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Prusik Knots are There for a Reason or Newbie Lesson Learned

J

JoeF

New Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2020
Messages
1
Location
Northern Virginia
So after waiting a few months, my first saddle (AeroHunter Merllin) was finally delivered over the weekend. I spent a few days getting used to the fit and feel of it and trying it out on the ground. Totally love it and cannot get over how light weight and comfortable it is.

Tonight I decided to try it out at about 5' high in my backyard to see how it works. Set up and a single stick and a platform and climbed away. I transitioned from the lineman's belt to the bridge. I wrapped the tree tether twice around the tree, but it never dawned on me that the prusik knot on the tree tether was not only for safety but so that I could also adjust the length of it (stupid I know). Since I wasn't going up that high, I didn't wear knee pads. While settling in, the tether was a bit longer than it should have been and I ended up leaning a bit to far, loosing my balance and going for a little ride around the tree.

I learned a few valuable lessons:

1. Always wear kneepads;
2. Adjust the tree tether length as well as the bridge length.
3. Tree saddles are safe. There was no "fall" since the saddle already bore my weight the whole time. I just got a little bit closer to the wrong end of the tree sideways. Other than a skinned knee, I was totally fine.

I sorted myself out and got back up. No issues. I'm amazed at how comfortable a saddle is as well as how secure it feels. Also, the visibility is amazing. I feel like I can shoot 360 degrees with now with no issues.

Enjoy!

Joe
 
Glad your alright, sounds like you already learned one of the first rules of transition from LB to tether. Both are weighted & ease off on the LB until tether has your full weight. You will notice real quick if your prussic on the tether isn’t at the right height ( somewhere in front of your face)
 
Congrats on your first saddle. It seems like I learn something new every time I put mine on. You have come to the right place to learn though. Tons of info on here.
 
I took a ride at ground level when I first started too, better than doing it 25’ up in a tree and scaring the bajeezus out of myself.

Good on you for being safe and smart!
 
JoeF said:
So after waiting a few months, my first saddle (AeroHunter Merllin) was finally delivered over the weekend. I spent a few days getting used to the fit and feel of it and trying it out on the ground. Totally love it and cannot get over how light weight and comfortable it is.

Tonight I decided to try it out at about 5' high in my backyard to see how it works. Set up and a single stick and a platform and climbed away. I transitioned from the lineman's belt to the bridge. I wrapped the tree tether twice around the tree, but it never dawned on me that the prusik knot on the tree tether was not only for safety but so that I could also adjust the length of it (stupid I know). Since I wasn't going up that high, I didn't wear knee pads. While settling in, the tether was a bit longer than it should have been and I ended up leaning a bit to far, loosing my balance and going for a little ride around the tree.

I learned a few valuable lessons:

1. Always wear kneepads;
2. Adjust the tree tether length as well as the bridge length.
3. Tree saddles are safe. There was no "fall" since the saddle already bore my weight the whole time. I just got a little bit closer to the wrong end of the tree sideways. Other than a skinned knee, I was totally fine.

I sorted myself out and got back up. No issues. I'm amazed at how comfortable a saddle is as well as how secure it feels. Also, the visibility is amazing. I feel like I can shoot 360 degrees with now with no issues.

Enjoy!

Joe
Click to expand...
Glad you elected to familiarize yourself the safe way and you weren't injured. Read up on this site as there is an abundance of really good information here. Be Safe!
 
I plan on doing A LOT of saddle test hangs and working out all the bugs as close to ground level as hanging a platform will allow before I even think of going higher.
Three years ago I was giving all my hang on treestands their annual yearly beginning of deer season inspection. Each year after bow season ends before I put my hang on's away for the year I 100% clean and inspect them all and store them in my attic where it is temp controlled and very low humidity. I was happy I found no issues with any of them.
Then about 1st or 2nd weekend in March I pull them all out and one by one go over each one with a headlamp and 5x magnifier inspect all critical areas and parts of every stand. Once that is done I hang every one as close to the ground as I can, get on it and move about testing it for issues or if it makes any noises that could indicate a structural problem or could spook a dear. Once I done inpecting and they all pass I give them a coat of flat gray Rustolium paint and leave them to air out and de-odor while hanging under the overhang of the roof of my garage on the side with no door or windows until its time to hang them.

Stand number three made a very unusual never before heard noise when I put all my weight on the left side. I looked once again inspected the stand and somehow the left steel cable that holds up the platform had gotten a kink in it and my weight caused it to make a loud clicking noise and a single strand broke. I ended up replacing both cables with new ones as I have the same type of cable, cable compression clamps and a compression tool just for this purpose.
I told my friends who are all hunters what had happened and I was quite shocked when most told me they do not inspect their stands unless there is a reason to. I figured any hunter who uses a hang on stand would inspect them at least before using them every year.
 
This is a GOOD thing! It’s the best way to learn. Also, it gives you major confidence in how safe you really are now. Plus it demonstrates how easy it is to recover compared to your typical safety harness.
 
Switching to a saddle is saving me a ton of money.... My yearly hang on inspection involved sand blasting down to bare metal and then x-ray all the welds and finally repowdercoat....

Hahaha...jk
Everybody inspection routine will be different..... important thing is to not get complacent
 
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