Alrighty, so I've had some time to play with this and think about it, and I'm sold! Initially, I was kinda upset that I have the 8' (I can touch about 7'6" with my fingertips) and wished I had the 7' that I originally ordered (and switched at the recommendation of
@grayskwerel). Now I'm pretty happy with the 8' for a few various personal reasons, with the primary reason being the slack in the system after the first move is made. I still wish that I had a 7' to test next to it, but I'm not buying another one yet just to test. I can see this becoming my primary method based on efficiency and packability. I have yet to test on a tree like a hickory or one with many branches (but those pose lineman's belt issues anyway, so not a deal-breaker). I have only climbed with the extensions on, whether I needed them or not, and I've tested on both size trees, and I've had no issues. However, I do wish that I had a single set of 5' daisy chains (which would cover +90% of my climbing) and maybe a 2-2.5' set of extensions. Very well built and functioning! You will want to be comfortable and trust your saddle before I would recommend these without reservation to anyone, but these will probably replace my WEI Stepps as my go-to for "scout hunts" where I don't know where I'm going to end up. Kudos to
@grayskwerel!