Ok, so here I go...big time! Newbie review of the Tethrd Phantom, Drayd Drey LL, Trophyline Covert Pro, & Overwatch Outdoors Transformer

[TradBowGuy]

NOTE- TO FIND MY REVIEWS, SCROLL DOWN UNTIL YOU SEE MY AVATAR AGAIN-THOSE POSTS WILL CONTAIN MY REVIEW AND ANY RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN ASKED SINCE THE LAST REVIEW. AS I RECEIVE ADDITIONAL SADDLES, I'LL CHANGE THIS POST'S TITLE TO INCLUDE THEM.

Let me start by saying that my favorite way to hunt whitetails is from the ground, with one of my trad bows. "Win or lose," (and most of the time it's "lose," because I'm so darn picky, and/or they're so darn smart, ) there's nothing more thrilling for me than matching wits with a whitetail at eye level. I have my ground-hunting system down, which includes a Waldrop PacSeat, Badlands Monster pack, and a dry bag for extra clothes.

That being stated, I do recognize the value of elevated hunting. So I also have a TreeWalker climbing stand, which I LOVE, because that thing is like sitting in a Lazy Boy recliner- It's definitely my "Elevated, all-day-sit" choice of gear. It'll probably be the only tree stand that I'll own.

But, one of the properties that I am allowed to hunt in annually is a sweet 110 acre old farm, with food plots, tall hardwoods, and plenty of areas of thick briars with trees that are difficult to even put a hanging tree stand in, which is ok with me, as I've never been a fan of those. For me, the platforms are too small, & the seats are too uncomfortable for more than a 2-3 hour sit.

I started thinking about a saddle 4 years ago. The problem was, back then I weighed 320 lbs, and had struggled for years to lose weight. I finally realized that I needed help, so I took the plunge and got weight reduction surgery. I went down to 200 lb in the 7 months following the surgery, and since then (Sep 2017) have regularly cycled between 200-210 lb. I changed my diet, started more exercising, and so far, so good. A bonus was that my wife told me to buy new hunting clothes, so now I have a fine First Lite collection (collected over the last 4 years, most of it coming from birthday, Father's day, & Xmas gifts.)

I had been practicing climbing and getting familiar with ropes/carabiners etc. with a climbing harness that I bought a couple years back to trim trees in our 1 wooded acre of heaven in southern Lancaster County, PA.

So, I decided that "it's saddle time." I went a little crazy, since I'd been $aving for 4 years, so I bought 3 types that I consider to be different enough to try & see which one I like better. I hope that each will find it's "spot in the rotation," depending on where I'm going and for how long.

The first one arrived today-Tetherd Phantom, Predator XL platform & case, pouches, ropes, MVP back support, & a couple other goodies. The 2nd one arrives on Monday-Dryad Drey LL, and the 3rd sometime in Nov- JX3.

I also decided to go with Bullman's Silent approach steps- I've read alot of good & bad about them, but so far I have to say that they're working fine for me, right out of the box. I currently have some around a tree in our front woods area, & use them to practice climbing & practice with my bow.

As I go thru this process, I'll give some updates on the saddles & how I think they compare. These will be my opinions, and we all know what those are like...and coming from someone with little experience in saddle hunting, you can take them for what they're worth!

Good luck to all & stay safe this season!

 

[england_brent]

Congrats on the weight loss. I’m in the 300 to 310 range myself and have considered having surgery because I can’t seem to get past 280 before things fall apart. I bought a JX3 this week and got in it for the first time today. I know there is a learning curve, but it already seems like it is going to be comfortable even if it is a little bit more restrictive than a traditional saddle. I’m looking forward to your reports on the other two saddles.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Razorbak66]

Congrats on the weight loss it’s a hard thing to do but once your where you want it to be it will be easier to maintain with proper diet and conditioning and the saddle will play big time in your success especially with with a stick bow ( my first choice personally) your gonna love the method and before you know it your gonna be one sticking and be more mobile in your approach to kill some hood deer

 

[sweats]

Congratulations on your weight loss.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[131north]

I feel much healthier and active since I switched to the saddle. Welcome to the site! Now instead of walking that extra 120 pounds out on 2 legs you can drag it out by the horns!

 

[TradBowGuy]

Ok- here are my initial thoughts on the Phantom:

I have the "luxury" of having an unfinished basement. Half of it is my Man Cave, containing my work shop and hunting gear, and half belongs to the REAL BOSS, where she has her cooking gadgets and seasonal house decorations, as well as a bunch of junk she insists on saving that belongs to our kids

The house is supported by a main "I" beam of steel, with poles spaced evenly supporting the beam. So, I hooked up a tether to one of the beams, and traced the outline of the Predator XL platform on the concrete at the base of the beam-I figured that would be a good way to try out the harness in fairly realistic conditions, and still keep it in "like new" condition in case I decided to return it. It's not exactly like a tree, of course, but for me , it's good enough to get an initial "feel" to see if the saddle is comfortable enough for me to stay still.

This is the best I can do for now, as during this time of the year, I'm at work by 05:30, and don't get home until 19:00, well after dark. After a work day like that, I'm not interested in fumbling around in the dark at a real tree!

Construction-VERY well made. I have NO concerns regarding a catastrophic failure of the saddle. Some may think, "no kidding-ALL saddles are made like that," but as I've grown older, I find myself being more nervous about hunting at heights-that's why I use a Treestand Wingman for my treestand setup, and intend to use it with a saddle as well, just in case.

Fit- not so good, at least for me. The fit around the waist is fine, but the seat isn't "deep" enough for me. With the waist belt cinched slightly above, or at the belt line, the seat doesn't give me the support I'm looking for when I hang from the tether-in other words, it doesn't make it to the seam between my butt and legs unless I move the waist belt down to run across the "family jewels." (I actually want a seat that runs a little past that point.) I have varied the bridge length and carabiner height extensively to see if that would fix it, but my conclusion is that my butt is probably too "long" (when measured "hips to legs") for the "depth" of this saddle. Just for the merry old heck of it, I measured the distance between my underwear waistband, and the seam between my butt & legs, and came up with 9.75". I'm 6' 2", 204 lb, and have a 35" inseam, and a 34" waist, 59 yrs young, if that helps anyone...

Also, I noticed significant pressure on the sides of my upper legs-right before they go into the hip joint. This was felt with the bridge FULLY EXTENDED, which gave me the widest "spread" between the bridge attachment points. When I shortened the bridge, the pressure & pain got worse. Just hanging there, I had to stand in the outline of the platform and adjust the saddle to relieve the pressure & pain about every 7-10 minutes over a half hour hang. I personally don't want to have to move that much when I'm up in a tree.

I had also ordered a Tethrd MVP (Back support,) and did get some relief (by being able to fully relax my legs) when I moved that down below the saddle to support the legs (under my upper thighs,) but the pressure & pain at the sides of my upper legs remained.

Side note- I HIGHLY recommend a back support-If i decide to keep a saddle, the Tethrd MVP will be staying with me.

As a comparison, I can stay completely motionless when hunting on the ground in my Waldrop PacSeat for over 2 hours, so that's kinda like my standard-I know that unless I'm in my TreeWalker treestand, I won't be able to match that, but having to adjust position to relieve pressure & pain as often as I had to while hanging in the Phantom just isn't for me.

To say that I'm disappointed would be correct, because I really wanted to fall in love with this saddle.

Another side note-as I was hanging from the pole in my basement, I decided to grab one of my recurves (62" Black Widow PSA X) and practice drawing the bow from different positions. When I was practicing last week with my climbing harness, I always drew the bow by having my draw arm (right arm) OVER the bridge and tether. I discovered tonight that I can draw the bow in several spots by keeping my draw arm UNDER the bridge and tether, and in certain positions, it's actually more comfortable to draw this way, and there's no risk of the string hitting anything on the release. That's what I found for me- you may find out differently.

So I did more research on this forum, and looked at the Trophyline Covert and the Cruzr XC. Since I'm already into significant $ on this experiment, and Trophyline is located in PA, (so am I,) I decided to order a Trophyline Covert Pro first. The seat on that saddle looks much "deeper" than the Phantom, and at least in the online photos, the seats of the Covert and XC look to be approximately the same, so I'm thinking it might give me the fit that I'm looking for.

I just received a shipping notice- the Covert will be here on Sat.

If the Covert gives me the fit I'm looking for, the Phantom will be returned. If not, I may order an XC, but I'll get the Dryad Drey LL on Monday, so we'll see how that goes.

BOTTOM LINE- is the Phantom a "good" saddle? I ABSOLUTELY believe that it is. In my opinion, it is a very high quality item. It just doesn't seem to fit me-or more accurately, it doesn't provide the fit that I'm personally looking for in a saddle, and it's possible at this point that the fit I'm looking for in a "standard design" saddle may be unachievable-for me.

Right now, if I were to predict how this will go, I'd be betting that I'll kep the Dryad & JX3, & return the others....we'll see!

Stay tuned!

 

[Razorbak66]

You might find a 2 panel design like my favorite the transformer by @JCLINE84 might fit better for you highly adjustable for seat depth and basically built in back support finding comfort is a personal thing but I personally find the 2 panel designs are my comfort vs the single panels as a lot of them don’t have the depth I need

 

[1simplemann]

Welcome to the saddle hunting rabbit hole! LOL The search for the "perfect" saddle will continue to go on. The Phantom is a good saddle but not for everyone. I like it for short hunts and pre-setting up trees. I have a Transformer . Very well made. Very comfy. However there are some little things I already would like to change about it. I've been thinking about trying the Latitude Method 2. That one seems to address some of the issues that I dislike about the Transformer.

 

[BriarJumper]

Welcome to the saddle hunting rabbit hole! LOL The search for the "perfect" saddle will continue to go on. The Phantom is a good saddle but not for everyone. I like it for short hunts and pre-setting up trees. I have a Transformer . Very well made. Very comfy. However there are some little things I already would like to change about it. I've been thinking about trying the Latitude Method 2. That one seems to address some of the issues that I dislike about the Transformer.

Can you elaborate on little things you would change and how the LM2 would fix that? I have an LM1, RECON and Kite, and have looked at the Transformer but I also have some little things I would like changed. In search of the golden ticket. Hopeful that community input will help to change a product that I would prefer on my next replacement.

 

[1simplemann]

Your in search of the Golden Ticket. We all are. That's why there are so many options. Anyway To be fair, I have a proto type. Some of the issues have been addressed. The quality and construction are TOP notch. It built tough and made to last which IMO is a huge plus. The comfort is awesome. I haven't tried it yet but I really like the metal less design of the Method 2. Very simple and quiet. My waist belt is hard to tighten while wearing. I also like the ability to stack the panels while walking in. The magnet idea is pretty slick too. On mine, you can't stack them and I feel like I'm wearing a diaper walking in. Once I get in the tree however I have all day comfort.

 

[TradBowGuy]

OK, so here we go...

Note- my personal dimensions are 6' 2", 204 lb, 34" waist, 35" inseam, and 59 years young!

I received the Drayd Drey LL and the Trophyline Covert Pro. So, it was time to play again!

First up was the Drey:
Just like the Phantom, quality and construction is first rate-no issues there. So, down to the basement I went. Opened the box for the Drey, read the instructions, put it on, & hooked up to my steel pole in the basement. WHAT A DIFFERENCE between the Drey and the Tethrd Phantom!

When using the Phantom, I just couldn't get comfortable, no matter how much I adjusted the bridge height, or slid the saddle down my body to get it to better cradle my butt & upper legs. With the Drey, I noticed some discomfort in my hips when hanging from the belt alone, but once I deployed the hammock and slightly released tension on the belt, ALL DISCOMFORT was completely gone. To be clear, I did not disconnect the belt bridge strap from the carabiner, but instead "eased" it out a little bit so that it was firm, but not tight-in that configuration, the hammock was supporting more of my weight than the belt, and I thought that if the hammock had some kind of catastrophic failure, I'd drop about 1/4 to 1/2 inches at the most before the safety line attached to the belt went tight.

I then started to play around with the hammock, expanding it to my knees in a sitting position, "bunching" it up to achieve a leaning position, etc. I felt NO "pressure points" on my hips or back, but did experience some pressure on my legs, just above the knees, which made sense to me, because the hammock "gathered" at that spot. This pressure was relieved by lowering the carabiner ( or lengthening the hammock bridge) even further to widen the space on the hammock.

HERE IS WHY I'M DEFINITELY KEEPING THE DREY:

I saw a YouTube Video where the guy pulled the hammock up over his head and was completely covered except for his legs-he called it "Cocoon Mode." I figured I'd try it.

Now, keep in mind that I have been working straight 12 hour shifts with no days off since Oct 24, so I was kinda tired...

I fell asleep in that position for approximately 1 hour. I happened to check my phone before I zonked out because I got a text from my daughter right before I pulled the hammock over my head, so I knew approximately when I fell asleep, and when I woke up and realized what had happened, I grabbed my phone again. It was 90 minutes later, so not knowing exactly when I dozed off, I'll make a conservative estimate that it was 60-70 min. During that time, I didn't move, and wasn't awakened by pain or pressure. I just hung there, in a sitting position, sleeping. The only reason that I woke up was that one of our cats jumped up on the chest freezer (next to the basement pole I was hanging from,) then walked up my legs and laid down on my chest!

Next up was the Trophyline Covert Pro:

This thing is built like a tank! Heavy-duty everything, from straps/buckles, seat material, bridge rope, etc. Absolutely no issues there.

The support in the Covert is WAY BETTER than the Phantom, for my body shape, but doesn't match the Drey. I believe that the reason for that is this: I measured the width of the Phantom seat at it's widest point, which is from the top center (back side) of the waist belt to the bottom center of the seat. The length on the Phantom was 10.5 in. The same length on the Covert was 14.75 in. To me, that means that the Covert has a much "deeper" seat than the Phantom.

Hanging from the Covert was comfortable, but unlike the Drey, there is no back support, so after a while, that was a problem for me. Once I used the Tethrd MVP (back support strap) that I bought with the Phantom, that problem was solved, but unlike the Drey, there was still some pressure around my sides in the upper back area due to the fact that the MVP is basically a wide strap, that only can distribute the weight over a limited area, (i.e.-a "stripe" across my back,) whereas the Drey is a hammock that distributes the weight over a much larger area (my entire back.)

The downside of the Covert-because it's built like a tank, all of the straps are somewhat difficult to adjust. The easiest ones to move were the leg straps- the waist belt was a little stubborn, and the straps on the bottom sides of the harness (surrounding each leg) had to be loosened before I was hanging, and couldn't be tightened even while standing with no pull on the harness. That's not a "show-stopper" for me, as I left those straps slack, so as not to put additional pressure on the sides of my legs.

In my opinion, both saddles are high quality items, and you couldn't really go wrong with either of them, as long as it gives you the fit & comfort that you're looking for. At this point, after trying 3 different saddles, I'm convinced that for me, hanging from a saddle will not be as comfortable as sitting in a a tree stand, but it does fill a niche in the "toolbox" for certain situations.

On a recommendation from Razorbak66, I ordered a Transformer saddle, which is a 2 panel configuration. I'll get it this Friday or Saturday, & I'll be interested to see how it compares to the Covert. In any case, The Phantom was returned-it's just not for me.


Stay tuned!!

 

[TradBowGuy]

Ok so here we go...

I received the Transformer 2-panel saddle today, so down to the basement I went after work!

As with all saddles, construction was first rate-no issues there. Waist belt and leg straps were fairly easy to adjust, and the additional paddle straps were EXTREMELY easy to adjust, especially since they're behind you and below the waist, but held position where I set them-a nice feature, at least for me. Raptor buckles on the waist belt & leg straps were easy to connect/disconnect.

So, I clipped onto the tether on my basement pole and started a hang. It was a MAJOR difference from the Trophyline, with the added benefit of being able to move the lower saddle to half way between my hips and knees, with more lengthening possible. At first there was some side pressure on my legs while sitting, but once I lengthened the bridge/tether carabiner, that pressure was gone.

I liked the Transformer so much , that the Trophyline Covert Pro is being returned. Don't get me wrong-it's another great saddle IMO, but the Transformer gives me the fit I'm looking for in what I consider to be a "traditional style" saddle.

Does the comfort of the Transformer match the Dryad Drey? For me, no-the Drey is WAY more comfortable. Using my Tethrd MVP back support strap with the Transformer, I could get very good back support and seat/leg support, but again, there was some pressure on my sides where the strap was, and the support was not even close to the Drey.

I won't get the JX3 until late Nov or sometime in Dec at the earliest, so the decision that I have to make is if I'll keep the Transformer, or send it back-I'll probably end up keeping it and swapping between it and the Drey depending on how long I'll be hanging...

Stay Tuned!

 

[Razorbak66]

More you sit in the transformer your gonna love it and if you move the top panel up further and the lower panel up some you got a built in back band and you might find after using it a little your gonna be more of a leaner vs a sitter. I find that leaning is more comfortable and if I need to I straddle the tree and sit. You want the belt to be little loose so you can easily adjust between sitting and leaning

 

[GeoFish]

Thanks for the post. I also have a Dryad. The falling asleep part almost happened to me a couple days ago.
Can you tell me more about the wingman?