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Transporting saddles/packs

Tom Karrow

Tom Karrow

Active Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2017
Messages
170
Location
Ontario
Wondering how many wear their saddle to their hunting spot versus, packing it in.

I find walking in my saddle makes it slide down while walking, so I am packing it in (It will actually end up at my ankles). This leads me to want to know about packs.

I am not happy with the pack I use. It seems too tight for my predator, saddle, etc. items and winter clothes strapped on to my beast sticks. PLUS, the pack along is fricken heavy. Good for hauling out and holds a load well, but it is heavy.

What packs are guys using??
Thanks, Tom
 
I use a small daypack. I wear the saddle and linemans belt in. They dont ride down or encumber me in any way.

My tether, bolts, ROS, and essentials all go in the daypack with room to spare. If it's chilly I can squeeze my layers in there as well. If I have to pack a deer out, well, it's probably gonna be a 2 trip ordeal if I can't get it to the truck or boat.
 
Nutterbuster said:
I use a small daypack. I wear the saddle and linemans belt in. They dont ride down or encumber me in any way.

My tether, bolts, ROS, and essentials all go in the daypack with room to spare. If it's chilly I can squeeze my layers in there as well. If I have to pack a deer out, well, it's probably gonna be a 2 trip ordeal if I can't get it to the truck or boat.
Click to expand...
I found when I fastened the belt where my pants or a belt would be fastened (my waste), then it was ok (not great) for walking with BUT when I tried to use the saddle that high, it caused discomfort. Also, I find the sadle with ropes etc. can be noisy on long walks in tight brush etc.
Thanks.
T
 
Diy saddle, wear it in up high like kidney belt and stays put. Use rc harness, wear that and it stays put.
 
I pack everything but my bow and helium sticks in my 5200cu swiss gear pack that I have. I am looking for something new but it currently works really well. The sticks only stick past the bag when the feet are up. Everything stays secure and silent and not much gets hung up on all the thorns that are around. I also sweat a bunch so my outer and mid layers are in the bag until I get to the stand. When I get to the stand the waist belt goes around the tree and I use it as a knee pad.

I've tried school book bag size day packs and fancy packs. The overkill multiday bag seems to work best for me.

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I pack everything in on my direct action ghost with the exception of my weapon. Saddle, sticks, platform, extra clothes, water, any food. I cool off for a few minutes and put the saddle on. The several long walks I have done I have packed in the scentlok suit and gotten dressed once 100 yds out or so. Yeah, I know scent control. But it is not pretty to see a fat man sweating
 
I wear in my rch, sometimes the sitdrag gets put on or thrown in the pack. I have a small Mossy Oak pack that's ok forn early season, I'm looking at Horn Hunter Main Beam.

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Tom Karrow said:
I found when I fastened the belt where my pants or a belt would be fastened (my waste), then it was ok (not great) for walking with BUT when I tried to use the saddle that high, it caused discomfort. Also, I find the sadle with ropes etc. can be noisy on long walks in tight brush etc.
Thanks.
T
Click to expand...
My tether is daisy chained behind me, and I tuck my bridge and bridge loops into the saddle. Hard to describe, but it works well and I've never had it tangle.

I wear the strap just above my normal belt line. I think the longest I've ever walked with it on was summer scouting, where I logged maybe 5 miles or so. Most walks are less than 2. I can bust briars and palmettos with no problem. The only time it is an issue is if I will be wading. But it stays on just fine if I'm driving, riding, or paddling. Same with the kneepads.

I've found this allows for a pretty good compromise of packabity and accessibility. I hate big packs for crawling through brush, and I hate having them up in the tree with me. This allows me to use my smaller packs. YMMV
 
I wear my mantis in. It stays put pretty well. I’ll throw my linesmans belt over my shoulders as well. The kestrel I had to pack in. My backpack varies depending on the hunt. Last week it was cold rainy and I planned for long sits. I also used my full length helium sticks the first part of the week because of the rain and slick bark. So with carrying extra layers and sticks plus food and water I used my badlands 2200. I like the pack. It’s tall and narrow but a little on the heavy side. I packed my sticks in the rifle carrier and then once at the tree I put the rifle in the carrier and made one trip up and down. The downside was after three days in the rain the somewhat heavy pack to begin with was pretty heavy wet. On a normal day I use my badlands monster fanny. It carry’s well but I don’t carry sticks on it. My other option is an old field line pack that is just big enough that it has a workable gun/bow carrier. It really doesn’t work well for a bow but it’s big enough to carry everything but my bow for a full day hunt. It has no internal stays but I don’t put a heavy load in it. Once you put a set of 8 stepps and a couple bottles of water and misc gear there isn’t much room left. I am currently looking for something between it and the 2200.
 
I wear my saddle in on 99.9% of my hunts. The only exception is one of the packs I use in late season the waist belt doesn't jive well with the position of the saddle.
 
Nutterbuster said:
My tether is daisy chained behind me, and I tuck my bridge and bridge loops into the saddle.
Click to expand...
I often wade through waist high poison ivy...no way I want my tether out and exposed.
We also have a ton of multi flora rose. That stuff grabs anything that touches it.
My tether stuffs in my muff or fanny pack and my lineman rope goes over my shoulders and I easily adjust it with my Ropeman.
I've walked many hours with this set up and I don't even know I'm wearing my Kestrel.
 
I wear my DIY SitDrag in. Has sewn in belt and I hook the bridge thru the chest strap of my pack. Walked in as far as 3 miles with no problems of it slipping or getting in the way
 
I'm mostly doing suburban hunting now and my walk in hasn't been that far....so I've been wearing my kestrel in, which has an entrenching tool pouch on each 'cheek'...one for the tether and one for my linemans. bridge hangs by my side (or sometimes I connect it across and tuck it in like G2 does.

clothes, food coffee and other gear in a daypack, Sticks or WE stepps nite ize gear tied to the outside. 2 weeks ago I modified this slightly by adding one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005LEPMSA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 to the molle loops on the bottom/front of the pack and the bottom of the sticks go in the pounch and one nite ize at the top of the pack keep the stick from moving around.

if I was going to hike in a mile or more, I'd definitely try to stow my kestrel inside the pack or strap it to the outside somehow...because it does slide down a bit.

my tip for wearing on the short walks, loosen the leg straps all the way, and clip the waist belt so it rides above my pants belt and cinch it tight. reminds me to keep my abs tight, and being above the belt seems to hold it up. just remember to lower it below the pelvic crown and tighten the leg straps before climbing.
 
I've been through a lot of packs and I love the badlands 2200. Its freaking heavy though. And you cant wear your saddle in because it gets in the way of the waist belt. But man that pack is tough and can hold anything I want or need to take into the woods with me. Its overkill most days but if you can only have 1 pack it's hard to beat.
 
I almost always wear in my rch but don't always put on my sitdrag(it has a small webbing belt), often I don't touch it til I'm mostly setup so it can stay in the pack til I'm at height and ready to get comfy and fall asleep, lol. I'm looking for a good backpack, leaning towards the HH Main Beam but might have to check out the Badlands 2200 and the Tenzing TZ 2200 that I saw today was pretty sweet.
 
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