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Safety

I feel safer than sitting in a loc on tree stand. I think there is some arguments to make that saddle hunting may not be safer. Mostly how guys are climbing with out any trained expert showing them how. Just some guy on the tube said..
I think a well inspected ladder stand can be just as safe if not safer.
I rate climbing up and down sticks in the dark high on the danger scale. Mostly for human error. But that same error could be related to a rappel malfunction, or device used incorrectly.
But you could say the same guy who is dangerous with a tree stand can be just as dangerous with a saddle.

But where saddle hunting will make you safer, is it makes more guys practice more.
 
Bottom line, I don't hunt from saddle to feel "safer". However, I think I am more safe saddle hunting than I was hunting from traditional tree stands simply because I'm always tied in. I can honestly say I never wore safety harnesses in my tree stand days so the saddle is automatically better in that regard. That said, I always felt very safe in my Summit climbers because I could adjust then so I was always leaning back into the tree trunk. I hated the traditional Loc On style stands because I always felt they were leaning away from the tree trying to throw me out. I tend to doze a bit in the tree so I want to be secure if I happen to fall asleep. I always felt like dozing in a Lok On was a quick ticket to a head first plunge to the ground.

If not for safety why do I saddle hunt? Primarily I saddle hunt because I like the stealth afforded by not having a stand on my back rattling around on brush as I walk in. I'm quieter accessing the tree and I actually prefer facing the tree (my primary Summit was the 180 and I sat facing the tree in it) when I'm hunting. I just think it gives me a lower profile being able to hide behind the trunk while observing around it.
 
I do. Having my weight into that rope all the time checks a box for me. A tree stand where my weight is only in that rope if I screwed up, no thank you.
 
MattMan81 said:
I feel safer than sitting in a loc on tree stand. I think there is some arguments to make that saddle hunting may not be safer. Mostly how guys are climbing with out any trained expert showing them how. Just some guy on the tube said..
I think a well inspected ladder stand can be just as safe if not safer.
I rate climbing up and down sticks in the dark high on the danger scale. Mostly for human error. But that same error could be related to a rappel malfunction, or device used incorrectly.
But you could say the same guy who is dangerous with a tree stand can be just as dangerous with a saddle.

But where saddle hunting will make you safer, is it makes more guys practice more.
Click to expand...
Statistically speaking, a ladder stand (even a well inspected one) is the least safe option of all….
Well shoot let me edit this. As of last year lock on stands have surpassed ladder stands and climbers as the most accidents. 31% of falls occurred from hang ons, 25% come from climbers and 25% come from ladder stands. “Other” fall types (which would include saddles) make up the other 19…. But that’s not saddle specific, as there are other strange hybrid elevated hunting styles as well as elevated blinds and “home made stands” in that category
 
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I think it's pretty safe all things considered. It feels safer and less cumbersome then hanging my hang on stand and then manuevering into it. There comes a point though when you either learn to trust your equipment or stay on the ground. You're much more likely to wreck your car driving to your hunting location than you are to fall out of a tree. You're more likely to hit your target buck with your car on the last day of the season during an eclipse than to fall out of a tree.
 
I’m the type if I’m hunting from a regular style of stand, especially a ladder style, I tend to not use any kind of fall restraint. Bad! I also teach hunter safety and statistically, our state has found that falls from elevated hunting are becoming more of an issue than shooting related incidents as they began tracking it since 2015 or thereabouts.

Personally, a saddle is assurance for me to continue to be attached to the tree, otherwise I will not be. Which again is not a smart practice.
 
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I feel safer in my climber, but that is largely just perception of having a larger platform and a metal railing around me. Using the climber, the first step after getting on the platform is to hook up my tether, and it stays hooked up until I'm ready to step off. I also feel safer in a full body harness, with the attachment point between my shoulders. I know I'll stay upright if something happens.

Climbing with my sticks to saddle hunt, I don't have the tether hooked up starting from the ground. That's why I'm trying to learn 2TC. And once I'm on my platform, it doesn't feel as safe because I look down and see nothing but air and limbs between me and the ground. I do also worry about turning upside down if something happened, since the attachment point is so much closer to my center of gravity.
 
New to saddles (three months) have mixed feeling on the safety of the saddle, for me the rub comes from relying on one rope and one friction knot or ascender with no back up if one would fail, as unlikely as that may be. As I have been putting my hours in practicing shooting out of my saddle am getting better about trusting my gear. Right now I use a back up tether and I feel pretty safe.
I feel less safe in my hang ons and never cared for the transition from the sticks to the stand or back, the most likely time to fall.
Even wearing a harness you will pay a price. In that regard I feel much better in a saddle. I can see where the saddle may replace my hang ons in the future.
Also, after spending time in the saddle facing away from the tree seems much less ideal.
I believe my Summit or similar climber is the safest, I have two pieces of support and a safety harness attached to a Treestand Wingman automatic controlled descent system.
But there is just something about facing the tree instead of facing away that just feels more reassuring.
 
I hunt from a saddle because

A:it allows me to be safe all the time.
B: I don’t want to leave obvious evidence for other hunters about where I’m hunting.
C: I don’t want to be forced to hunt from a couple pre determined trees.
D: I don’t wanna haul heavy metal in and out of the woods day after day.
 
I think it really depends on a lot of variables. Before I saddle hunted, I'd argue I was pretty safe using my climber and always wearing my safety harness up and down the tree. I was always tied in.

For me, I guess I don't feel any safer or less safe. Its just a different method of getting up a tree that comes with its own set of "rules" to do so safely. I am more cognizant of my gear now, inspecting it constantly and thinking about how to make things better/safer, etc.

I turned to one sticking a few years back and one of the big reasons, is always having a safe,controlled path back to the ground in the event something goes wrong. I do feel safer in that regard.

If saddles are making us safer, I think its because you really need to understand your gear, how to use it and honestly, I think more folks are practicing with it more often. It may be because we all look at what we're doing and it still seems kinda "nuts".. hanging from a rope... lol.
 
It isn't the main reason, but I do feel safer in a saddle. It's because you can't fall out of it and into your harness. I think most humans, even if you're wearing a harness and aren't especially afraid of heights, aren't like "yeah, that would be fine/fun, I 'm not worried at all now in my lizard brain regarding being 20 feet off the ground balancing on a little square of metal while the wind blows me around."

However, your lizard brain does recognize the comforting goodness of your butt cheeks being gently supported by fine American made textiles.

I didn't know why before, but after a long sit in a normal stand, I had a mental load/stress that was like "I need to get down from here." I think now that despite not being afraid of heights, I had to be vigilant the whole time not to fall off my stand. After 12 hours, it took a toll. I think everyone is afraid of heights to some degree, just like we should all be afraid of tigers in the same room with us (reasonable and not a phobia at that level).
 
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Being under tension on the rope is what is reassuring to me. It's not 100% why I switched to a saddle but is absolutely the reason I wont go back to hunting from a hang on with a traditional harness.

Just cause some of yall feel safe or safer in a climber, dont trust em without a tether. I have seen or know of summit's and API's breaking and the falls that ensued.
 
I'm scared of heights. Always have been. I have zero fear climbing and hunting from a saddle and I'm WAY more loose than most of y'all on here. If most of y'all watched me climb you'd pass out. I'm always connected, mind you. I just don't do the back ups for the back ups for the back ups.

As the good gentleman from A.R. Kansas stated, being under tension the entire time is what sets my mind at ease.
 
BrowningGuy88 said:
I’ve never felt safe in a climber because I never tied off and moved a tether like I should have.

I like the saddle because it will force me to tie in from the first step off the ground.
Click to expand...
Their are saddles hunters on this forum that do not tether in while they climb.
The decision to climb with a tether attached has nothing to do with how you hunt, saddle or stand.
 
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