their stolen trail cameras and big bucks on the forum. The adventure can even outshine the successes if you let yourself enjoy the hunt, at least I think so.

 

[MattMan81]

I think you will see a decline in saddles. Guys will keep searching for more comfortable options. I still believe the average Hunter wants to be comfortable and easy to use equipment. Not that saddles are complicated. But it takes some time to get it right and time to tweak it. I bet you will see lighter weight climbers with the new materials and more JX3 style units. They want to grab there stand out of the shed a few weeks before season. Sling a couple arrows through the crossbow to make sure the scope is on, and shoot a buck. (yeah, some days I think about doing that my self) But IMO that's where to easy money is to be made and once there saddle profits drop from the big names, that's what they will gravitate to.

 

[Robert loper]

I think you will see a decline in saddles. Guys will keep searching for more comfortable options. I still believe the average Hunter wants to be comfortable and easy to use equipment. Not that saddles are complicated. But it takes some time to get it right and time to tweak it. I bet you will see lighter weight climbers with the new materials and more JX3 style units. They want to grab there stand out of the shed a few weeks before season. Sling a couple arrows through the crossbow to make sure the scope is on, and shoot a buck. (yeah, some days I think about doing that my self) But IMO that's where to easy money is to be made and once there saddle profits drop from the big names, that's what they will gravitate to.

I must agree. I enjoy my saddle and have for years but i always gravitate back to a stand.
especially after getting the 1.0.
its a no brainer.
easy system easy setup and break down.
The one thing i do always recommend to people who are looking into buying equipment is. Refer to how much or how many days you gonna hunt a week. If its 7 sits or more in a week every week then I recommend the light weight high priced equipment. If they gonna hunt less. I always recommend the cheaper stuff. Theres really no benefit for a guy who hunts 1-2 times a week to buy a thousand dollar stand or saddle setup.

 

[HuumanCreed]

And what's wrong w/canoeing down the river and leaning against a tree? I really like simple. I can sit till too dark to shoot, get up and walk out. Nothing to carry but my bow. I love it.

I meant for the simile to be a good thing. Like veteran status where things are easier for you. Like you dont need the advantage height.

 

[Nutterbuster]

There's oftentimes a very calculated reason people go simple. Lord knows I've bought into about every gimmick there is to public land hunting. Climb high! Be meticulous with scent control! Use a lightweight stand! Use a saddle! No metal and nothing can make noise ever! No using a flashlight! Pour over the maps! Outhunt the other hunters! Go deep! Hunt like a beast!™

Those are all distractions and false gods. The ugly truth is you're either hunting where deer are and killing, or you're not. There's a reason hunting celebrities use whatever goofy gear they can get paid to use. When you're hunting where the critters are you can use any attractant, call, scents, or other silliness and be successful. But that takes money and/or time to achieve, and it's a lot easier to read a forum and buy some stuff on your lunch break than it is to find an area to hunt that makes you look like a better hunter than you are. I've burnt a lot of gas and a lot of boot leather to get to the point where I can shoot deer every weekend if that's what I want to do. Lord help me if those areas dry up because I'm not sure I have the drive to find more of them! But that effort has produced a tremendous ROI.

It's not the gear, and it's not the space between your ears. It's just the ability to separate the wheat from the chaff. That's 80% of it. Head knowledge is 80% of whatever is left over, and gear is the remainder. I'm not a good hunter. I just quit trying to pretend I was one and turned the games difficulty setting down to "easy." The indians had it right. You gotta move on to better hunting grounds sometimes instead of trying to make it work. That's some post-agriculture mindset bs right there.

 

[boyne bowhunter]

I'm old enough to remember when all this "innovation" was going on with the tree stands a lot of you have grown up taking for granted. In the late 70's/early 80's commercial tree stands were hard to come by. About the only one I remember from those days was the Baker treestand which everyone at the time even agreed was a scary dangerous stand. Most everyone who hunted from a tree did so using some sort of a DIY solution.

In the early 80's a few companies including Loc-on and API really started the whole idea of a commercially available tree stand. The whole development of saddle hunting really mirrors those days of tree stand development. Lots of little manufacturers with a wide range of quality and price points.

TMA was started by the major players back then in the name of safety. In reality it was probably more of a means to gain a controlling interest in the tree stand boom.



Interesting that of these five companies I believe only 2 are still in business. . . .

 

[Robert loper]

There's oftentimes a very calculated reason people go simple. Lord knows I've bought into about every gimmick there is to public land hunting. Climb high! Be meticulous with scent control! Use a lightweight stand! Use a saddle! No metal and nothing can make noise ever! No using a flashlight! Pour over the maps! Outhunt the other hunters! Go deep! Hunt like a beast!™

Those are all distractions and false gods. The ugly truth is you're either hunting where deer are and killing, or you're not. There's a reason hunting celebrities use whatever goofy gear they can get paid to use. When you're hunting where the critters are you can use any attractant, call, scents, or other silliness and be successful. But that takes money and/or time to achieve, and it's a lot easier to read a forum and buy some stuff on your lunch break than it is to find an area to hunt that makes you look like a better hunter than you are. I've burnt a lot of gas and a lot of boot leather to get to the point where I can shoot deer every weekend if that's what I want to do. Lord help me if those areas dry up because I'm not sure I have the drive to find more of them! But that effort has produced a tremendous ROI.

It's not the gear, and it's not the space between your ears. It's just the ability to separate the wheat from the chaff. That's 80% of it. Head knowledge is 80% of whatever is left over, and gear is the remainder. I'm not a good hunter. I just quit trying to pretend I was one and turned the games difficulty setting down to "easy." The indians had it right. You gotta move on to better hunting grounds sometimes instead of trying to make it work. That's some post-agriculture mindset bs right there.

Couldnt have said it better. Amen bro

 

[Robert loper]

I'm old enough to remember when all this "innovation" was going on with the tree stands a lot of you have grown up taking for. In the late 70's/early 80's commercial tree stands were hard to come by. About the only one I remember from those days was the Baker treestand which everyone at the time even agreed was a scary dangerous stand. Most everyone who hunted from a tree did so using some sort of a DIY solution.

In the early 80's a few companies including Loc-on and API really started the whole idea of a commercially available tree stand. The whole development of saddle hunting really mirrors those days of tree stand development. Lots of little manufacturers with a wide range of quality and price points.

TMA was started by the major players back then in the name of safety. In reality it was probably more of a means to gain a controlling interest in the tree stand boom.

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Interesting that of these five companies I believe only 2 are still in business. . . .

I remember them all. I started hunting at 10 So thst was in 85 lol. Loggy bayou was a favorite of mine. I think the 90’s