Two panel saddles design: inner and outer panel

[JPS]

Hello Everyone
I hunt our of an ESS and I have seen the latitude method 2, so I have a questions about two panel saddles.


Explanation:
In two panel saddles there is an inner panel and an outer panel. When "folded" the two panels overlap with the outer panel on the outside.

There is also a waist panel (the one that is belted to the waist of the hunter and the lower or dropping panel (the one that can be adjusted lower).

In the ESS the outer panel is the waist panel and the inner panel is the dropping panel.

In the latitude, from what I can see, theouter panel is the dropping panel.

Questions:
How about in the Recon from tree hopper? is it set up like the ESS?

Any other two panel saddles that go one way or the other?

What are the advantages/disadvantages of each design/arrangement of panels?

I can tell one disadvantage of the way the ESS is set up: once it comes undone, it's a pain to bring it back up while hanging high in the tree, I find myself fiddling with the belt, hugging the tree and bringing my hand inside my wait panel all at the same time. sometimes it will unsafe, and it always feels "inelegant" LOL.

Any thoughts/considerations?

Thank you
JP.

 

[thedutchtouch]

no experience with the recon, but can confirm latitude method outer panel drops. very easy/adjustable, i've never tried an ESS but can see how that would be a royal pain, particularly with additional layers later in season. the down side to the outer panel dropping as far as i see is that if you have pouches attached to your saddle they can make it ever so slightly harder to get the (original method) clips clipped back in to hold the panel up, but guessing the new style (magnets) is easier in this regard as well.

 

[JPS]

Thanks for your answer. Good point on pouches/stuff attached to the waist panel getting in the way if the waist panel is inside the other one.

Now, in my case, I attach ZERO weight directly to my saddle. I have a "battle belt"+suspenders with the pouches. I climb, unclip the belt and hang it from the tree before deploying the 2-panel ESS, then at the end of the hunt I fold the ESS, put the belt on and climb down, so nothing would be in the way of doing/undoing the panels.

 

[gcr0003]

Panel configuration can determine how the saddle will feel under load. On the recon a lot of guys switch the or in which the straps go through the plates in order to get the saddles to "open up". I can't remember the top over the bottom or vice versus but with the panels switched the plates will turn out instead of in. This gives some extra relief from hip pinch. The transformer creates the same affect based on how the straps are routed through the plates. The transformer is designed to be this way from the start so no need to switch stuff around. The transformer is in-line and not really designed to overlap panels. The panels butt up to one another.

You should be able to do the same routing mod to the ESS I believe. You would not be able to make any change like this to a Archon or your method. Someone like @Allegheny Tom who has helped a lot of others with the recon might be able to once again shed some light into this for the sake of trying it out on the ESS. I am not sure if this is what you are exactly asking about though.

 

[NinjaDiaper]

Good video on the subject I had found earlier today.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mitchellfarmer1982]

On the method I removed all my pouches bc I didnt like sliding the drop panel under the pouches and I went away from pouches all together. I also did away with the clips and sewed in magnets like the new one.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

Hello Everyone
I hunt our of an ESS and I have seen the latitude method 2, so I have a questions about two panel saddles.


Explanation:
In two panel saddles there is an inner panel and an outer panel. When "folded" the two panels overlap with the outer panel on the outside.

There is also a waist panel (the one that is belted to the waist of the hunter and the lower or dropping panel (the one that can be adjusted lower).

In the ESS the outer panel is the waist panel and the inner panel is the dropping panel.

In the latitude, from what I can see, theouter panel is the dropping panel.

Questions:
How about in the Recon from tree hopper? is it set up like the ESS?

Any other two panel saddles that go one way or the other?

What are the advantages/disadvantages of each design/arrangement of panels?

I can tell one disadvantage of the way the ESS is set up: once it comes undone, it's a pain to bring it back up while hanging high in the tree, I find myself fiddling with the belt, hugging the tree and bringing my hand inside my wait panel all at the same time. sometimes it will unsafe, and it always feels "inelegant" LOL.

Any thoughts/considerations?

Thank you
JP.

Since @gcr0003 mentioned me, I'll chime in.
The Recon is shipped with the top panel being the "outside" panel. Some people like it that way and some of us prefer the bottom panel to be the one on the outside. I like the bottom on the outside. It does help bring the bottom straps out a little wider which does reduce hip pressure slightly. And during a long, all day hang, I find myself adjusting the bottom more so than I adjust the top. It's a little easier to adjust the bottom up or down if it's the outside panel.
But like everything "saddles", it's a matter of personal preference as to which section goes where. There are a lot of variables involved...body shape, sitter or leaner, tether height, bridge length, platform or ROS, duration of a hunt, and an interaction of all these things. Seems like no 2 saddle hunters do things the same way.

The nice thing about the Recon (and I assume the ESS is similar?) is that the panels are easily switched in a matter of a couple minutes, no tools or modifications are needed. Try it out of the box, switch the sections and try it again, hunt out of it for several hours and decide what you like best, and if you change your mind, then switch it back.

I show how to do it in this video

Treehopper Recon plate flip

Here's a short video on how to flip the plates on a Recon tree sling.

rumble.com

To your concern about the panels slipping out of place...It's the #1 reason why slings need a bungee belt. We've discussed that at length a few times in other threads (someone post a link or 2). There's a few ways to make a bungee belt that work great and I'm sure somebody will refine one and make them even better.

IMO, there is a bit of fiddle factor with slings, but I like to say "keep your eye on the prize"...For me, comfort is the prize. I have not tried every saddle on the market, but the Recon, or Anderson, or ESS styles of slings are the most comfortable. I'm more than willing to make a new belt (bungee) and develop a habit of how I handle the sling when you pick it up and pull it on. After a little bit of attention to what you are doing, there is no fiddle factor. Easy on, easy off, lightweight, adjustable and totally comfortable.

 

[thedutchtouch]

On the method I removed all my pouches bc I didnt like sliding the drop panel under the pouches and I went away from pouches all together. I also did away with the clips and sewed in magnets like the new one.

any more info on sewing in the magnets/ how strong of magnets to use? i'm eyeing this DIY upgrade as well

 

[MNFarmHunter]

It’s overkill but I always salvage the magnets out of HDD’s. Very small, very strong and dozens of uses.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mitchellfarmer1982]

Those would probably work. The fabric lessens their strength. I used 4 magnets out of a DC motor. I tried buying from hobby lobby and Ace but none of them were strong enough.

 

[raisins]

It’s overkill but I always salvage the magnets out of HDD’s. Very small, very strong and dozens of uses.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

hdd?

 

[MNFarmHunter]

hdd?

Hard disk drives. They use rare earth magnets in them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Wirrex]

I have flipped my recon back and forth a few times. I just recently flipped it again to the top panel on the inside. It seems to cup better and keep the top panel from riding up when climbing.

 

[JPS]

Since @gcr0003 mentioned me, I'll chime in.
The Recon is shipped with the top panel being the "outside" panel. Some people like it that way and some of us prefer the bottom panel to be the one on the outside. I like the bottom on the outside. It does help bring the bottom straps out a little wider which does reduce hip pressure slightly. And during a long, all day hang, I find myself adjusting the bottom more so than I adjust the top. It's a little easier to adjust the bottom up or down if it's the outside panel.
But like everything "saddles", it's a matter of personal preference as to which section goes where. There are a lot of variables involved...body shape, sitter or leaner, tether height, bridge length, platform or ROS, duration of a hunt, and an interaction of all these things. Seems like no 2 saddle hunters do things the same way.

The nice thing about the Recon (and I assume the ESS is similar?) is that the panels are easily switched in a matter of a couple minutes, no tools or modifications are needed. Try it out of the box, switch the sections and try it again, hunt out of it for several hours and decide what you like best, and if you change your mind, then switch it back.

I show how to do it in this video

Treehopper Recon plate flip

Here's a short video on how to flip the plates on a Recon tree sling.

rumble.com

To your concern about the panels slipping out of place...It's the #1 reason why slings need a bungee belt. We've discussed that at length a few times in other threads (someone post a link or 2). There's a few ways to make a bungee belt that work great and I'm sure somebody will refine one and make them even better.

IMO, there is a bit of fiddle factor with slings, but I like to say "keep your eye on the prize"...For me, comfort is the prize. I have not tried every saddle on the market, but the Recon, or Anderson, or ESS styles of slings are the most comfortable. I'm more than willing to make a new belt (bungee) and develop a habit of how I handle the sling when you pick it up and pull it on. After a little bit of attention to what you are doing, there is no fiddle factor. Easy on, easy off, lightweight, adjustable and totally comfortable.

Thanks for the detailed explanatio! I am just back from a short, after work,, hunt in my local public swamp and I will have to attempt this switching of panels tomorrow.

One question for you: do the lanyard loops on the inside of the waist (now inner) panel bother you at all?

As for the rest, I 100% agree with you that the sling design is EXTREMELY adjustable and comfort is guaranteed. I really like my ESS because of that.

Cheers!
JP

 

[Micneador]

Since @gcr0003 mentioned me, I'll chime in.
The Recon is shipped with the top panel being the "outside" panel. Some people like it that way and some of us prefer the bottom panel to be the one on the outside. I like the bottom on the outside. It does help bring the bottom straps out a little wider which does reduce hip pressure slightly. And during a long, all day hang, I find myself adjusting the bottom more so than I adjust the top. It's a little easier to adjust the bottom up or down if it's the outside panel.
But like everything "saddles", it's a matter of personal preference as to which section goes where. There are a lot of variables involved...body shape, sitter or leaner, tether height, bridge length, platform or ROS, duration of a hunt, and an interaction of all these things. Seems like no 2 saddle hunters do things the same way.

The nice thing about the Recon (and I assume the ESS is similar?) is that the panels are easily switched in a matter of a couple minutes, no tools or modifications are needed. Try it out of the box, switch the sections and try it again, hunt out of it for several hours and decide what you like best, and if you change your mind, then switch it back.

I show how to do it in this video

Treehopper Recon plate flip

Here's a short video on how to flip the plates on a Recon tree sling.

rumble.com

To your concern about the panels slipping out of place...It's the #1 reason why slings need a bungee belt. We've discussed that at length a few times in other threads (someone post a link or 2). There's a few ways to make a bungee belt that work great and I'm sure somebody will refine one and make them even better.

IMO, there is a bit of fiddle factor with slings, but I like to say "keep your eye on the prize"...For me, comfort is the prize. I have not tried every saddle on the market, but the Recon, or Anderson, or ESS styles of slings are the most comfortable. I'm more than willing to make a new belt (bungee) and develop a habit of how I handle the sling when you pick it up and pull it on. After a little bit of attention to what you are doing, there is no fiddle factor. Easy on, easy off, lightweight, adjustable and totally comfortable.

Thank you for the vid!!!!

I've had my Recon for a year now and read about flipping the panels, couldn't for the life of me figure out how. Now I've flipped them and can say my only issue with the recon is solved IMO. Already had a bungee belt. I'll hopefully be making a sit Friday morning and see how much I like the flip at hunting height.

 

[Allegheny Tom]

Thanks for the detailed explanatio! I am just back from a short, after work,, hunt in my local public swamp and I will have to attempt this switching of panels tomorrow.

One question for you: do the lanyard loops on the inside of the waist (now inner) panel bother you at all?

As for the rest, I 100% agree with you that the sling design is EXTREMELY adjustable and comfort is guaranteed. I really like my ESS because of that.

Cheers!
JP

No, loops dont bother me.. i will say that my Recon is a prototype, not a production model and Mark was just beginning to add the linemans loops. The loops on it are a little different in texture...softer, less body. So when the panels are completely overlapped i cannot feel the loops. And when actually using them, the belt always angles slight "up" and around the tree, so once again. The loops on the inside are not an issue. YMMV.