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Treestand Wingman.....with a saddle?

A

Alaska at Heart

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2023
Messages
206
Location
West Michigan
With the discussion about repurposing hunting gear such as a LW hand climber top for use as a saddle platform, I've been mulling over various options for self-rescue while saddle hunting. Those who plan and practice rapelling down from one sticking or some other mode of ascending are already prepared. But what about those who go up with sticks and potentially have a platform or stick failure....without rope and a descender as a means of getting back to the ground? I know, some folks are like monkeys and will get to the next stick or shimmy down or whatever, but what about average folks who want to get down as safely as possible.

Last year I was using fixed stands and sticks or a climber, so when I heard about the Treestand Wingman, I put one on my Christmas list. Other than a muscle memory practice session this summer, I haven't had my climber out to hunt at all this fall. Either a stand/stick setup, a ladderstand at a friend's farm or my saddle has been my mode of aerial hunting. Has anyone successfully used or adapted the Wingman for use with a saddle? Any insights would be appreciated......thanks.
 
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It looks like the wingman would work in a saddle set up. It looks like you descend on webbing, so you'd have the wingman and a tether hooked to your bridge and the tree. Slack management might be tricky depending on how the wingman works for adjustment. Seems workable on the surface though. You'll be facing the tree if you end up using it, I'm not sure if that's good or bad, and there's a good chance you're going to hit your sticks on the way down. That's not ideal.

As an alternative way down, that's not rappelling, have you seen Two Tether Climbing( 2tc). You would only need another 8- 15 feet of rope for a second tether with a foot loop on it. Going down is definitely easy, no acrobatics required and it's probably about as compact as anything.
 
Just dump the sticks and 2TC. You will never have to worry about being stuck in the tree.


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GeoFish said:
How about a health issue. OP is 66.
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I'm in pretty good shape.....continue to workout, cardio, flexibility.....but do not have the raw strength or agility I had at 35. The time to figure out you might be in over your head is NOT in the middle of a crisis. Having a Wingman in my possession, I'm trying to determine if it is workable, safe and compatible with a saddle. However I appreciate all input on other methods.....the 2tc with a footloop sounds like a solid backup plan. Does anyone have a video link or illustrations of how to attach the foot loop? I have a spare tether.
 
Here's the entire thing/issue with climbing trees. You have to be honest with yourself, as to whether you're in good enough physical condition to be attempting such a feat. :) Especially, when it comes to tree saddles, there's more to it than the average tree climbing gear. I'm not saying it's complicated, but there are times when you need to be able to think on your feet and know what you can and can't do.

Knowing your gear is another issue that I see a fair amount of the time, with climbers and their gear. Ya always got to have a backup system or means of getting down out of a tree, getting out of the situation you've gotten yourself into....redundancy is a good thing. :rolleyes: Climbing trees isn't for everyone. There's no shame in hunting from the ground. :cool: Age, physical ability and injuries are all a part of making this determination.

Sometimes it's none of the above. Sometimes, it's just a personal preference of how to climb and what type(s) of equipment will get the job done for you.

An example of knowing your limitations: I was reading the reviews on a Sit-On-Top kayak to see how stable it is for standing and fishing. Most of the reviews were good, but one guy said it was horribly unstable and he didn't recommend it at all. Hmmm... I thought/wondered what does this guy know or have experienced to give such a review? So, I looked up his profile....LOL. This guy is 5'2" and about 247 lbs. o_O Not stable? This guy should be up on the bank fishing, not fishing from a kayak, let alone standing in one. :oops:
 
Alaska at Heart said:
Having a Wingman in my possession, I'm trying to determine if it is workable, safe and compatible with a saddle. However I appreciate all input on other methods.....the 2tc with a footloop sounds like a solid backup plan. Does anyone have a video link or illustrations of how to attach the foot loop? I have a spare tether.
Click to expand...
I tried the 2TC method and found it very restrictive to good agility. By that I mean, I felt like my feet were in shackles and it was difficult to manage climbing the tree with good balance. Any lean to the tree would cause me to swing to the downside of the tree, worse than usual. :rolleyes:

I submitted my version of what CGM has produced....or I should say, now has in production. It works, but it's not for me with the types of trees that I end up climbing.
This is the CGM version for use with the 2TC method.
CGM Foot Loop Stirrups.jpg
 
BowhunterXC said:
Here's the entire thing/issue with climbing trees. You have to be honest with yourself, as to whether you're in good enough physical condition to be attempting such a feat. :) Especially, when it comes to tree saddles, there's more to it than the average tree climbing gear. I'm not saying it's complicated, but there are times when you need to be able to think on your feet and know what you can and can't do.

Knowing your gear is another issue that I see a fair amount of the time, with climbers and their gear. Ya always got to have a backup system or means of getting down out of a tree, getting out of the situation you've gotten yourself into....redundancy is a good thing. :rolleyes: Climbing trees isn't for everyone. There's no shame in hunting from the ground. :cool: Age, physical ability and injuries are all a part of making this determination.

Sometimes it's none of the above. Sometimes, it's just a personal preference of how to climb and what type(s) of equipment will get the job done for you.

An example of knowing your limitations: I was reading the reviews on a Sit-On-Top kayak to see how stable it is for standing and fishing. Most of the reviews were good, but one guy said it was horribly unstable and he didn't recommend it at all. Hmmm... I thought/wondered what does this guy know or have experienced to give such a review? So, I looked up his profile....LOL. This guy is 5'2" and about 247 lbs. o_O Not stable? This guy should be up on the bank fishing, not fishing from a kayak, let alone standing in one. :oops:
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I've been hunting out of trees for over 40 years and am very well versed in setting climbing sticks, so whether I have a fixed stand or a platform and saddle is not that big of a change. Thus far, I am enjoying the learning curve of saddle hunting and would readily admit if I felt unsteady or unsafe. But over and over folks talk about a redundant rescue system, which has prompted me to consider the options. I feel very safe and comfortable in my Overwatch saddle and presume I could get to a stick if something bad happened. However bringing that redundant system along is the only way it is valuable.....not sitting in the vehicle or a duffle bag at home.

A friend my age has been playing with a figure 8 descender from a barn beam with thoughts about using it with his fixed stand lifeline. But I am not fully confident in the quality of a Muddy, Summit or Millennium lifeline rope. I've watched a few half line videos and might consider that in the future....learning to rappel down.....but already having the Wingman.....it seems like a viable option?
 
I've been conversing with a friend on another hunting site who has used the Wingman extensively. I also sent an email to Black Ash, the company that produces the Treestand Wingman for their recommendation. However I was hoping someone on this site with extensive saddle experience had given one a try as well.
 
Alaska at Heart said:
I'm in pretty good shape.....continue to workout, cardio, flexibility.....but do not have the raw strength or agility I had at 35. The time to figure out you might be in over your head is NOT in the middle of a crisis. Having a Wingman in my possession, I'm trying to determine if it is workable, safe and compatible with a saddle. However I appreciate all input on other methods.....the 2tc with a footloop sounds like a solid backup plan. Does anyone have a video link or illustrations of how to attach the foot loop? I have a spare tether.
Click to expand...
I didn't check on the video, sorry about that. I should be working :sweatsmile:

The two options I see most often are a Blake's hitch or a tied loop on a slide and grip hitch ( prusik or similar). I would personally go with a loop on a hitch, basically just replicate your normal tether and then clip or tie in a foot loop. Maybe to help your video search, Blake's hitch is used in DRT/DdRT/MRS climbing
 
I haven’t used the wingman with a saddle but don’t see why it wouldn’t work as a backup. I have a wingman with my climber but don’t use it since I switched to the saddle and I’m used to rappelling. With the wingman you can still control or stop the descent with your hand on the webbing like you would rappelling. As I recall it’s a slow descent anyway.


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