Nutterbuster's Treehopper Recon Sling Video

[Allegheny Tom]

The belt confusion and the sag is what my main knocks on it are. Since removing the rubber coating, the straps seem to roll over and twist way easier in the plates. Then I spend time trying to get untangled. Maybe I will wrap the plates with some tape to take up some space. And the sag when I put my ropes on each side the top will not stay up very good constantly fighting it. Maybe suspender system or bungee belt may fix that. What y’all think?

Bungee.

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[MN_Bowhunter4]

Not in a rush (as I’m sure business has picked up for Treehopper, and I have other saddles to get me through the season), but what is the turnaround time for most people to receive their sling? Placed order 2 weeks ago but still haven’t received a confirmation or request for size. Again, heard only good things so far and just want to have an idea on lead time. TIA.

Call him. I put an order in a week ago, then called him on Wednesday after not hearing anything, and mine is showing up on Tuesday. All this talk about it and I’m stoked to give it a shot!

 

[SouthMsBowhunter]

Hey guys need your advice. My Recon came in yesterday and I hung from it for about 10-15 minutes and seems more comfortable.

I tried one sticking with it and it did not work out.

What are some of you doing to make it work?

 

[Davis21]

Bungee.

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What are y’all using for bungee plates?

 

[Wirrex]

The belt confusion and the sag is what my main knocks on it are. Since removing the rubber coating, the straps seem to roll over and twist way easier in the plates. Then I spend time trying to get untangled. Maybe I will wrap the plates with some tape to take up some space. And the sag when I put my ropes on each side the top will not stay up very good constantly fighting it. Maybe suspender system or bungee belt may fix that. What y’all think?

That’s what we’ve been saying all along! I don’t think I would use a recon without it.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

What are y’all using for bungee plates?

My latest version is just a piece of 4" webbing with a piece of 3/16" dowel sewn into it. I melt a hole in the tag end of the webbing to accommodate the bungee.
Hard to explain but here is a pic. There are a bunch of different ways to accomplish this.
I have some other ideas rolling around in my brain.

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[Allegheny Tom]

Hey guys need your advice. My Recon came in yesterday and I hung from it for about 10-15 minutes and seems more comfortable.

I tried one sticking with it and it did not work out.

What are some of you doing to make it work?

I don't one stick but what exactly issues are you having? Is it a problem of riding up that leg straps would cure?
Or is it a bridge issue?

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[sweats]

So did a full day hunt in the Recon and had some issues this afternoon. I tried moving the upper panel to my lower back like some videos of two panel saddles have shown. That caused me to sink into the lower panel obviously.

I didn't care for that so I tried to put the panels back the way they were and just couldn't get comfortable again. I got back to tolerable after a lot of fiddling, but couldn't get back to where it had been before which had been very comfortable.

My theory is that the lower panel's webbing got pulled through the plate enough that I wasn't able to balance things out again at height. Today was probably my last hunt of the year, so plenty of time to figure out before next year, but it was really striking the difference.

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[SouthMsBowhunter]

Tom,

I had rigged up a shock cord and removed the buckle straps. While going to sit back down after moving tether up and move the stick up the bungee came unhook allowing the saddle to fall from my waist.
In other words I was no longer secured to anything but my grasp on the tree and stick.

 

[mattsteg]

Tom,

I had rigged up a shock cord and removed the buckle straps. While going to sit back down after moving tether up and move the stick up the bungee came unhook allowing the saddle to fall from my waist.
In other words I was no longer secured to anything but my grasp on the tree and stick.

I guess i would start by using a belt that doesn't fall off.

 

[iamcorey]

Tom,

I had rigged up a shock cord and removed the buckle straps. While going to sit back down after moving tether up and move the stick up the bungee came unhook allowing the saddle to fall from my waist.
In other words I was no longer secured to anything but my grasp on the tree and stick.

How did the shock cord come undone? I have it secured with a cord lock.


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[Allegheny Tom]

Tom,

I had rigged up a shock cord and removed the buckle straps. While going to sit back down after moving tether up and move the stick up the bungee came unhook allowing the saddle to fall from my waist.
In other words I was no longer secured to anything but my grasp on the tree and stick.

I rig my bungee belt so when its unhooked it is still semi tight. It cannot slip down. With it in this position the bungee will allow the sling to "open up" when tethered improving comfort. But as soon as I unweight, it snugs back, just tight enough to prevent sagging.

When I use it in walking position, the bungee gets hooked and is now totally tight, almost like a static webbing belt.

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[SouthMsBowhunter]

Yea, lol having a belt of some type was the main issue. Probably didn’t have a full understanding of Tom’s concept. I made a quick mod of a bungee I had available attaching one side around the one plate with a zip tie and the other side had the hook attached with a zip tie stopper that can be adjusted as Tom shows in his video.

I just set tension and hooked that side to the other plate. Somewhere in the process of resetting the tether it came unhooked and when I went to sit down it wasn’t anything to sit in. Talk about pucker factor!

But that why I was doing a practice climb to see what issues I may have.

Not being critical but offering some comments towards improvements. 1. I’m not a fan of the belt buckle design, a lightweight cobra type would be better. And maybe not integrated with the webbing plate. 2. And for those that use the leg strap, a snap buckle would be better. Currently there a pain to mess with.

 

[SouthMsBowhunter]

So back to my original question. Are any of you using the one stick method for climbing and what have you found works best using the Recon?

I do believe it was more comfortable, but at first use seemed to have more fiddle factor.

 

[Romulan]

I purchased my Recon and Platform three weeks ago - hoping to receive it prior to a hunting trip I have planned - when I ordered he said he had just picked up a new batch from the company that sews the recon

 

[Allegheny Tom]

Yea, lol having a belt of some type was the main issue. Probably didn’t have a full understanding of Tom’s concept. I made a quick mod of a bungee I had available attaching one side around the one plate with a zip tie and the other side had the hook attached with a zip tie stopper that can be adjusted as Tom shows in his video.

I just set tension and hooked that side to the other plate. Somewhere in the process of resetting the tether it came unhooked and when I went to sit down it wasn’t anything to sit in. Talk about pucker factor!

But that why I was doing a practice climb to see what issues I may have.

Not being critical but offering some comments towards improvements. 1. I’m not a fan of the belt buckle design, a lightweight cobra type would be better. And maybe not integrated with the webbing plate. 2. And for those that use the leg strap, a snap buckle would be better. Currently there a pain to mess with.

Hooking the bungee on the plate is probably not the best place to hook. I have done it occasionally and it has popped off the plate. One thing that kept mine from sagging was the fact that even in the unhooked position, the bungee still had enough tension to not slip down.
I'm currently hooking back over to the other side to the loop in the bungee where it attaches with the permanent zip ties. It has never come unhooked there but I still think there is a better way. I want to try a small split ring on the bungee or a small D ring on my webbing yoke.
The point is there's a bunch of different ways to rig the bungee. Some ways work better than other ways, but the CONCEPT of the bungee is the key. It really is the best belt style for a sling.

And we did experiment with a webbing belt sewn directly to the webbing of the top section. I did not like that at all. It did not pull on the entire sling sections so the bottom was floppy. When the belt pulls on the plates, then ALL sections of webbing are pulled snug.

 

[KeithinPA]

I purchased my Recon and Platform three weeks ago - hoping to receive it prior to a hunting trip I have planned - when I ordered he said he had just picked up a new batch from the company that sews the recon

I'm not sure what to think about Treehopper anymore. I ordered my Recon October 4th with no real expectation of receiving it any time soon. After a month with no word I sent an email just asking for an update. I'm not pushing because I know what it's like this time of year for any of the saddle manufacturers but just wanted to hear that he has my order and it's coming at some point. After a week with no response I sent another email asking for an update and still have not heard back. Honestly, if you want to have a business you can at least return an email. There is no excuse for completely ignoring your customers. If I don't hear back by the end of the week, I'm cancelling payment and will buy a used one at some point. I don't understand people that want to start a business but have zero business sense.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

I'm not sure what to think about Treehopper anymore. I ordered my Recon October 4th with no real expectation of receiving it any time soon. After a month with no word I sent an email just asking for an update. I'm not pushing because I know what it's like this time of year for any of the saddle manufacturers but just wanted to hear that he has my order and it's coming at some point. After a week with no response I sent another email asking for an update and still have not heard back. Honestly, if you want to have a business you can at least return an email. There is no excuse for completely ignoring your customers. If I don't hear back by the end of the week, I'm cancelling payment and will buy a used one at some point. I don't understand people that want to start a business but have zero business sense.

Mark is basically a one man operation. He amazed me when we were tweaking the drill, designing the Recon, steps, treesuit, etc,etc. The guy just didn't stop and seemed to not even sleep at night.
He has young boys that seem like a handfull...just energetic boys.
I don't know how he kept up with all the demands. He was always INSTANLY responsive to my calls, texts etc and I just assumed it was because I was helping him...not really customer response.
But then I read the dozens of posts from guys saying how responsive he was to them. I realized that is just how he is...he's really concerned with customer satisfaction.
But lately, something seems to have changed. He and I no longer communicate so I have no idea what's going on with him. But something has changed. I hope its just a temporary glitch and he gets back to the excellent customer communication that he his famous for. I hope all is well with him. He's a good guy that has earned our business.

 

[mattsteg]

But lately, something seems to have changed. He and I no longer communicate so I have no idea what's going on with him. But something has changed. I hope its just a temporary glitch and he gets back to the excellent customer communication that he his famous for. I hope all is well with him. He's a good guy that has earned our business.

Well, there's only so far that you can carry that degree of responsiveness, and that's to the most uncomfortable, difficult scale of business - where you need to either stay smaller, or bring on help. Once you add help, that eats into profit, adds risk, etc. and sorta pushes you toward further scaling. A lot of the time people get trapped in a cycle where they're working twice as hard and taking twice as many risks for less income at that point. Hopefully things stabilize at a good spot for Mark (and treehopper).

 

[KeithinPA]

Mark is basically a one man operation. He amazed me when we were tweaking the drill, designing the Recon, steps, treesuit, etc,etc. The guy just didn't stop and seemed to not even sleep at night.
He has young boys that seem like a handfull...just energetic boys.
I don't know how he kept up with all the demands. He was always INSTANLY responsive to my calls, texts etc and I just assumed it was because I was helping him...not really customer response.
But then I read the dozens of posts from guys saying how responsive he was to them. I realized that is just how he is...he's really concerned with customer satisfaction.
But lately, something seems to have changed. He and I no longer communicate so I have no idea what's going on with him. But something has changed. I hope its just a temporary glitch and he gets back to the excellent customer communication that he his famous for. I hope all is well with him. He's a good guy that has earned our business.

Things happen and I get that but if he wants to have a business then he needs to respond to a simple email. I own a business myself and have worked 80+ hours a week for the past 8 years so I know of what I speak. You do what needs to be done or hire someone to help but you don't neglect your customers. If it's a hobby or part time then let everyone know and then we can decide if we want to deal with a part-timer or not but if this is your livelihood then you best treat it like one. I'm sure he's a great guy and hope all is well with him but I just choose not to deal with a company that can't or won't communicate.