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XOP Renegade bridge replacement

B

BigAl

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2018
Messages
580
Location
Midway Tennessee
Very curious if anyone has tried upgrading the bridge to find out if this works for changing pressure points? Looks like it might be feasible but not sure the bite on bridge will hold. What say ye?
 
I changed the hole thing! Cut off the suspender and safety teather, used the cut off straps to sew a belt inside the saddle instead. Took two of the prusiks from the supplied ropes and installed them directly onto the bridge loops and attached a new bridge made of tubular webbing and tri glides. I just like a webbing bridge. Now the prusiks on the bridge loops work as an adjustable position for the bridge to ride high or low. Works great. Also before the webbing bridge I still did the prusiks on each bridge loop and attached another friction knot to those and attached those to one of the rope supplied to make an adjustable bridge. I also bought the xop edge platform. When you buy that it comes with a safety harness. I utilized those flat straps to make a two step aider to attach to the platform and now use this setup for "no sticking". Hope this helps!
 
And one more thing I did was use the safety teather I cut of to pad the leg straps. Now those are pillow soft too! Inside that safety teather there is soft foam like padding, so I cut the whole thing in half and threaded each leg strap through it. Now is extra comfy!
 
Any pics of your creation? My thoughts are...if can be adjusted on the bridge for comfort as you say.....very good saddle/harness possibilities. I occasionally hunt stands so for the price versus buying both......interesting. I'm looking to upgrade from my old saddle and trying to see if I can get a good crossover like this. I can leave the house with each setup and be ready for whatever I want.
 
I'm going to check on that leg strap idea on my killdeer, i have an edge too.
 
I'm out of town so no pics but here goes. Left the suspenders on. I took some 5.5mm Beal Cordelette and girth hitched a Michoacan on each bridge loop. I also took some Sterling 8mm (should have used Oplux or RescTec, but this should work) and tied it to each bridge loop with a scaffold knot, running through the Michoacan on the opposite loop. I thus have two identical, opposite, adjustable bridges. I left them long enough to drape over my head and make donning and doffing easier. I have them opposed so I can't get confused and adjust the wrong one by accident.

Playing with it at ground level, so far I like my bridge system a lot. Once I get back to town I'll get some practice climbs with it and see if I like my XOP better than my Treehopper.
 
I put the h2 bridge on mine and it made a world of difference.

@josh9284 I’m thinking of doing the same thing with mine, I considered leaving the tri-glide harness leg straps and cutting the saddle style leg straps off instead, any thoughts?
 
I'm sure it would work but I would think you would be more comfy with the saddle leg straps due to the positioning. The harness leg strap are fastened higher up than the saddle straps. So you might not be able to get as much "cupping" when you sit or lean back. However might feel better than squeezing the boys if you like the leg straps tighter.
 
josh9284 said:
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This is unsafe…. You’ve ran flat webbing through rope with no type of chafe protection for the webbing… there is a reason that bridge loops get chafe protection and all trades utilize metal hardware (d rings, rope clips, and carabiners) when connecting webbing to rope. The rope will begin to saw into the webbing it will also create a pinched weak spot in your bridge if you were to fall.
 
Have to disagree on the not safe part. First it is climbing rated tubular webbing. Second there isn't any friction or chaffing on it. If I'm leaning or sitting my weight is in the the saddle, this keeping pressure on loop, not allowing for friction wear...maybe a flat spot, but since it is tubular webbing if it were to break there it would only wear the first layer wear the contact is, I would still have a bridge, unless of course catastrophic failure in which we are all susceptible to! Not that extra safety wouldn't be nice. I think the important lesson here is to always inspect your gear, if it is worn or bad replace it, which I do regularly due to the fact I'm only basically hanging from a friction hitch attached to a rope!
 
Not to mention that the standard is to ty a water knot on to the bridge loop which imparts the same properties. I just trust climbing rated triglides more than a knot which is also a failing point. To each there own. Im not telling anyone to do this, everything you or they try is at your own risk with your own risk assessment...... respectfully.
 
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