Saddle as safety harness

[Dragsmack]

I am going to set up a couple ladder stands in addition to my saddle hunting and was wondering if I should just use my kestral or mantis as my safety harness. I was thinking that I would rig a lifeline with a prussik and clip it to my bridge via caribiner. My questions: is that safe? How would I recover from a fall once I am hanging?

 

[buckwalleye]

I posted the same question a while back. It was advised to me that the saddle and static rope is not designed for a fall situation. However, I looked up some YouTube videos where guys were using a rock climbing harness as a treestand "safety harness". To me, its the same concept as the saddle. Also the posters of the videos made a convincing argument that the rock harness is much safer in the event of a fall (as opposed to your typical 5 point harness that attaches in the upper back). That being said, I'm using my kestrel occasionally as a safety device for some hang on treestand sets that are still on my property. I have my tether about chin height, and my bridge kind of over my waist and under my arm out of the way. There is slight tension this way. Use this method at your own risk. Personally, I feel safe this way. I can't stand those 5 point harnesses the way they restrict pockets on your jacket and having straps across your chest. Search "rock climbing harness for hunting" in YouTube. It's a 4:48 video. Might explain things better for ya.

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[Travislsullivan]

use it the same way you would when you climb normally. set your sticks or whatnot after you set your ladder stand and then climb up and secure the top straps then you can transition into the stand and finish prepping and drop your safety line down, then shimmy back down the sticks.

 

[Jasper2]

I do it all the time and have simulated many falls to disprove all of the "what ifs" that people were unnecessarily concerned about. I've done this in both traditional harnesses and saddles.

Suffice to say that I will never use a traditional harness again! Regardless of what method I use to get elevated.

 

[noxninja]

The tether attached to my RCH is my safety harness. Not going back to the 5pt stuff. Way easier to recover in the advent of a fall using the RCH in my opinion. I have never felt safer!

 

[Jasper2]

The tether attached to my RCH is my safety harness. Not going back to the 5pt stuff. Way easier to recover in the advent of a fall using the RCH in my opinion. I have never felt safer!

This exactly! The only difference to me is the bridge on a saddle and even though they may not be built to withstand a 50' fall, I'm not concerned bc you shouldn't fall more than a couple feet anyway if you take the right precautions.