Can You Fall Out of a Tree Saddle? We Tried - Here's What Happened
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- čas přidán 16. 10. 2021
- Skeptics want to know, can you fall out of tree saddle? We tried. Here's a look at what happened.
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I love the safety aspect of saddle hunting. As someone who has been saved twice now by harnesses in 1) a climber that slipped and 2) a strap on a tree stand that broke free, I take safety while hunting off of the ground extremely seriously. I questioned the safety of saddle hunting for a long time. Then when I moved to saddle hunting most of the time, my fears were nearly eliminated. What I love about it is that I am in 100% control of my gear at all times. I actually hands on see every component of my gear every hunt. No more wondering if a squirrel chewed a strap in the past week while I wasn't out there. No more wondering if this will be the time that a cable on a stand platform breaks. My gear is in my possession at all times and I see it as I put it on and take it off of the tree. Yes a bridge or a tether could break, but again, I am hands on seeing it every hunt and can recognize a red flag. Is it 1000% full proof? No ... but it is the safest way to hunt elevated in my opinion. The key is coming up with a system and following that system set by step every time.
Saddle hunting is a blast!
I've spent more time in a saddle climbing trees than most people on earth, and most of it wielding a chainsaw in the process. Doing climbing tree removals/trims gets me a lot of experience. As long as one is using a saddle in a set up that has them facing the tree with zero or very little slack, it's absolutely a solid way to keep yourself safe in the tree. However, lots of people are using them in traditional tree stand set ups facing away from the tree. Not only that, they have slack in their tether so it's not up across their chest causing problems and limiting mobility. Which, slack is bad in any harness, however, leaning out and falling out of a traditional tree stand in a saddle is dangerous and could absolutely whip you upside down and out of the harness. I've literally watched similar scenarios happen. When in saddle specific set ups, I use a saddle. When in a traditional tree stand, I wear a rear tether harness.
I just pulled the trigger on a Cruzr XC Kit. Hope it works out well, I'm 260lbs but I feel it will do fine. I'll be testing it out before archery season and then see if I want to use it during rifle season. The one thing you never see on saddle hunting videos is that you are definitely out in the elements, but hey, if ya gonna hunt ya gonna hunt. Thanks for sharing. John.
Been waiting on my saddle to be mailed. I’m so excited for it!!
Very few folks saddle hunting use a safety, unfortunately. The saddle is your stand or single point of attachment. Never forget your safety or second point of attachment.
Love saddle hunting!!!!!
My major concern is depending on the tether or bridge. I work construction and, so I’m used to having a harness and different types of lanyards. I would feel better if you could integrate a lanyard safety with the saddle. I like the concept of the saddle because it is so mobile. That is why I like my climbers. I use my tree strap, harness and lanyard as I climb in case one of the cables break. That did happen to my cousin last year when his cable broke while climbing up a tree. Luckily he was only about 6’ up. I have also gotten into the habit of using a lifeline with my hang on stands while ascend and descend.
I ordered a saddle and I can't wait to be hunting out of it soon.
That's great information
Great video. Jarred from teatherd has a video on this subject. Very very safe
“Like any loving father…”😂
But what if you’re hunting and a dadgum tornader comes through and turns your world upside down?
......and to follow on this question, what if its a shark nado and they attack you in your saddle? Does it function as a shark cage in the air?
As long as that tree is still standing, you should be fine! 😂
I Loveeeee hunting out of my saddle. I started hunting out of it 3 years ago. Killed my biggest buck of my life opening day out of mine this year.
I’m looking to switch from traditional tree stand hunting to a saddle system, while researching saddles I came across one video “broke my back falling from tree saddle” that about swayed my interest.
Look up deaths and injuries from other types of stands. That will about sway your interest in whatever you’re using.
Lil dudes a beast!
and he did it in crocs NOT in 4 wheel drive LMAO
How long can you comfortably stay up in the saddle? I'm interested in trying this method.
All day!
If you're doing it right, you can sit all day.
What happens when your bridge/tether breaks? Treestand hunting the treestand has to fail AND your safety harness has to fail. Saddle hunting only the rope has to fail and you're gone.
Most treestands accidents happen while climbing up or down so, in most cases, only a single item needs to fail (harness) for you to have an issue. Thankfully these products are built extremely well and tested to ensure their safety. That's why it's important to research the products you use in the field to make sure you're getting the best ones possible.
No climbing rope snaps....there would be noticeable issues in the rope that a person would have to ignore
GOOD VIDEO, BUT NOT FOR ME!
Can you link this saddle?
Sure thing! It's a Tethrd Phantom - tethrdnation.com/product/phantom-saddle/
Mouth guard, mouth guard, mouth guard , the worst that will happen is you’re going to eat some bark.
As a decent sized guy at 6'2 220-270 lbs there is absolutely no way im trusting any of the flimsy products on the hunting market I've found other solutions for sure but I'll never buy on of those kinds of saddles
I wouldn't call the hunting saddle gear "flimsy"...maybe a little overpriced compared to normal tree climbing stuff, but this is geared specifically for hunters. And you can guarantee that anything that hits the market has been put through hundreds of hours of testing by the product engineers, and by other hunters.
You conclude the video by claiming how safe saddle hunting is, but all you talked about in this video is whether you can fall out of the saddle. Falling out of the saddle is not what makes it dangerous. It's analogous to asking if you can fall out of a deer stand in the sitting position. Once tethered in, unless there is equipment failure or some freakish thing happens, you're unlikely to fall out of a saddle. What would be a freakish thing? Not tightening the saddle properly is one such thing. Wearing bulky clothing and tightening the saddle to the clothing can cause one to slip out when inverted. In general, falling out of the saddle is not the main safety concern. The real danger of saddle hunting comes during the climbing phases, both ascent and descent. Way, too many saddle hunters use a one-stick method where when they get up to the top of the stick, they are anchored at their feet. This is totally unsafe and should you take a fall, you are looking at a fall factor of greater than one. This will induce very high shock loads on the body and the equipment. I don't know of any saddle gear that is designed for fall arrest. They are fall restraint(fall prevention) equipment, not fall arrest(equipment designed to catch in the event of a fall). The high shock loads can cause the equipment to fail or it can cause great bodily harm or even death. This is the real danger of saddle hunting and all other forms of elevated hunting. I have see all kinds of one-stick and multiple stick techniques and all have inherent dangers associated with them. This is why redundancy is needed. For saddle hunting, there is no way to have true redundancy unless you are wearing two saddles, because to be redundant, you have to have two independent systems. There's the case of the Iowa hunter who died in 2022 because he was hanging from his tether and passed out and eventually died. He was a mere 6 foot off the ground, but the squirrel hunter who came to his rescue could not get him free. Saddle hunting is not as safe as you claim. Your statement is too broad and overreaching. It can be safe if implemented with the proper safety protocols. Without it, it can be very dangerous just like all other elevated hunting. As a hunter, you have to think and actively practice safety. People think they are totally safe if they are anchored to the tree with a harness. What happens when you fall and have not way of getting down or up, or freeing yourself from this position? What then? These are questions you as the hunter must have answered prior to getting in a tree. Once you have the answer, you need to practice it so in the event it occurs in the field, you know exactly how to deal with it. Saddle hunters, think as long as they are tethered in during the climb, they are safe. If you fall below the sticks and the Aider, unless you are young and fit, it's going to be very hard to get your feet back into the aider and pully yourself up. What are you going to do when all you have is a 10' tether and you're 15' in the air? You can't go up, and you can't go down? These are very real questions, questions, you should have already figured out, but most people don't. Just saying, blank statements like at the end of the video are not responsible because it belies the truth about the dangers of elevated hunted. Regardless of system, be it ladder stands, climbers, hang-ons, or saddles, everyone of them can be made safer by knowing what the dangers are and thinking through it and finding solutions that work for you. Forget the solution the 20-year-old star athlete uses. You're 45 with some gut and flabby muscles. You're not going to pull yourself up with one arm like the 20 something. It must be something that works for you! If you take the time to do your homework, all the above systems can be made quite safe. If not, all the above systems are all quite dangerous. Let's be more real and honest instead of going tribal and as long as it's what we use, we're going to claim it as super safe or the safest. Our end goal should be the same and that's to keep ALL hunters safe, no matter your system of choice. They can all be safe, if we take the steps to do it correctly. Cheers and stay safe my friend.