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Treesuit Build

kyler1945

kyler1945

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2016
Messages
6,921
Location
Willis, TX
Alright folks, I know you're all fired up about your commercially available saddles. Hell I have two myself. But we must keep the DIY juices going around here. There's just too much ingenuity. I bought a modified tree suit a few months back, and decided to hack it up and start from scratch and see what happens. I blacked out a half hour ago and bought another one from @100rollie ...anywho…. I wanted to put this out there for anyone wanting to build a bosun's chair style seat. They pair nicely with a rock harness for backup. I'm going to build mine with the original in mind, but with some updates and tweaks that suit my style of hunting.

For anyone interested - here's a link to the material to make your own. I bought cutting board material a year back to try, but got skurred. Now I know the exact stuff.

https://www.eplastics.com/PRONAT0-250SR24X48 - this is enough to make 4 seats. Also, if I were over 225lbs, I'd probably step up the thickness, not for strength but for comfort - you don't want it flexing too much. I'd also go wider with the seat. The original is 18" wide, good for small fellas. I'd go 20" for normal sized people, and 22-24" for the sasquatches.

Here's the base all stripped down with my new tubular webbing frame:

IMG_0514.JPG

Here's a closeup of the label - IMG_0515.JPG

Here's my replacement Lineman's belt for the stock one:

IMG_0399.JPG

My intention is to sew cloth back onto the seat, then connect that with some webbing straps to the Molle loops on the belt.

I think I'm going to have some sort of strap going from my lineman's belt to the bridge or the webbing frame to make an adjustable lumbar support, and will definitely use my kestrel backband with it. It will basically be an anorexic Guido's Web with a boob job and all that jazz...wait...

I like how the original used the linemans belt as a 'backup' tree tether. I have the load rated cobra with D loop on it, I may go that route - the more I hang from a saddle, the more I want backups for every point of failure I can. We'll see.

That's all I can think of right now - this will probably be a slow build so don't get too impatient.
 
Got the rough in for the whaletail. Want to figure out how to slide or rotate it inside the frame of the seat. Don't have a way to do a carriage bolt, so that's out. thinking a little epoxy would hold the bolt well enough to start a hand knob tight enough. Will probably try that. The seat with the whaletail is as comfortable as the guido's bottom. I have a little foam pad I'll sew in there.

I have some other idea's for back support you hard bottom seat folks should check out. Will post progress if I make it!

IMG_0516.JPGIMG_0517.JPG
 
Well, I think I can make this work well. I've got to figure out a quiet, hookup system that can be done with two fingers if a deer shows up while i'm snoozing. But the premise will be good - robbed the treesuit lineman's belt for a test. I can set my accessory strap with boat buckle at chest height when i'm sitting. I can sew in two hooks or loops of some kind. then have another hook on the back band side. Gonna require some thought on how to make it seamless, and where when unhooked, things don't fall down and make noise. But, I think i'm on to something....

IMG_0519.JPG
 
Update on the back band - I just connected both sides to one small biner - then hooked that to my tether biner. It's not quite as comfortable as the picture above because it does pinch your sides a little. I found I could drop to about mid back and that eased up. Then, it drops out of the way just like it's designed too if you need to shoot or don't want to use it.

As a general reminder - solid seats like this limit your shot angles while sitting in a way that your saddles don't. But, you can just ease back into a lean and you're in business. This is a comfort trade off if you can't dial in a saddle.
 
Good to see you putting your ideas to work & making progress!!!! How would the back band work clipping it to the bridge and letting the knots in the bridge stop it from slipping down?
 
deerdhunter said:
Good to see you putting your ideas to work & making progress!!!! How would the back band work clipping it to the bridge and letting the knots in the bridge stop it from slipping down?
Click to expand...
That’s where I connect mine. Works well and by having it coneected low if a deer comes in all I have to do is lean slightly forward and it drops out of the way to my bottom and increase mobility.
 
Got another suit from @100rollie. The base is much thicker than the one I pulled apart. probably closer to 1/2" thick and flexes a lot less.

I've been trying different ways of hooking to the tree, and have learned some good stuff.

The original hookup method is by far the most comfortable. However, it does not leave much room for moving around to take a shot unless you have a larger platform.

I hooked normal rope tether up to the "bridge" that is stock on the saddle. It didn't reduce comfort much, and now functions just like the one hair tree seat/bosuns chair. I have a lot more mobility and can make 90% of the shots I can in my kestrel with as much ease.

I think a key is keeping 2" wide webbing for the "bridge" - it seems to work well. I will probably replace that with new webbing, and sew it permanently. I don't want it sliding easily like tubular webbing or a rope bridge.

Will keep you guys updated. Looks like the modifications will be pretty simple. Can see this being a nice option.
 
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