# Sit drag substitute?



## Hailey_Phillips (Nov 4, 2013)

So I've been interested in saddle hunting for a little while now but can't let myself shell out the money a saddle or guidos costs for something I may not like. Well then I see people using a rock climbing harness and sit drag to make a saddle for a lot less money, which gets me even more interested. And of course like most of us that spend time in the diy section, I have a problem buying stuff when I have other 'stuff' laying around at my disposal. 

So here's my question/idea..

Has anyone ever heard of using a summit viper seat as the 'sit drag' part of one of these setups? Of course there will be a harness involved for safety, I would never hang from just a pad alone. But I was looking online at sit drags and RC harnesses, and it got me to thinking.. I know the comfort won't be an exact match, but I think I may rig up my normal harness and a summit seat that have laying on a shelf as a temporary treesaddle of sorts to see if I even like the idea of being suspended/sitting that way. I've never hunted facing the tree.. I've never hunted being only suspended from a web/strap design, I've never hunted from a saddle. I may get up he tree and decide that it's not for me at all, so if that's the case, I wouldn't be out any money. I have plenty of safety harness carabiners, lifeline ropes, linesmen ropes, and such to rig up something that I can try at about 5'-10' in my yard to see if it's something I would like to pursue and invest some money into, or if it's something I despise and never want to try again. 

So back to the reason for my post, anyone seen or tried using a summit viper seat as the 'seat' part? It holds your weight while in the stand, so it should be plenty strong. I'll have a harness on of course, so god-forbid something breaks, I can't go more than a couple inches before it grabs. I tried searching here and even using Google and couldn't come up with anything. I'm gonna try to tinker with the idea this weekend and see if I can come up with something and post pics or an update at least of my findings.. Thanks for any input.

Also want to add, I'm sure this isn't going to be permanent. And won't be at any high elevation so I would rather not get the 'you're an idiot' or 'just buy the right stuff and use the right stuff' comments. This is for a at-home trial to see if I like the idea without spending money, and again, I will be tied off 100% for safety, I won't be depending on just the seat. Merely asking if anyone has seen this or something similar.


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## noxninja (Jan 21, 2016)

I don't think you are going to get a "you're crazy" on here....cause we are all crazy according to our non saddle counterparts


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## Hailey_Phillips (Nov 4, 2013)

noxninja said:


> I don't think you are going to get a "you're crazy" on here....cause we are all crazy according to our non saddle counterparts
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Ha well thanks for the that, I've never tried it but I really wanna 'give it a whirl' but I don't know anyone with a saddle I can try before I buy. I'll admit, the idea of saddle hunting seems a little sketchy, but then again, sitting on an aluminum perch with straps seems a bit sketchy too but I've done it for as long as I can remember haha


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## GRIMWALD (Sep 28, 2012)

I think there was a discussion a few years ago on AT concerning Saddle hunting, so a search may be helpful bot there are also a number of forums dedicated to just Saddle hunting

http://saddlehunter.com/community/index.php 

comes to mind. 
I haven't continued shadow stalking these sites for more years than I care to admit but the saddle hunter forum or other like minded sites may offer more input.

GRIM


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## Hailey_Phillips (Nov 4, 2013)

GRIMWALD said:


> I think there was a discussion a few years ago on AT concerning Saddle hunting, so a search may be helpful bot there are also a number of forums dedicated to just Saddle hunting
> 
> http://saddlehunter.com/community/index.php
> 
> ...


Thanks for this, I didn't know there was a forum for it. I'll look there. I did more of a specific search, for 'summit seat saddle' and that didn't turn up anything. Thanks for the tip though


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## TheTracker (Sep 11, 2009)

If your going to use the summit seat part then you just defeated the whole tree saddle idea.

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## Hailey_Phillips (Nov 4, 2013)

TheTracker said:


> If your going to use the summit seat part then you just defeated the whole tree saddle idea.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


I'm talking about just the padded seat, not the whole frame. I tried it out at ground level this weekend, works really good actually. Feels like I'm sitting in a summit without metal bars around me haha. I'll try and take some pics this afternoon so that it will make more sense.


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## TheTracker (Sep 11, 2009)

Your way better off using a sit drag, it's very light, comfortable and easy to stow away.

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## Hailey_Phillips (Nov 4, 2013)

TheTracker said:


> Your way better off using a sit drag, it's very light, comfortable and easy to stow away.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


I may very well do that, I'm just trying to go the free route until I can see if it's something I want to pursue and invest a little money in. So far I really like the summit seat, I sat in my yard for about an hour yesterday and I can see why people use saddles so much. It's different than a stand, but I like it.


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## Hailey_Phillips (Nov 4, 2013)

Well I got to use my set up for the first time yesterday, and I will say it was quite nice! Summit padded seat with 1" webbing for a bridge and small platform I built from an old hang on stand seat. I only got to sit for about 3.5 hrs but I have no complaints other than the size of the seat while walking, which really isn't that bad. I had the bridge thrown over my neck so that seat was at my butt/lower back, platform and 4 LW sticks strapped to my pack. It was kind of a heavy setup but that's because I carried a few extra tethers and steel carabiners just in case the way I worked it out at home didn't go as planned, but it did so I can shed a few pounds of crap for the next trip out. I didn't see any deer but that's because I was moving a lot, not from discomfort, but mostly because I wanted to see what all I could do with this setup and trying a lot of different positions just to see how they felt. It took me a good 30 minutes before I could get comfortable in my head that I was suspending from straps and ropes, but as soon as I did, I really liked it! I won't keep using the summit seat permanently, but it did exactly what I wanted, let me try the whole saddle/RC harness thing before I shelled out much money. I bought a Black Diamond Bod harness because I knew I wanted it even if I didn't stick with the saddle type setup. I will be ordering a sitdrag in the next week or so and I will rig it up for the next time I get to hunt. I'll try and get some pics this afternoon before dark.


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## Expedition97477 (Sep 18, 2016)

Thanks for the tip


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