• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

To sling or not to sling

Checking for fitment before hacking up some first lite!
 

Attachments

  • 708CB4B0-D774-4324-8D30-BDA38E2BBF6E.jpeg
    708CB4B0-D774-4324-8D30-BDA38E2BBF6E.jpeg
    133 KB · Views: 63
So the second lineman loop and molle webbing is done. I also got the leg loops completed.

I gave her a dry run and fiddled around to find the sweet spot. I’m kinda starting to wonder if a 1 piece pleated mesh Saddle wouldn’t have been better for me. I think this thing is really comfy when both panels are kept relatively closed, and riding lower. Strangely I kinda prefer the leg loops, but like loosening them a bit once I’m hooked up. I can’t seem to find any comfort when they’re separated (upper panel in more of a back strap position, lower panel under the hamstrings-pinches like a mother on my upper femur). Curious, what are some of your guy’s saddle widths from end of bridge loop to end of bridge loop?

I’m starting to rethink the size of the panel templates, and possibly keep them more closed, if that makes sense.
 
I sewed some short loops and girth hitched them to the bridge loops. Those serve as the leg strap loops.
 

Attachments

  • 516F2D24-B2DC-476D-97F5-50064930F9E0.jpeg
    516F2D24-B2DC-476D-97F5-50064930F9E0.jpeg
    118.3 KB · Views: 53
  • 20A1503F-A089-4132-93E8-CAFB735627A4.jpeg
    20A1503F-A089-4132-93E8-CAFB735627A4.jpeg
    135.6 KB · Views: 56
  • BF7FF328-AA43-41F1-ABBC-1C766A4F30B1.jpeg
    BF7FF328-AA43-41F1-ABBC-1C766A4F30B1.jpeg
    148.3 KB · Views: 55
Well, I pulled a late night on Thursday. I had to figure out how to get enough material out of a first lite item, while still having a something left I could wear.
I chopped the sleeves off a perfectly fine jacket, sewed them together, and backed them with brown fleece. I miscalculated how much grosgrain I needed, so I still need to finish the top, smaller panel.

Also, I found some little clips similar to the Jude ones Latitude puts on their saddles.

Additionally I ended up making a diy utilibridge like the H2s, and lots of saddles are starting to run.

I ended up having a hellacious jam on my machine. I finally gave up and stopped at 3am. Thus, I didn’t get out on Friday as early as I originally wanted. So in short, I haven’t hung from a tree, but I have tested in my basement.

I had to do some finagling, but I found a few sweet spots, and she’s pretty comfy. Once I get the last panel together I’ll post some final picks, but for the time being, here it is.

I know some don’t like the leg loops, and I mentioned possibly modifying this to make them removable, but I can simple hook them on the molle strap as I walk in, illustrated in a couple of the pics.
 

Attachments

  • 87A5C74B-413B-44BC-A272-32A7D708C083.jpeg
    87A5C74B-413B-44BC-A272-32A7D708C083.jpeg
    116.9 KB · Views: 65
  • 9D196FF3-B572-4848-8E9F-B45BE24039D6.jpeg
    9D196FF3-B572-4848-8E9F-B45BE24039D6.jpeg
    114 KB · Views: 65
  • 9A6E4EAF-FDF0-48C9-A6C4-A5B2AA2F3BBD.jpeg
    9A6E4EAF-FDF0-48C9-A6C4-A5B2AA2F3BBD.jpeg
    97.3 KB · Views: 64
  • 7A4644D2-FF13-432A-B231-D3AFEF7C1EF8.jpeg
    7A4644D2-FF13-432A-B231-D3AFEF7C1EF8.jpeg
    125.1 KB · Views: 68
  • ABA4E753-848C-4331-A888-364390FFAA93.jpeg
    ABA4E753-848C-4331-A888-364390FFAA93.jpeg
    98.3 KB · Views: 66
  • D1F7881C-5D50-49C9-81EE-7F449BA6FC4A.jpeg
    D1F7881C-5D50-49C9-81EE-7F449BA6FC4A.jpeg
    106 KB · Views: 66
  • E77D0183-8CC7-46B3-A0F1-E9EFAED164F7.jpeg
    E77D0183-8CC7-46B3-A0F1-E9EFAED164F7.jpeg
    108.6 KB · Views: 64
Also, I hate these dump pouches, but they’re all I got for now. They’re noisy as hell.
 
Well, I pulled a late night on Thursday. I had to figure out how to get enough material out of a first lite item, while still having a something left I could wear.
I chopped the sleeves off a perfectly fine jacket, sewed them together, and backed them with brown fleece. I miscalculated how much grosgrain I needed, so I still need to finish the top, smaller panel.

Also, I found some little clips similar to the Jude ones Latitude puts on their saddles.

Additionally I ended up making a diy utilibridge like the H2s, and lots of saddles are starting to run.

I ended up having a hellacious jam on my machine. I finally gave up and stopped at 3am. Thus, I didn’t get out on Friday as early as I originally wanted. So in short, I haven’t hung from a tree, but I have tested in my basement.

I had to do some finagling, but I found a few sweet spots, and she’s pretty comfy. Once I get the last panel together I’ll post some final picks, but for the time being, here it is.

I know some don’t like the leg loops, and I mentioned possibly modifying this to make them removable, but I can simple hook them on the molle strap as I walk in, illustrated in a couple of the pics.
NICE!
 
Here’s some pics. Deep thoughts and words of intellect to come...
 

Attachments

  • 0DBF0898-B05C-4C84-AD68-1839F3FA70CB.jpeg
    0DBF0898-B05C-4C84-AD68-1839F3FA70CB.jpeg
    88.5 KB · Views: 61
  • A285AB84-0B92-4FB2-8FE1-67DBC1C09458.jpeg
    A285AB84-0B92-4FB2-8FE1-67DBC1C09458.jpeg
    99.4 KB · Views: 60
  • DCF9C2A9-055C-40A5-9754-B4250CAE2422.jpeg
    DCF9C2A9-055C-40A5-9754-B4250CAE2422.jpeg
    109.1 KB · Views: 59
  • 95FB5D1B-CF66-4F3C-87FA-E70C580EB5A1.jpeg
    95FB5D1B-CF66-4F3C-87FA-E70C580EB5A1.jpeg
    89.1 KB · Views: 59
  • C3AF817F-5222-40E7-9836-20860659731D.jpeg
    C3AF817F-5222-40E7-9836-20860659731D.jpeg
    99.3 KB · Views: 60
  • 0EAFE0D3-319F-4EA7-ABA1-5A0A8D499491.jpeg
    0EAFE0D3-319F-4EA7-ABA1-5A0A8D499491.jpeg
    98.1 KB · Views: 58
  • F69684F0-176E-44BD-B883-BC1862CFD191.jpeg
    F69684F0-176E-44BD-B883-BC1862CFD191.jpeg
    64.8 KB · Views: 54
  • C9721D86-DB46-4F2F-929D-0FF0423A6C16.jpeg
    C9721D86-DB46-4F2F-929D-0FF0423A6C16.jpeg
    89.1 KB · Views: 55
  • 581F7BBF-0DAC-4BCB-9216-F17F9B9B3ADC.jpeg
    581F7BBF-0DAC-4BCB-9216-F17F9B9B3ADC.jpeg
    125.9 KB · Views: 53
Here’s some pics. Deep thoughts and words of intellect to come...
Wow! I have no thoughts or words of intellect as im not up to speed on sewing and saddle making, but that sucker looks awesome. Im always amazed at some of the DIY saddles i see on here.

Following to see what the other builders have to say.
 
Looks great, man! How’s it feel? Looking forward to hearing the “deep thoughts” you mentioned!...
 
Alright, so the Longitude Chaos.

From bridge to bridge, fully stretched, it's 34". The top panel is roughly 7" tall and 22" wide, and the bottom panel is 10" tall and 27" wide.

Things I like. It's comfy. I feel like that trumps a lot of the dislikes, but I haven't had the chance to put a sit in yet. That's happening this weekend in pursuit for a 10 point stud, and there's chances of snow...but that's a different story...hopefully!

I tried to add vertical supports, much like all the other sling-styled saddles. I hooked it up and hung from it to see how it helped. To much dismay, and a few bent and broken needles later...it didn't. In fact, it made it worse! One thing to consider if doing your own sling saddle, After feeling around I noticed my vertical supports were placed way too far to the sides. I think they need to be positioned underneath your sit bones. If you feel in your butt cheeks, and trace the edges of your tail bone-that's what I'm talking about. I might come back later and add some supports back in those places, but for now I'm going without. The problem with where I had them was they would buckle, and put a lot of additional pressure on my hips and upper femur. So out came the stitch ripper.

Other things I like. The clips on the side. This isn't anything new, but without them this saddle would suck to walk in with. The clips are a total game changer. If you make one of these types of saddles, make or buy these clips.

I really like the adjustability of the bridge. Again, not new, but nice. Although, I've found the sweet spot for me and don't adjust it a lot, other than tightening it up for the walk in. For now, the bridge is 8mm accessory cord. I'm planning on getting some oplux in the future.

So I started another thread about the rope pouches. They are the leftover, lover sleeve portion of the jacket I cut up. I was originally salvaging them to wrap a hand muff, but quickly found they were way too tight. I had an epiphany, and decided to stitch the bottom shut, and use them as rope bas. They are the perfect size, and super quiet. I attached them using molle bungees.

The tether is basic 11mm climbing rope, and I tied a michoacan hitch instead of using a ropeman. On the same rope I've got a prussik, which will help to double the tether as a lineman belt while climbing, and also give me a secondary place to tie in once in the tree.

Overall, I'm really happy with how it came out. Yes, there's some things I'd change, such as possibly adding vertical supports where they'll actually make an impact, but I'd also like to play around with the top panel. It's shorter than the bottom, and my original thoughts were that it would add additional lumbar support, and it does. What I'd like to toy with is making it equally as long as the bottom panel, but adding adjustment straps with ladderlocs, much the same way one panel saddles do on the lower strap fro hip pinch. I think this would allow for adjustment to get the top panel under your butt easier, but then also cinching it up (shortening) to give you the lumbar support.

In the beginning I was apprehensive to use stretchy material. This is still something I wonder about. I know some mention to cordura-styled saddles are more comforting because of the support. This might be an upgrade, I'm not sure, but I find the stretchy material nice. I'm really happy I lined the two panels in fleece. It's soft, quiet, and might help keep my butt warm (not a lot of faith here, but who knows).

Now I just need to get the cutoff sleeves on my jacket hemmed, and I'll be rocking a hooded vest, something I wish more companies would make! If anyone has any questions fire away!
 
Last edited:
More deep thoughts after this weekend. I'm planning on going after a 150-160" 10 pointer this weekend, and am mentally prepared to sit as long as it takes!
 
I finally got the chance to use the saddle in the woods. I love it. To keep things in perspective, I was standing on the top of my line wolf stick with a double step throughout all of this. It’ll work, but it’s not fun. Any kind of adjustment that’s needed is really difficult, and then if you’re scared of heights like me, it compounds the situation. It was really difficult to adjust my bridge length.

That was probably the hardest adjustment, and second was adjusting my linemen ras I climbed. I can see why guys like using ropeman ascenders on their lineman ropes. This is something I’ve dealt with in the past when using a RC harness, so I didn’t expect much difference.

As far comfort, the saddle was on point. I’m not sure if you can tell in the previous pics, but before sewing it together I adjusted the main webbing so the “upper sling” is narrower and shorter top to bottom. My thought was it would bring it forward and help with low back support more. It seems to work. The only thing I’m not too crazy about is the lack of rigidity. I wish I could give this thing some viagra! I find myself trying to pull the bottom panel up once I deploy it in the tree.

I’ve got a predator platform XL being delivered tomorrow. I think a lot of the fidgety adjustments will be null once I’ve got a decent platform to stand on.

One thing I’m gonna change soon is the loops that the g hooks hook on to. I made them too short, and if the g hooks are attached they almost come off. They need to be longer since they are girth hitched on.

More to come once I get back in the tree.
 
Back
Top