Talking safety with respect to Saddle Hunting is very nuanced. Since we are a very small community, and haven't been around very long, I believe there is some grey area concerning safety in a Saddle.
What we generally do as a community is lean on the rock climbing & arborist safety guidelines since those most closely relate to what we do. However, that's not an exact science. It's also not a totally fair comparison because of the dynamic vs static nature of what we do in trees. Arborists are constantly moving around and using sharp heavy tools to trim/prune/remove the tree they're in. Rock climbers are very dynamic in their movements and are expecting to fall. Their gear is designed for this type of abuse.
As saddle hunters we're not dynamic at all and we never expect to fall. The most dynamic move I make in a tree is transitioning from my climbing method to my platform. And sometimes even that is as simple as making a step.
How do you guys think we should approach safety? Should we embrace overkill like rock climbers? Should we be OK with a reduced safety threshold? I realize there is no single right answer to the question. I'm interested in what you all think.
I'd like for this thread to be a calm discussion about safety. If you get out of control, I have no doubt Red will smack you back in line.
What we generally do as a community is lean on the rock climbing & arborist safety guidelines since those most closely relate to what we do. However, that's not an exact science. It's also not a totally fair comparison because of the dynamic vs static nature of what we do in trees. Arborists are constantly moving around and using sharp heavy tools to trim/prune/remove the tree they're in. Rock climbers are very dynamic in their movements and are expecting to fall. Their gear is designed for this type of abuse.
As saddle hunters we're not dynamic at all and we never expect to fall. The most dynamic move I make in a tree is transitioning from my climbing method to my platform. And sometimes even that is as simple as making a step.
How do you guys think we should approach safety? Should we embrace overkill like rock climbers? Should we be OK with a reduced safety threshold? I realize there is no single right answer to the question. I'm interested in what you all think.
I'd like for this thread to be a calm discussion about safety. If you get out of control, I have no doubt Red will smack you back in line.