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Slings and MORE from Treehopper

bj139 said:
Isn't hip pinch controlled by alternate sitting / leaning / standing?
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To an extent but there are other ingredients. Tether height, bridge length and even clothing has a lot to do with it. Pants with thick seams, pocket rivets, and extra crap can create pressure points. Saddles are one piece. You can either pull it down or pull it up but you can't simultaneously do both, so there is often a sacrifice and compromise in where the thing sits on your body where it won't cause pressure somewhere on your body.
 
Allegheny Tom said:
Was your Anderson the stock version or the modified version with the homemade bridge and tether? I have very minor hip pinch with my Kestrel but this sling gives me zero pinch.

Mark stumbled on a little trick to allow one more adjustment that can be easily done with the sling. It's hard to explain, but the direction the straps run thru those plates could have an effect on comfort for some guys. I tend to like the bottom straps routed so they come into the plates from the outside, and out thru the inside (which then becomes the top section). Going "into" the plate from the outside on the bottom moves the bottom straps away from the hips just a little. If you just twist the straps within the plates, then the bottom strap goes into the plate from the inside. It's a very subtle difference, but some of the reasons a saddle feels good or bad are very subtle reasons. Sometimes the slightest adjustment make all the difference in the world.
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Mine was an unmodified, unmolested totally stock unit.
 
Arrowsquirrel said:
Will this saddle hold dump pouches well and stay up when walking in? I don't know much about the original Andersons, maybe everybody just put them on at the tree?
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That was one thing Mark and I debated somewhat. I insisted that is needed to be rock solid while walking. I'm not one who likes to spend time at the tree getting dressed. etc. Get to the tree, climb up and get ready. Sometimes deer come in just from hearing me approach the stand.
The prototypes I have do not have the final type of webbing for the belt. It was too soft and would not stay tight unless I did a complex threading of the belt thru the plates. We discussed different ways to attach a belt, but as @Bwhana said above... it's amazing how right that Anderson had the original sling, and the original style of belt was fairly effective. But the original Anderson did not have Molly loops or lineman loops so there are some differences in what belt configuration is the best for the TH sling. It will be a hybrid of the 2 belts. Mark assures me that he has the exact webbing for the belt selected and that it will work well. I reserve judgement on that until I actually have one in hand. I already know that it won't be a difficult or expensive fix if the belt needs tweaked.
 
ricky racer said:
Mine was an unmodified, unmolested totally stock unit.
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Maybe that was the reason it wasn't working for you.
Full disclosure...
The sample size of testers for this new sling was fairly small...Probably less than 10 of us have tried it out...some smaller guys, medium guys and larger guys. But no XXXL guys have tried it yet as far as I know. So it is a little hard to say how some guys will like it. My impression is it will fit the bill for most guys.
Mark has said he may offer this in a larger size at some point. I guess we will just have to see if there will be a demand to also offer them in a larger size.
I'm trying to convince him to make a youth version.
 
The old Anderson sling was a "one size fits all". I guess time will tell. It would be nice if larger guys tried it out before he goes into full production. I'm a big guy but not an XXXL large guy. It would be a bummer to go into production and end up with a lot of unhappy guys that it doesn't fit. He should know if there is a cut off in size that will work with his sling.
 
Allegheny Tom said:
I'm amazed, too. I think Anderson had 2 problems...they were ahead of their time (this forum did not yet exist so the concept of a saddle was too far out for the masses), and the other problem was the stupid, static bridge and tether. Replace those with an active bridge like modern saddles have, and employ a modern tether and the thing is crazy nice. I can't believe no other commercial gear manufacture hasn't already remade them.

@Navigator has the 1st Anderson sling I ever laid eyes on. We are buddies. He occasionally brought it over to show me when we would be messing around with saddles. I always looked at that pile of tangled webbing and snickered and thinking to myself "How could that thing be as sweet as my Kestrel?" Then, one day I decided to try it on and hang from the post in my basement. Holy CRAP! It was instant love. The thing I didn't like about it was the lack of availability and, even if I could find one, it needed to be modified. The stock bridge and tether on the Anderson was pretty stupid. In passing, I mentioned Navigator's Anderson to Mark and he was intrigued. Fast forward 8 months and he now has an improved version. And it will be available, and ready to hunt. No need to modify it and the price is better than you can find used Andersons for.

Something I have not mentioned is who will actually be sewing these. It will be by an American company that manufactures sky diving gear so it's going to be made by someone that has a history and equipment to build life supporting gear. Mark says the workmanship on the final version will be top notch. Some of the minor cosmetic details of the prototypes were not really addressed. Why go the extra mile with perfect stitches and stuff on a prototype that may need substantial tweaking, right? Mark says the attention to details on the "real" final versions will be quite professional. I can't wait to get the finished product.
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Thank you very much for all the information on TreeHopper and this sling saddle. I ordered one this morning.
 
redhawk said:
Allegheny Tom do you have any pics for the new Ameristep style ROS, and how they will stack together from their wings?
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I do not. I only have a couple of the earliest of the earliest of them. It would be a little misleading to post a pic of what I have in hand. The pic of the syep in an earlier post was courtesy of Treehopper.
I do know he got a batch of steps today...assuming its the final product. I his doing break tests on them today.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
 
The more correspondence I have with Mark the more I am impressed with him. Super nice guy.

If I wouldn't have just bought a Kite I would be ordering this saddle (and I still might). I loved most things about my DIY wraptor. The only thing I didn't love was that it didn't have a belt and leg loops. Because of this I felt the need to wear an RCH with it and every time I took weight off the saddle the two sections would slip down and get tangled up/twisted. Once I got it spread out evenly it was the most comfortable saddle I have sat in. The TH design having a belt and leg loops should remedy these issues.
 
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