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Predator First Impression
- Thread starter ricky racer
- Start date
My guess is you did exactly what you're supposed to do. But with your weight pushing down on the post, it doesn't allow the platform to "slide" upward enough as it is camming over. You're essentially turning the points of the platform into a pry bar. A cast aluminum pry bar. Could be a casting defect, but I suspect It'll happen to a handful of folks.
In the effort to get things as light as possible, you're going to sacrifice some tolerance for overdoing things.
I played with it on the tree, and noticed I could definitely generate enough force to break it in this fashion. Best way to explain how to not do it is to transfer weight from foot on post to foot on platform - while letting the platform and post ride up some as it bites in. It took me a handful of tries to get it just right. If you're new at using platforms, I'd spend some time with it.
Easy fix is make it beefier but it comes at a cost. Personally I would be ok with a 4lb platform that's the same size but is beefed up in the areas that take the stress of the camming action.
In the effort to get things as light as possible, you're going to sacrifice some tolerance for overdoing things.
I played with it on the tree, and noticed I could definitely generate enough force to break it in this fashion. Best way to explain how to not do it is to transfer weight from foot on post to foot on platform - while letting the platform and post ride up some as it bites in. It took me a handful of tries to get it just right. If you're new at using platforms, I'd spend some time with it.
Easy fix is make it beefier but it comes at a cost. Personally I would be ok with a 4lb platform that's the same size but is beefed up in the areas that take the stress of the camming action.
Some pictures of the platform side by side with an assassin. You can see the differences in beef where it counts. Only thing I'd change on the assassin is essentially removing 4" from the width, and 3" from the length so it fit in a backpack. I liked the beef, and it would've put the weight around 3.5-4.5lbs. I think the predator can work, but I think it's going to take some care to get comfortable with it.
ricky racer
Well-Known Member
Wow!! Scary stuff. My concern with cast aluminum has always been is the possibility of sudden failure. When a platform made of steel or aluminum tubing has been over stressed, you will usually see deformation in it which indicates that the material is yielding and if you continue to use it, it will likely fail. Cast aluminum will not deform if over stressed it just fails with no indication. Each of the cast fingers making up the platform can then become little knives with serrated ends that can open you up like a scalpel. Even though you are wearing a linemen's belt or tether, the one or two foot drop can be season ending if the jagged ends of the cast platform open up your legs. I'm not sure I will be able to get past that image and trust the flexing platform.
If I weighed 150# I probably wouldn't worry a bit. Weighing 250 and with heavy winter clothing, boots and gear even more and knowing that the test platform failed at less than 600# with a controlled load applied to it, I wonder what might happen if I put all of my weight on one corner of it...
There are hundreds of posts on this site about the Ropeman 1 having a rating of "only 15Kn" which equates to 1-1/2 tons. I would feel much better about using the Predator if it had a 5x safety factor instead of <2x it's rated capacity even if it weighed twice what it does now.
If I weighed 150# I probably wouldn't worry a bit. Weighing 250 and with heavy winter clothing, boots and gear even more and knowing that the test platform failed at less than 600# with a controlled load applied to it, I wonder what might happen if I put all of my weight on one corner of it...
There are hundreds of posts on this site about the Ropeman 1 having a rating of "only 15Kn" which equates to 1-1/2 tons. I would feel much better about using the Predator if it had a 5x safety factor instead of <2x it's rated capacity even if it weighed twice what it does now.
Want to sell that assassin!
Sure, as soon as someone builds a cast platform with the same envelope as the predator, but twice as thick where it counts....
I gotta say I was really blown away at how light the Predator is when I first picked it up.
The pull test isn't taking into account the camming action. This puts stress on different areas of the platform. Curious to see if any testing was done on a scenario like that, or all the weight on one wing, etc.
I'm not saying I won't use the platform, but I've got some concerns to work through.
I am 250lbs and now a little concerned. Im back to Considering the Bullman Steps for my first platform. I often hunt several benches down deep on public land with no phone service. I have to be absolutely sure about the gear and this whole saddle hunting thing.
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I cammed it several times with a net weight of about 375 lbs. Well above the 300 lb weight limit. This was also on a prototype platform which wasn't as strong. You would need to jump on the platform during cam lock to generate enough force to break it that way. I'm scratching my head on this one. I know Ernie will figure it out.
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Twenty Up
Active Member
Just got my Predator today as well and I’m amazed at how light this stand is.
I’m curious as well if their testing included camming a stand over or if it was just static weight.
I’m curious as well if their testing included camming a stand over or if it was just static weight.
Did you cam it over with 200lbs or more standing on the top of the post when the teeth first register their bite? That's the concern I have right now. With all my weight on the post, I can start the edge of the platform down with my other foot and let it begin to dig in. Then put all my weight out on the edge. It almost has too good of a bite, and I believe I could break the point like fathead did. I had to pick it back up some and start over, and not push down quite as hard/far so that it could ride up some as it cammed over and grabbed.
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Got it. How did that test look? Did you hang weight from the post, or find some way to rest the weight on top of it?
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I put 150 lbs on my back and put the platform through its paces. Including cam locking.
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I did a little playing in the yard with mine and when on the tree it was rock solid I’m 255 and if you put all the weight on the end it had just a little flex that was without being in the saddle. When I was in my saddle I had zero movement or flex! I think they did a great job and I’m excited to hunt with it.
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It appears to me that the good news is that even though it snapped on the outside edge it didn't fully fail and drop away from the tree. Based on the picture it looks like you were at height when it broke and its still supporting at least some of your weight. Am I interpreting the picture right?
This is a good reinforcement of why we should always make sure we're tethered prior to stepping on the platform, any platform.
It didn't do anything scary at all. It didn't even move, the corner just broke away. I was tethered in when I was on it and it didn't even make me nervous, just disappointed that it snapped. By the way, I'm probably 185 with everything I had on at the time, I'm prob not considered a "Heavy weight" by the saddle hunter crew standards.