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Saddle as a safety harness. Who does it?

ChasingDinner

ChasingDinner

Active Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2019
Messages
178
How many of us use a saddle as a safety harness in a tree stand?
I’m not advocating for it or recommending it as that’s not what they are designed for, but I do it.

I have a beast stand paired with a phantom saddle mostly for the convenience of the climb, lineman’s loops and overall weight. Once on stand I keep the tether lower on the tree and the connection to my bridge on one side using a gear tie that’s just strong enough to hold it in place and easily break loose in the event of a fall. I also keep the adjustable bridge very snug.

Seems to work well for me, but honestly thinking about getting just a safety belt with dump pouch, lineman’s loops and a connection point on the rear for the tether (looking for options if that exists)

Occasionally I also saddle hunt on a platform.

Anyone else do something similar?
 
ChasingDinner said:
I’m not advocating for it or recommending it as that’s not what they are designed for, but I do it.

Seems to work well for me
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Work well in what way?

Climbing? Yea, tree saddles are great tools to help you climb.

But I don’t think that’s what you’re talking about. You’re talking about a safety harness. Which is meant to arrest a fall.

Given that that is the actual thing being discussed, does it work well for you?

How do you know?

By what metric are you judging it’s performance?
 
You ever stepped off a stand/platform with a safety harness on at 3 ft off ground with strap in back. The first thing that happens is it will smack your face into the tree, after that good luck getting back into stand or platform. There is no one system does it all flawless unless we hunt from the ground, so we just have to pick our poison and be very cautious.
 
gumby said:
You ever stepped off a stand/platform with a safety harness on at 3 ft off ground with strap in back. The first thing that happens is it will smack your face into the tree, after that good luck getting back into stand or platform. There is no one system does it all flawless unless we hunt from the ground, so we just have to pick our poison and be very cautious.
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I have. Also tested HSS harnesses, construction harnesses and plenty of climbing harnesses back when I was a climber.

Can’t say I’ve found a comfortable way to fall out of a tree on a static line. All seem equally bad to me.
 
ChasingDinner said:
I have. Also tested HSS harnesses, construction harnesses and plenty of climbing harnesses back when I was a climber.

Can’t say I’ve found a comfortable way to fall out of a tree on a static line. All seem equally bad to me.
Click to expand...

Again… not trying to tell people to do it my way. Just seeing who else does something similar in an effort to discuss.
 
I'd have to wonder what this would do to you if you actually fell at height when you're facing away from the tree. It's going to twist you hard unless the carabineer gets caught on the bridge/lineman's loop.
 
SNIPERBBB said:
I'd have to wonder what this would do to you if you actually fell at height when you're facing away from the tree. It's going to twist you hard unless the carabineer gets caught on the bridge/lineman's loop.
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It definitely spins you back to facing the tree. I should probably mention I run as little slack in the line as I can get away with and still turn side to side.
 
Why not just sell the saddle and buy the XOP renegade? For 100 it gives you both worlds..saddle if you want it, and harness when on stand.
 
If you're going to use a saddle as a safety harness why not just get a rock climbing harness... they're only like 50 bucks and are designed as a fall arrest
 
TooheyBirdie said:
If you're going to use a saddle as a safety harness why not just get a rock climbing harness... they're only like 50 bucks and are designed as a fall arrest
Click to expand...

I’m probably going to try a dryad harness since it has lineman’s loops and I think I can put my dump pouches on it. My rock harnesses do not.
 
To me falling from a stand is not the biggest issue, I can somewhat control that, getting back in the stand to get back on the ground or just getting on the ground quickly is my biggest concern.
 
gumby said:
To me falling from a stand is not the biggest issue, I can somewhat control that, getting back in the stand to get back on the ground or just getting on the ground quickly is my biggest concern.
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How do you control it?
 
I use my recon. I spin it to front or back depending on if im gonna hunt the stand as intended or saddle hunt from the stand
 
I’m swapping to a sit drag so I can wear a RCH I feel like if I do fall I can self right much easier. Just me. I know from working with the power company for 20+ years. I can get my self out of a bind even after mashing my junk. RCH allows me to sit too. Just my thoughts. I can’t bring myself to use a saddle as a safety device.
 
I've dont it a few times this season, mostly because the stands are there and my archon is more comfortable than any other stand I've been in. I hunt em just like if I'm saddle hunting usually, I actually feel safer that way than with a safety harness. I'd probably rather fall in a harness but i always keep the tether taught and only loosen it up to turn around. Generally if I'm doing that I use my rappel rope so I could drop down if I did fall.
 
MattMan81 said:
Why not just sell the saddle and buy the XOP renegade? For 100 it gives you both worlds..saddle if you want it, and harness when on stand.
Click to expand...
Was thinking about the xop renegade as well. I single stick and repel down
MattMan81 said:
Why not just sell the saddle and buy the XOP renegade? For 100 it gives you both worlds..saddle if you want it, and harness when on stand.
Click to expand...
I was thinking of the renegade myself. I single stick and rappel down. When/if I use a tree stand I think that might be the way I go. Keep my regular saddle for strictly saddle hunting. I also don't have a problem with the saddle as a safety device. I don't have much slack if any when I turn and sit on stand also self rescue doesn't get any easier then rappelling down.
 
ChasingDinner said:
I’m probably going to try a dryad harness since it has lineman’s loops and I think I can put my dump pouches on it. My rock harnesses do not.
Click to expand...
I put a Condor battle belt cover on my RCH. It just velcros around your waist belt so you don't have to thread anything through. Plus it has D-rings for suspenders.

condoroutdoor.com

Slim Battle Belt

A slimmer version of our Gen II Battle Belt designed for a lighter loadout and easier movement.
condoroutdoor.com condoroutdoor.com
 
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