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Recon Sling Revamp

Murph4028

Well-Known Member
Vendor Rep
Joined
Jan 2, 2019
Messages
1,489
Location
North Carolina
Couldn't resist. I added the recon sling to my arsenal a while back. Like the comfort of the Anderson style sling but wanted to add what I liked about other saddles I've had. I also wanted to make it walk in friendly. I always wear my saddle on entry. In stock form, it just wasn't happening. Here's what I added/changed:

1. Removed stock waist belt and added saddle type waist belt. The stock waist belt connected at the metal bridge connection. Made the sling feel weird while walking and did a poor job at holding the sling up. I sewed in 1 inch tubular nylon around the waist line, kept the stock metal hardware, and added webbing retainers.

2. Added thigh molle on the lower front portion of the sling mimicking the yarak molle. I used this a lot last season carrying sticks up the tree. It also doubles as leg strap attachment points.

3. Added sewn in leg straps and G hooks. The leg straps ride flat along the thigh instead of at an angle to prevent the nut crush effect. Helps keep the sling where I want it especially while climbing

4. Added rear adjustment straps with G hooks. The purpose of these is to cinch the sling together while walking. When in the tree I can loosen them or disconnect them all together so they don't inhibit the slings function.

I finished all this today and it feels like a whole different product. I will probably hunt out of this quite a bit this season.
 

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I'm really tempted to pick one up. However, I'm a tightwad who already has a perfectly good saddle. My hunting camp also needs repairs, so my season is in question anyway.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
I'm really tempted to pick one up. However, I'm a tightwad who already has a perfectly good saddle. My hunting camp also needs repairs, so my season is in question anyway.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

For 150 bucks it's a really good product. Really well built and the bridge options are nice. I just can't leave stuff alone.
 
Couldn't resist. I added the recon sling to my arsenal a while back. Like the comfort of the Anderson style sling but wanted to add what I liked about other saddles I've had. I also wanted to make it walk in friendly. I always wear my saddle on entry. In stock form, it just wasn't happening. Here's what I added/changed:

1. Removed stock waist belt and added saddle type waist belt. The stock waist belt connected at the metal bridge connection. Made the sling feel weird while walking and did a poor job at holding the sling up. I sewed in 1 inch tubular nylon around the waist line, kept the stock metal hardware, and added webbing retainers.

2. Added thigh molle on the lower front portion of the sling mimicking the yarak molle. I used this a lot last season carrying sticks up the tree. It also doubles as leg strap attachment points.

3. Added sewn in leg straps and G hooks. The leg straps ride flat along the thigh instead of at an angle to prevent the nut crush effect. Helps keep the sling where I want it especially while climbing

4. Added rear adjustment straps with G hooks. The purpose of these is to cinch the sling together while walking. When in the tree I can loosen them or disconnect them all together so they don't inhibit the slings function.

I finished all this today and it feels like a whole different product. I will probably hunt out of this quite a bit this season.
I got one too and was less than impressed. This will make a difference, thanks for sharing!
 
It's a sling thing! I am obviously biased toward slings and it brings me joy to see them get the attention they deserve with mods like these.. I especially like leg loops, nice job!

I was going to change out the molle around the top. I'm not a fan of what's there already so I was going to sew in a yarak molle system but with the amount of bartacks they have there I was afraid it would severely weaken the seatbelt webbing if I removed them all. The 1 inch sections are a pain to get some attachments through.
 
Now just a battle belt mod and amsteel adjustable bridge to top it off!!

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
7cd5f3d89379f894f750868b9f359efa.jpg
 
Now just a battle belt mod and amsteel adjustable bridge to top it off!!

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
7cd5f3d89379f894f750868b9f359efa.jpg
Curious about the benefits of a Battle Belt mod.

Also, is that a Ropeman1 on your Oplux tether? If so, is it working for you? I ditched mine because it was out of spec but I miss it, especially in the context of a not-so-adjustable bridge. Thought about going back to a thicker tether rope just to bring that little orange wiz kid back.
 
Curious about the benefits of a Battle Belt mod.

Also, is that a Ropeman1 on your Oplux tether? If so, is it working for you? I ditched mine because it was out of spec but I miss it, especially in the context of a not-so-adjustable bridge. Thought about going back to a thicker tether rope just to bring that little orange wiz kid back.
The recon does not hold weight well in pouches, so to set it up for my style, I need a firm waist belt. This is me testing the ropeman, I also have a jammy. I don't think I will use that ropeman, as it is out of spec. Thanks for catching that, I need to proof my posts better. That caribeener is gigantic though, so it does work.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
Couldn't resist. I added the recon sling to my arsenal a while back. Like the comfort of the Anderson style sling but wanted to add what I liked about other saddles I've had. I also wanted to make it walk in friendly. I always wear my saddle on entry. In stock form, it just wasn't happening. Here's what I added/changed:

1. Removed stock waist belt and added saddle type waist belt. The stock waist belt connected at the metal bridge connection. Made the sling feel weird while walking and did a poor job at holding the sling up. I sewed in 1 inch tubular nylon around the waist line, kept the stock metal hardware, and added webbing retainers.

2. Added thigh molle on the lower front portion of the sling mimicking the yarak molle. I used this a lot last season carrying sticks up the tree. It also doubles as leg strap attachment points.

3. Added sewn in leg straps and G hooks. The leg straps ride flat along the thigh instead of at an angle to prevent the nut crush effect. Helps keep the sling where I want it especially while climbing

4. Added rear adjustment straps with G hooks. The purpose of these is to cinch the sling together while walking. When in the tree I can loosen them or disconnect them all together so they don't inhibit the slings function.

I finished all this today and it feels like a whole different product. I will probably hunt out of this quite a bit this season.
Nice. You have addressed all of the issues I have noted with my recon. It’s awesome the way it is but with these mods I think it will work better for me. I’ll be working on these soon. Thanks for sharing
 
Nice work! I added a waist belt as well with cobra buckle. Still didn’t walk well but carried a load then. Added a diy adjustable amsteel bridge. “Stack” the bottom over top and between it and the waist belt I am loving it. Don’t have to loosen the waist belt to get comfortable in the tree. Did a different mod on the leg straps, similar to Bwhana’s on his later Wraptor but like the look of yours. Well done. This thing is a gem.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Nice. You have addressed all of the issues I have noted with my recon. It’s awesome the way it is but with these mods I think it will work better for me. I’ll be working on these soon. Thanks for sharing
So I added a belt to the top webbing (used zip ties to hold it in place temporarily to see how I liked it) and took the supplied belt device off. Didn’t work at all for me. I could carry more weight but without tension on the bridge connection all of the webbing fell and was a pain to reposition. Went back to the supplied belt device and it works better for me. I guess where the supplied belt locks the webbing at the bridge connection it makes it more like a saddle
 

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I switched the orientation of the webbing at the buckles. Simple 5 minute swap. It simply puts the lower section on the outside of the buckles opposed to the way Mark sends them. After doing the switch, the waist belt holds the sling around the hips much better when walking and carrying weight. It angles the buckles in a different manner making it even more comfortable than before.

 
Coolest Mods I think I've seen so far on the recon sling (any saddle for that matter). What part of NC are you in? When I pinch enough pennies and pick up the recon I will need you to mod mine up the same way.
 
I sewed in 1 inch tubular nylon around the waist line
Do you have a picture of this? Maybe some pics of the sling on a flat surface front and back side. I really like what you did and want to do similar if not the same to the recon I get.
 
After a couple of weeks hunting out of the Recon I can see where @Murph4028's mods make perfect sense. Especially the waist belt and the leg straps. Now I am going to have to learn to sew better. I like having my LB, tether, gear hanger and ROS in dump pouches. I found that for me that means cinching the stock belt and adding a bungee to the lineman's loops to support the weight so that it is not sagging. Getting the stock leg loops over heavy clothes means sitting down to put my sling on.
 
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