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Who has removed leg straps? Any regrets?
- Thread starter Rpd3d
- Start date
tailgunner
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2021
- Messages
- 4,963
He did those drops on dynamic rope and the shorter higher his fall ratio the more force he created. He was scared to death towards the end. And he had safety back ups and leg straps
You are correct, we don’t do any of that stuff….on purpose. But you have to admit, hunters don’t intentionally fall and may or may not intentionally have a lot of slack in their system, but it happens. If a hunter knew he/she were going to fall on any given day, he just wouldn’t go hunting that day. Probably wouldn’t cut the leg straps off their saddle either. I really don’t care if anyone cuts the leg straps off their saddle, it’s their choice, but ethically, they shouldn’t be telling others that it’s safe to do so. They should just give them the facts, they cut theirs off, it increases risk, but it’s a risk they have decided to accept. That’s the facts.
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tailgunner
Well-Known Member
Man i love you guys.you make darn good conversation.
tailgunner
Well-Known Member
But this is a ladder stand
tailgunner
Well-Known Member
Im not realy playing devils advocate.im just Adding perspective.over 100 trades men ,women, and otherstuff.has gone up and down this Ladder without saddles and linemans belts.let alone leg straps.
tailgunner
Well-Known Member
Like slow said we asses our own risks,and f l.s safer than sorry rrr.logic i cant argue with
I don't use leg straps on any of my saddles. I find them to just get in the way and don't like messing with them.
Risk is far too great to remove. I had a mishap while one-sticking last year where they saved me. While ascending the tree, my one-stick fell out of reach when I was detaching it to make the next leap and my butt slid out from the lower panel of my 2-panel saddle. If not for the leg straps I would have been hanging on by my armpits (hopefully) and shouting for my hunting buddy.
Many people train for accidents by purposefully putting themselves into a controlled situation mimicking a risky one. I’ve done so for practicing self-rescue and found it helpful. If you are debating if leg straps are right for you, you are free to SAFELY test such then decide. I already know I don’t want there to be a chance I find myself dangling from my saddle by my pits 1’ off the ground let alone 20’.
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Many people train for accidents by purposefully putting themselves into a controlled situation mimicking a risky one. I’ve done so for practicing self-rescue and found it helpful. If you are debating if leg straps are right for you, you are free to SAFELY test such then decide. I already know I don’t want there to be a chance I find myself dangling from my saddle by my pits 1’ off the ground let alone 20’.
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tailgunner
Well-Known Member
Im starting to see a patern.where as i thought of saddle hunting as the safest way to elivated hunting..every time i hear some one say they had an incodent ,they where 1 sticking.i havent tried it so i guess i dont understand how people are falling.when a treebranch falls out from under me i have 2 other points of contact.when im 2 tethering i haven't figyered out how to drop my foot tether yet.with steps i dont know how you could fall unless they break.lt seems like leg straps would be mandatory for 1 sticking .now im seeing a pattern to the pucker up and bungie jumping stories,1 sticking,sticks that somehow fall.cam cleat fails,but wouldn't you need like 3 feet of slack in your tether?as the most dangerouse dude on saddle hunter ,if i hear that a stick fell, i dont use them .a cam cleat broke ,i dont use them an ocb opened,i dont use them.but i hunt on gear i made myself.i know ,dont knock 1 sticking
....its the popular kid.
....its the popular kid.
rutjr
Well-Known Member
I have two saddles with leg straps and two without. I may be putting them back on the two that are missing them.
Iron_llama
Well-Known Member
I've got a Recon without leg straps. As I understand it, the stock leg straps are simple webbing with fastex buckles. I'm looking for a couple of size-small rigger's belts to use instead. Any issues with this?
John RB
Well-Known Member
Sorry i didn't Read all the replies.
1. Don't.
2. The way you worded the question and post wasn't ideal. Anyone who has regrets over cutting out their straps isn't on this forum any more. They are learning how to walk or brush their teeth again depending on how bad the fall was. (Sorry, but I have seen too much... a fall can really take you out.)
3. If you think you can safely cut em out, you might be right... but it deserves a test. The test would be to get into whatever point in your climb you have the most slack and jump off holding nothing in your hands or feet. Simulate a failure of your footing. Do it on max slack. Repeat and fall in any direction in any position. Do 1000 tests. Were you ever injured?
Now, if this test sounds Crazy, don't do it. But i actually have done it thousands of times. I might move a max of a few inches, typically zero inches... and so I probably could cut em out. But i don't. And you might not have zero slack like I do... in that case, i definitely wouldn't.
It doesn't matter if 100 guys never had a problem with it. It matters if YOU could.
Be safe,
jrb
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swampdonkey
Well-Known Member
If someone is climbing trees 20 ft up and doesn’t know the risks of falling theyre likely going to end up on the short end of the stick anyways leg straps aren’t going to somehow save them.
Little kids climb trees every single day. People get way to overly cautious nowadays. With a tight tether you can’t “fall” anyways. If you set your tether down around your waist or ankles then step off your platform cause you’re an idiot leg straps certainly aren’t going to help you in any way you’re still screwed.
Keep a tight tether and don’t be a ninny, no leg straps needed.
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2020
- Messages
- 1,552
I might not be alive today if tailgunner hadn't put leg straps in his nice saddle.....and yes I am an idiot....(see video) but a low level idiot....
The SNEAK hitch: A metal free, releasable loop girth hitch for tethers.
So, I will give a disclaimer that what I'm presenting looks dangerous and scary. If you are a new hunter or climber be aware that this is not "safe" by all traditional standards that have a full rope pass through of a loop or quicklink, V3 quickie, or carabiner. Please learn and use all safe...
saddlehunter.com
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2021
- Messages
- 419
My father in law had a successful painting business. One day he was painting the exterior of a house on a short ladder, wasn’t even a 6 footer if I remember correctly. He was only a few steps up when he slipped and really screwed himself up, bone pointing out of his leg. After several surgeries his leg has never been right and has never been able to work again. Don’t let hubris be your downfall.
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2019
- Messages
- 6,265
when i had a recon, i had 1 inch webbing and cobra buckles for the leg straps (and a cobra buckle for the waist belt and metal triglides on the ends instead plastic)
took all that off when i sold it here because the buy didn't want to pay extra for the hardware
Just because we can cut them off, doesn’t mean we should.
These pine tree “ladders” remind me of the time I was a kid about 20 feet up a pine tree climbing with my cousin, circa 1982. I slipped and fell all the way to the ground. Luckily, I survived with nothing broken, but I was a lot younger then. I’ve since also learned that they get your hands and clothes sticky with sap. And that’s the point, isn’t it? When we are young we do some things because we don’t understand the dangers, we haven’t experienced the risks and our minds aren’t fully able to grasp it without that experience. As we grow older, we have experiences and learn from the example of others what those dangers are and we make plans, according to our own tolerance for such risk. We do it everyday. Some people are so anxious when driving, they refuse to drive more than around town. I am thankful when older people who’s reflexes, eyesight and other physical abilities aren’t what they once were, make that decision. They, and the rest of us are safer for it.
Some people will never climb that extension ladder because they are afraid. That isn’t most hunters. There is a certain machismo in the hunting community and in most of us. We are brave. We are independent. We love the freedom time spent in a tree provides. In every conversation on safety, those ideals are things to be aware of, as we are simply more risk tolerant than many.
More than that, as we grow older we have a recognition of the responsibilities we have toward those who are dependent on us, our spouse and children in particular, but others too. Our parents might one day need our helping hand for work around the house or our time spent with them for their own sanity.
As has been said, we can’t remove all risk from life. But personal experience and that of others is often ignored to our own peril. And in the sport of tree stand/saddle hunting, for me, adding one more dangerous variable simply isn’t worth the risk in a sport that carries it’s own inherent dangers.
These pine tree “ladders” remind me of the time I was a kid about 20 feet up a pine tree climbing with my cousin, circa 1982. I slipped and fell all the way to the ground. Luckily, I survived with nothing broken, but I was a lot younger then. I’ve since also learned that they get your hands and clothes sticky with sap. And that’s the point, isn’t it? When we are young we do some things because we don’t understand the dangers, we haven’t experienced the risks and our minds aren’t fully able to grasp it without that experience. As we grow older, we have experiences and learn from the example of others what those dangers are and we make plans, according to our own tolerance for such risk. We do it everyday. Some people are so anxious when driving, they refuse to drive more than around town. I am thankful when older people who’s reflexes, eyesight and other physical abilities aren’t what they once were, make that decision. They, and the rest of us are safer for it.
Some people will never climb that extension ladder because they are afraid. That isn’t most hunters. There is a certain machismo in the hunting community and in most of us. We are brave. We are independent. We love the freedom time spent in a tree provides. In every conversation on safety, those ideals are things to be aware of, as we are simply more risk tolerant than many.
More than that, as we grow older we have a recognition of the responsibilities we have toward those who are dependent on us, our spouse and children in particular, but others too. Our parents might one day need our helping hand for work around the house or our time spent with them for their own sanity.
As has been said, we can’t remove all risk from life. But personal experience and that of others is often ignored to our own peril. And in the sport of tree stand/saddle hunting, for me, adding one more dangerous variable simply isn’t worth the risk in a sport that carries it’s own inherent dangers.