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Official " Tethrd Mantis " Review Thread!

Aeds151 said:
Definitely skip those classes


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It cups me perfectly. Some pinch on my hips but nothing like I was expecting. Need to play with tether height a bit to find what I like.

Hanging in it now with the predator. Might need some more wax. Can hear a slight pop if I move my weight around in the right direction. Nothing major and probably nothing to worry about since I’m really listening close for it.



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Peterk1234 said:
It looks great
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Fixed it for ya. I knew what you really wanted to say.

I promise it’s a one time thing. I’ll go back to posting pictures of my size 14 “personal floatation device” crocs


And since this is the mantis review thread, I’ll give my review after hanging in it for 30 minutes. It. Is. Awesome.

Very secure, and honestly a lot of fun to hang in and see what my shot angles will look like. Gonna need more time in it and some practice shooting, but I think it’s winner. And I also think I’m sold on saddle hunting as well. Which is awesome for everything except my wallet.

So @Erniepower and @g2outdoors , thanks, you just got another guy hanging in a saddle.


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ImThere said:
Jesus is everyone a foot taller than me? Good grief! In California I was average height. Here I’m almost always the shortest person in the room! What the heck is in the water?


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ImThere said:
Jesus is everyone a foot taller than me? Good grief! In California I was average height. Here I’m almost always the shortest person in the room! What the heck is in the water?


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Down here in the South, we call it cornbread and collard greens!
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Alright, at the rock of looking like a complete idiot, I just couldn’t not share.

After watching Dave’s review on his mantis, I realized I’ve been using mine wrong. Haha.

When I first got my mantis, I used the straps on the bottom and hooked on the loops on the waste belt and thought they were slack adjusters instead of leg straps. I had no idea I was using them improperly until I saw his review.

I just can’t help but wonder if I’m the first to do this.


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I have spent the last few mornings and nights in my mantis and here’s what I’m finding:

It is more comfortable than my sitdrag/rch combo for sure but it is not without issue. A combination of the netting stretching and the bridge not sliding along the side loops let’s ya really feel the top or bottom strap. It can be fixed by sliding the amsteel bridge up or down the side loops. It’s a simple adjustment but one I’m not used to making.

I have never used an amsteel bridge. Welcome to 2018! It is fabulous. I like that the burry’s leave a little “detent” in the center of the bridge when rotating. I thought I would hate that part and is why I never made one. I was wrong. I will have to shorten it a little though.

I like the leg straps in the bottom position for sure.

I’m not sold on the metal buckle.

Overall, I am pretty happy with it. I shot a doe in it this morning. Grip n’ grins coming tomorrow for teem 9.
 
DanielB89 said:
Alright, at the rock of looking like a complete idiot, I just couldn’t not share.

After watching Dave’s review on his mantis, I realized I’ve been using mine wrong. Haha.

When I first got my mantis, I used the straps on the bottom and hooked on the loops on the waste belt and thought they were slack adjusters instead of leg straps. I had no idea I was using them improperly until I saw his review.

I just can’t help but wonder if I’m the first to do this.


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Well, I wouldn't call them slack adjusters, but it sounds like you did have the leg straps connected correctly. There are two attachment point options. The loops on the waistband, and the loops on the butt strap. So, you weren't doing anything dumb. Here's what the straps look like hooked up in each way.20180914_124308-1.jpg20180914_124200-1.jpg
 
ahhh!! I like them 100x more on the top attachment. Maybe I didn't pay much attention to Dave's review. lol. I just know that when I saw one of the attachment points was on the bottom, I knew i had done the opposite. lol
 
Received my Mantis yesterday. Only hung in it a few minutes but so far it is a big thumbs up! I like the leg straps much better than my Kestrel. And that the linesman belt loops are much farther forward. @g2outdoors @Erniepower Way to go guys!
Edit: I should add this. At this point the only thing I can compare to is my Kestrel. I can't say it is more comfortable as the kestrel was comfortable for me. Packability is better as well as it will "wear" better while hiking. The leg strap angle. Is a definite improvement for me.
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Finally got to field test the Mantis, predator, and tethrd linemans belt and tree strap.

After a bit of a rusty start with all of my mobile gear (took my way to long to get setup, lol) I spent 4~ hours dangling from my mantis yesterday on public land. What better way to test something than trial by fire?

I was surprisingly comfortable the whole sit. No hip pinch or pressure points in unwelcome areas. I did notice that the bottom of the saddle felt a little tight around the tush but not uncomfortably so, just a little snug. I believe this was more due to tether height, tree angle, and possibly bridge length. I may re-tie the stock bridge 4-6" shorter. All things considered this may be the most comfortable saddle i've hunted out of to date.

I found putting it on/off to be a relatively quiet affair wearing full hunting gear, whereas with my kestrel there was always fear of the large metal buckles clanging off something. The leg straps are very nicely done, and can be fastened silently and easily. The only noise comes from the waist buckle, which allow for a couple metallic clicks when you're snapping/unsnapping it. This too can be remedied if you just go slowly as to avoid aggressive metal-on-metal contact.

Packing it in and out of the hunt was a dream as the entire bare XL saddle package packs down slightly larger than a softball. I snugged it alongside the other gear I hauled in my horn hunter full curl combo frame and I barely noticed the weight.

After i've put a few more sits in i'll chime back in with some additional thoughts. But for now color me impressed!
 
Solid review man!! You touched on several key features of the mantis and after playing in mine that just came in I felt the same way. The uncomfortability you mentioned was probably due to tether height or bridge length if your not used to it. Thats an easy fix well done man!!
 
Well, after using the new Mantis for a couple hunts I decided it needed something to hold the linesmans loops where I could find them a little better in the dark. I was having a hard time clipping in with my pack straps and WE bag hanging right where the loops are. This little S-biner that doubles as one of my gear hooks works pretty well, the loop stands right out for me to clip in and the bridge loops don't drop down and flop around when I walk, should make it nice for wearing it to the stand. I haven't climbed with it yet but it sure seems comfortable so far.
I also used a couple of small gear ties to keep the slack on the leg straps managed, it'll do for now but I'm sure there's a better option.
So far I really like this thing but I think I'm going to try to adjust the bridge, it seems pretty long for my liking. Maybe some tubular webbing to figure out the length I prefer and then change the amsteel length?
mantis bridge keeper.JPGmantis strap keepers.JPG
 
I sat in my L Mantis for the first time the other night. About a 4 hour sit and honestly found it to be rather uncomfortable just around the top. Felt like it was digging into me. Never felt that from my kestrel. Had tether at eye level. Gonna try lowering it and hope that goes away. I do love the weight and packability but that's not worth comfort. Gonna mess around with a few things and see how it feels.
 
Cory T said:
I sat in my L Mantis for the first time the other night. About a 4 hour sit and honestly found it to be rather uncomfortable just around the top. Felt like it was digging into me. Never felt that from my kestrel. Had tether at eye level. Gonna try lowering it and hope that goes away. I do love the weight and packability but that's not worth comfort. Gonna mess around with a few things and see how it feels.
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Good luck, I recommend people start low(mid chest) and tight to the tree with your tether so they are standing up. Then move up and slowly let out until you find your happy spot. I think it's too easy to stop before you get to real comfort if you go the other way.

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BCHunter said:
Good luck, I recommend people start low(mid chest) and tight to the tree with your tether so they are standing up. Then move up and slowly let out until you find your happy spot. I think it's too easy to stop before you get to real comfort if you go the other way.

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Good tip!
 
Cory T said:
I sat in my L Mantis for the first time the other night. About a 4 hour sit and honestly found it to be rather uncomfortable just around the top. Felt like it was digging into me. Never felt that from my kestrel. Had tether at eye level. Gonna try lowering it and hope that goes away. I do love the weight and packability but that's not worth comfort. Gonna mess around with a few things and see how it feels.
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Did you have the leg straps attached at the waist or the back leg loops?
If you have it on the waist it won’t be very comfortable, you really need to dial in the tension on them so it’s got equal pressure across the whole saddle. At least that’s what works for me.
Maybe those adjusters will fix it too, can’t wait to have the whole system to work with.
Keep at it and good luck hunting.



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