New to the site and Saddle Hunting

[xFREDx]

Hi all,
been hunting for 20 years. Serious about it for the last ten years. I am 6'7" at 220 lbs. Tree stands have never been comfortable for me. the M150u is by far the most comfortable but not the most mobile thing around. climbers were comfortable as well but i was tired of trying to find the correct tree. I have the M60u and LW alpha that I use for my mobile hunts. To set in them all day is quite a challenge and honestly after 4 hours i have to fight my mind and body to not leave.

I said that b/c i am mainly curious to know how comfortable is saddle hunting for someone of my size. 31 years old 6'7" 220#. not out of shape at all. I feel as though it would be a lot more comfortable to lean back in a saddle with the back rest that tethrd has. I already have 6 mini novix sticks and two have aiders on them. i was looking at buying the tethrd phantom and their gear but with the trophyline platform. If anyone could advise if you think this would work with someone my size or if another saddle would be better suited, i would appreciate it.

 

[cmatthew80]

Welcome to saddle hunting. I'm 6'6" (well, 6'5.5" barefoot, but who's counting) 280. So a bit on the heavy side (working on it) but sitting in a saddle is night and day different than a treestand. I have a hang on that I use as a platform. A friend of mine (and my dad) use a jx3 hybrid and those are super comfy. No knee pads needed.

The friend who uses the JX3 hybrid has tried 10 different saddles and ranks tethrd (all of them) at the bottom as far as comfort, but it's the lightest for weight. He sold them all and uses his JX3. Look for posts from Ontariofarmer on here.

I use a Kestral that I sewed myself from instructions from this forum. My son has the same (he's 13 and in pretty good shape). We love sitting in them and usually sit for several hours at a time. We use knee pads and an upper back recliner strap.

The most efficient/light way up the tree is a single stick with aider (or lone wolf hand climber, but they are sold out) and the best way down is rappelling.

You need the following:
A way up
A way down
A saddle
Tether
Lineman's belt
A platform (unless you want EXTREMELY sore calf muscles after being in the tree for an hour) - if you have a LWHC it can triple as a platform and a way up/down.
Gear hanger
**Coffee cup holder**

Watch a ton of YouTube. DIY Sportsman has some great one stick/rappelling vids. Adrena123 has a great method for using the LWHC with a saddle. My dad (who has had 5 heart attacks) uses his method (Adrena123) and can get 25 feet up a tree in 15 minutes including rest breaks with his JX3 hybrid.

Also you'll need to know how to tie some knots with your rope to make life easier on yourself. YouTube is your friend there too.


And of course spend hours reading this forum!


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[xFREDx]

thanks for the response. that Jx3 hybrid looks amazing. yes as for the way up my sticks will work and i plan on buying that trophyline platform as it is one of the biggest platforms that isn't a stand i like its features. I will have to do more research on saddles it seems. that Jx3 although amazing is a little steep for my blood.

 

[cmatthew80]

Look at Kestral or Cruzr then.

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[xFREDx]

That Cruzr XC looks nice appreciate it. i will do some youtube searches on them.

 

[xFREDx]

So after doing some research on YT i believe that is the one for me, the Cruzr XC. Now my question is what size to get? I buy 34 waist pants but could easily fit in 33 or possible a 32 right now. Would the 2 be the one for me? reason i ask is i don't know how they size them. Probably a dumb question but do they size them by waist or size them over a pair of pants?

 

[cmatthew80]

Talk to them. They will know. Also take into consideration if you have cold weather that you hunt in - snow pants add inches.

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