Not all climbers or saddles are the same. I have done tree work most of my life and have what was the most high end saddle with buck board available 20 years ago. I have spent 8 hrs in it without comming down on big nasty tree removals on power lines that t, service drop running through and house underneath with very small drop zone and everything needing roped out. More than a 3 hours in I like a break.


my summits are heavy and won't go around trees as small or large as my old loggy will but it's easier to climb so easy my daughter and boys could use them at 8 or so. The best thing is they are comfortable and what I'm comfortable it's easier to sit longer and stay still.

When I started bow hunting deer at 13 ( strong enough to pull 35lb) I didn't have anyone taking me or anything gear other than my bow arrows and Walmart broad heads. I would climb trees and sit in forks. Killed my first several deer like that. a saddle would have been incredible back then. Today I prefer more comfort and if I'm in a saddle I'm getting paid or doing work for myself.

We almost killed white tailed deer to extinction in arkansas years ago with no camouflage,lever guns,and hunting from the ground lol

I enjoy bow hunting from treestands.All my rifle hunting is on the ground

Hopefully you're not comparing saddles to arborist harnesses. Two completely different things. I wouldn't want to hunt out of one of those not trim trees out of a saddle. Can you do either yes, but not as well.

Lock on and sticks you can get into more trees. You also don't have to get down to pee, unlike a saddle where you go wee wee on your boots if you don't climb down. Lol. If you're not so young, ground blinds are great.

Not true at all unless your wearing more pants than...um nevermind. Even the ladies can go as well with a bit of help. If you have to do #2, With SRT I can hit the ground in 10 seconds, and get back up to the height in 2 minutes...

Get you a folding gerber saw. Get to the limb . Saw it off. keep climbing

I had to give up the saddle, then the climbing stand, then the ladder stand. I settled on a newer truck with a quiet engine and electric windows. I just have to keep the glass runs clean so the window doesn't squeak...

Just got back from a week hunting trip in mountains. Threw together a saddle hunting setup right before I left. A free tree trimmers saddle/harness, made a platform 1 stick combo out of an old climber stand with a 2 step aider. I use that to climb and rappel down with a 40 ft rope and figure 8. THis is my first year saddle hunting with very little practice before I left. Normally use an api bowhunter climber, it stayed in the truck and will be for sale soon. I will be buying a new hunting saddle. The 1 stick/platform worked great, but I have to cut some weight off it, weighs 7 lbs. I spent too much time with climber finding the right tree to climb instead of the right place to hunt. The saddle I just climb the tree, branches or crooked tree no problem. Hide behind the tree if u want, spin around the tree if you want. Nope didnt pee on my boots. I feel safer in the saddle since I am tied to the tree after the 1st climb up into the platform which is set at about 5 ft to start. THe rappel down is a little different the 1st couple times. But I practiced that down a hill in my yard before I left. If you already have a climber and dont hunt far from the truck they are ok. But I will never hike out of the mountains again with a boned out deer in my pack and a climber strapped to that again. Probably going with an ape canyon outfitters land barron lite, anyone have one?

I haven't seen that one really but the knock on it is the buckle on it. Doesn't quite have the gripping power of a COBRA buckle. Not really a huge issue but it can loosen up a bit on you. They do make a saddle with a cobra but it's 2x the cost of the Baron. Go on saddle Hunter com and you can get a review of every saddle out there and see what people are selling and what they're keeping.

I had and used climbers hang on with stick ladders and the saddle They all had their good and not so good features I used the hang ons wth stick ladders the most but that was a matter of habit as far as getting into a routine of picking a tree to set up in I know it is not a choice by me But where they are legal you would be well served to have all 3 of them It gives you the flexibility to do what is best to get a deer Any in the end you are only spending more money than makes any sense to get a deer that will yield less meat than you could get for the same amount if you just went t the store and purchased some beef I was not a hunter that had all the gadgets Or so I thought But I had more than I gave myself credit for But HUNTING IS SUPPOUSED TO BE FUN SO SPEND THE MONEY BECAUSE IT IS ONLY MONEY

The older I get the more I like ladder stands.

For private land, yes.

[quote=w side rd 151 But HUNTING IS SUPPOUSED TO BE FUN SO SPEND THE MONEY BECAUSE IT IS ONLY MONEY [/quote]
Hunting is supposed to be about putting food on the table.

Public land here doesnt allow any limb cutting. At least the state lands have that rule. Not sure about the regs on our national forest land.

Hopefully you're not comparing saddles to arborist harnesses. Two completely different things. I wouldn't want to hunt out of one of those not trim trees out of a saddle. Can you do either yes, but not as well.[/quote

Yes I was talking about an arborist saddle. Frome the limited stuff.you can see fron TV shows the Boyd were watching the saddeld.the guys on TV used looked of very similar design so I assumed they were a cheaper copy. but it sounds like I must be missing something.

They're similar but not quite the same. An arborist saddle has a short bridge where you attach to your climbing line. That wouldn't be very comfortable once your sitting/standing on your platform. You'll get a nasty case of hip pinch. A hunting saddle has a long bridge that is either fixed or adjustable. The longer bridge helps reduce the hip pinch, you want the bridge coming off the bridge loops as close to 90* as possible when you're on the platform. They do make a spreader bar that helps get that bridge out to the 90 mark. For rope climbers we do want a short bridge so that's where the the adjustable bridge comes into effect or using a second short bridge as climbing on a long bridge is a PITA.

Hunted two years now from a saddle: Pro's: light, lots of options for playing the wind, super comfortable once your set-up
Cons: Lots of movement/little bit of noise setting up, if your sitting till dark little bit of a pain packing up, pricey

I still hunt mostly, rarely sit in a ladder stand, ground blind or tree stand(we build some of the shadiest stuff in the woods), the saddle set-up is perfect for me. Every once in awhile you trip across a spot still hunting you just have to hunt from a tree and/or find where that big buck is hanging out. With the pressure around me these spots are almost always, 3-4 beaver dams in, across the swampiest, thickest spots you can find. This gives me the option of instantly being able to elevate myself. The weight of the climbers vs the saddles made me go with the saddle set-up.

Packing up isn't bad of you rope climb or two tether. I just shove everything into my pack and rearrange at home. I climb on 30ft of 8.5mm line and it takes about two fists of space that I can fit in my side dump pouch of my saddle

Mine has 2 sets of d rings one on the belt at your hips and the 2nd connected to the strap that you sit on under you butt. The cheaper ones the part you sit on was just webbing strap material maybe 4" wide and would squeeze your hips. That what the line clearance company's used to provide. Mine has something stiff wood plastic or? that is in the middle and sewn into the webbing so you have something solid to sit on and it doesn't penchant my hips. I always heard it referred to as a buck board but I obviously don't know all the proper terminology. Is this the same or similar to what your referring to

Here is a picture of my 14 yare old in mine a month ago. I was taking down a dieing maple over the house so used the chance to give the boys some rope, knot, and climbing lessons.


and a little later when my 12 year old got home he got to get some learning/playing as well.

thanks for taking the time to explain I'm always wanting to learn more. I'm guessing this is similar to what your describing?