Just practice and get a system that works for you to get set up quietly and as sweat-free as possible. I try to go up the tree once, hanging my sticks as I climb as opposed to up and down a bunch.

 

i am new to saddle hunting and I am curious about the options of how to pack your platform and sticks

 

I'd recommend you saddlehunter.com Treasure trove of info there

 

I'm thinking about starting to saddle hunt. I'm going to check this out. Thanks.

 

I saddle hunt. My advice for a beginner is not to get caught up in going ultralight right away. It’s a fast way to go too far and make yourself miserable. Start with the “heavy and comfy” setup of a platform, sticks, and ropeman ascenders and then remove stuff gradually as you get used to it.

 

i ordered a predator xl platform, that’s what my buddy had and I really liked it.I don’t plan on ever hunting with out it,With the set up I’m gonna have I already cut almost 10 lbs off my old stand setup. If I like it and am gonna stick with it I’m gonna invest in beast sticks or tethrd one sticks next season, my xop sticks will have to do for now though.

 

Sounds like you've got a good start of stuff to use this season that will help you find out the smaller details that you like or dislike. That's what I did last year - used mostly cheaper stuff that I bought used on saddlehunter & this offseason I upgraded what I thought was the best areas to spend my money. Went from the tethrd mantis saddle to the cruzr xc. Changed from the 'normal' 11mm ropes to the 8mm. Got rid of the ropemans & now just using tenders with swabisch hitches on my linemans belt & tether both. Really like the tenders quite a bit better than the mechanical ascenders & they are way cheaper. Tethrd's hys strap is awesome but bulky so I'm changing to an amsteel gear hanger - stronger & much smaller. I used the regular predator platform & was happy with it so sticking with that this season.

Last area I need to upgrade is sticks. I have the original lone wolf full sized sticks now. They get the job done but are bulky & I don't love the one step design. After doing a ton of research & examining all of the stick options out there right now I'm not ready to drop the money on the premium sticks. Some of them have some great attributes but every stick has 1 or 2 things that I don't like & keeps them from being perfect in my mind. I have some ideas in my mind that I'm contemplating trying to build my own sticks but haven't had time to really get into it yet. One thing I will definitely add this year though is a double step amsteel aider to my bottom stick to help me get a little higher in the tree with less sticks. I may add a single step aider to the other sticks but not 100% comfortable there yet, so I'll see how it works on the bottom stick first.

 

Sounds like you've got a good start of stuff to use this season that will help you find out the smaller details that you like or dislike. That's what I did last year - used mostly cheaper stuff that I bought used on saddlehunter & this offseason I upgraded what I thought was the best areas to spend my money. Went from the tethrd mantis saddle to the cruzr xc. Changed from the 'normal' 11mm ropes to the 8mm. Got rid of the ropemans & now just using tenders with swabisch hitches on my linemans belt & tether both. Really like the tenders quite a bit better than the mechanical ascenders & they are way cheaper. Tethrd's hys strap is awesome but bulky so I'm changing to an amsteel gear hanger - stronger & much smaller. I used the regular predator platform & was happy with it so sticking with that this season.

Last area I need to upgrade is sticks. I have the original lone wolf full sized sticks now. They get the job done but are bulky & I don't love the one step design. After doing a ton of research & examining all of the stick options out there right now I'm not ready to drop the money on the premium sticks. Some of them have some great attributes but every stick has 1 or 2 things that I don't like & keeps them from being perfect in my mind. I have some ideas in my mind that I'm contemplating trying to build my own sticks but haven't had time to really get into it yet. One thing I will definitely add this year though is a double step amsteel aider to my bottom stick to help me get a little higher in the tree with less sticks. I may add a single step aider to the other sticks but not 100% comfortable there yet, so I'll see how it works on the bottom stick first.

sounds like we’re kinda on the same page, I ordered the 8mm ropes from Cruzr with the schwabish hitch, ive had a set of xop sticks that have set in my closet for the last 2 years and I haven’t touched em, I’m coming from a lonewolf Hand climber, they are a little heavy but I cut them down and ordered ropes to do away with the cam buckle straps, it lightened them up a bit, I’m not a fan of the single step at all but they will work for now. I can get 13-14 ft with 3 sticks with no aiders, if I end up liking it this season I will prob be going with 3 beast sticks next year and adding a aider to get me around 15-16 ft with 3 sticks, I don’t ever hunt much higher than that.What do you use to pull your bow up with? I’ve seen some people use retractable leashes but I feel like that would be bulky and noisy.

 

Not all saddles are the same.I've been using them for over 20 years and in my experience,nothing beats a cruzr for comfort and ease of use.Many saddles pinch your waste and the cruzr has a curved waste band that doesn't pinch at all.The whole reason I use a saddle is to save weight and hunt trees that I otherwise coundn't.That means using one stick to climb and hunt off.It also means using a madrock safeqaurd and about 30 feet of 8mm oplux.My entire set up weighs less than 6lbs and I can hunt just about any tree and be set up and ready to hunt in less than 5 or 6 minutes from the time I leave the ground.The key is having the right gear and nothing is better than a Cruzr saddle and an ultimate one stick from eatern woods outdoors.You'll put about 800$ out for everything but it will save you money in the long run.I would strongly suggest doing it right from the start rather than just buying cheap gear.Cheap gear will make you hate the concept.Done right,there's no lighter,safer and more effective way to hunt.

 

If you plan on climbing with multiple sticks,you're doing it the hard way and hauling way too much stuff with you.With an ultimate one stick and just a little bit of practice with the right technigue,you can be 17-20ft with almost no effort,no noise and no sweat in less than 6 minutes and you can climb around branches.You need a good light stick with a small platform attached,A good 2-3 step aider that attaches to both bottom steps and a cam cleat with an amsteel rope.Two to three effortless adjustments and you're easily at 15-20 feet.There's no way you can climb faster or more quiet with multiple sticks.When you're ready to come down,you just rappel down a few feet,take the stick off and rappel down the rest of the way.I'm packed up and hiking out in about 3 minutes from the time I start descending.I use a 30 ft piece of paracord to haul my bow yo and I clip the other end behind the knot on my tether.When I hit the ground,I pull the pracord and my tether lands on the ground.It's so easy a caveman can do it.

 

I use a aero hunter kestrel flex, wirh a homemade climbing platform out of a heavily modified and reinforced lone wolf hand climber top. My whole setup weighs only a few pounds, the tree does have to be straight enough to climb though. If I need to be in a specific tree, I use SRT gear and the platform.

 

I got into saddlehunting last year and love it. Not going back to a climber or ladder stands. It takes a little practice but so did using a climber..
There are so many options for getting in and out of the tree that you will just have to try different ones and see what suits you best. It takes a bit to figure that out and maybe for now you are good with sticks so you are not throwing another brand new thing in the mix this close to the season.

 

Make sure you wear kneepads. It helps a lot especially if you want to give your feet a rest. Prop your knees against the tree and basically sit in your saddle.

Practice your weak side shots. I usually turn on my platform so my tether comes across my chest like a seat belt.

 

Always check your connections before you put your weight in it.

 

Yep, don't remove your lineman's lanyard until you are comfortably sitting in your saddle. I use my lineman's lanyard as a back up tether. I also climb with both my tether and lineman's lanyard. I feel safer than when I used a tree stand.

 

I started a few years ago and love it. The biggest thing for me was practicing climbing up. Once I was comfortable, I did it with my eyes closed like I was in early morning/late evening.

 

Youtube is your friend.
Safety must always be your first concern.
One size/approach does not fit all.
What you buy today you'll probably sell tomorrow.
You'll modify your system on a continuous basis. See above
It is exciting because every hunt is an adventure.
You'll discover what is really important in your back pack and what can be left behind.(weight)

 

I started saddle hunting last year and I can say that it is by far my favorite way to hunt. It did take me a while to get comfortable enough with it to use its full range of motion, so my best advice would be to take your time and practice as much as possible so that you don’t miss any shot opportunities come deer season.

 

I started saddle hunting last year after numerous years of looking into them.
At the start of the season, I hunted with a lock on (Millennium M7) with a saddle. Yes, this may seem dumb, but I didn’t want to go all in on something that I may hate. I used 3 Lone Wolf sticks.
I quickly realized that I hated Lone Wolf steps, I hated Lone Wolf straps, and the M7 was too big of a “platform”.
A week later, I went back to my Muddy sticks, and my OOAL Ridge Runner came in. I loved the Ridge Runner, but I honestly hated the multi piece setup. Plus, the Muddy sticks seemed a lot louder last year than seasons past.
In November, I did a few mods to my Lone Wolfs. I cut them down to 20” for a two step configuration. I added double steps. I added a 20” cable to all 3 sticks. I replaced the plastic Versa button to a metal one, and lastly, I done the rope mod to replace the LW straps.
I still wasn’t satisfied.
Finally in December, I broke down and ordered the Scout from OOAL that mounts to the stick. I added it to my top stick, so I now had basically just sticks to hang.
I am so satisfied with this setup that I didn’t make any changes during the off season, and I’m waiting until September to really start practicing again from the stand. August is just too miserably hot in AL.

(Before I added the platform to the stick)

My setup with it attached to my pack from Jan.

With everything that I carry to the woods minus my water/coffee, it weighs 9.5lbs with my saddle and ropes. Super light to a lot, but it’s very comfy until the 7 hour mark. I did multiple 8-10 hour sits last year. I did buy the recliner strap to test out this season to see if will help with the longer sits.

 

I've been back an forth with saddle hunting. But I'm going to give it an honest effort this season. I have a latitude method and a mission platform coming should be here tomorrow so I'll be doing a bunch of practicing with them to be ready by the opener..

 

Where you get your cable aiders from? Eastern woods is out of the size I need. Thinking of making my own if I can find the right fitting

 

EWO is where I ordered all of my parts from. I will say that I prefer cable aiders to amsteel/rope aiders.
You don’t have to really search for them when ascending or descending in the dark, and it’s a lot more stable. The only thing you have to be mindful of are the crimps, potential rusting and bending the cable in the wrong way as if to break it with a back and forth motion.

 

Got back into hunting 3 years ago. 1st year I bought a Climber and a Monster M150 lock-on. Both comfy as hell but both heavy as hell. Used the hangon with the full length Lone Wolf sticks. Last year bough a Cruzr XC and cut down the Lone Wolf sticks and added a double stick. Worked alright but half way through the season I bought Beast Sticks. Love them. Tried a Predator and a Mission Platform. Liked both pretty much equally. Saddle isnt as comfy as the Summit Goliath and Monster M150 but made up for it for walk in and out. Still plenty comfortable to sit in all day if you wanted too. 6 hours was my longest and still more comfortable then the cheap hangons we used back in the day. This year I have a One Stick with the UP platform and a ring of steps. Ive only done one climb with it so far but I really like it. If everything goes right Ill probably sell the Beast sticks and the Seeker platform I have here still in the box at the end of the season. Ill never go back to a tree stand.

 

Liking the concept and liking the process are two very different things. I have a friend who is into saddle hunting that demonstrated it for me....that ended my interest. However he loves it due to the lightweight approach and ease of setup. I would rather haul in my 20# Cougar Claw climber, but I admittedly don't hunt nearly as deep or thick as he does with the saddle setup. Ideally, a person could find someone to test out gear before investing a lot that they will end up potentially reselling. But testing and liking after hours on the side of a tree are also two different things. Precisely why there is a steady flow of saddle gear for sale in the AT classifieds.....try and resell if it doesn't fit.

 

I got into it last year and have no regrets. I am climbing with ropes,which helps keep the weight down even more. Comfort was no problem and I love rappelling down,no better way to descend in the dark. It has a learning curve but so did using a climber. The saddle had more of one,or I should say the climbing aspect did.
I dont miss my climber or ladder stands at all. It is either the saddle or the ground for me.

 

You're getting plenty of good feedback so far, I hunted last year from a saddle and have no regrets. From my experience it took some time to adjust my tree selection and set up, definitely different than a conventional hang on or climber, the main things being position and use of cover provided by the tree.

 

I have a Cruzr XC. Practice a lot at ground level, both for safety and shooting various angles with good form. Then practice shooting at height with someone retrieving arrows for you on a rope. Play around with tether height and bridge length. Get a good set of knee pads.

You'll probably start getting into lightening your platform and climbing system and other aspects next. I can hunt all day comfortably with 15 lbs on my back (including water, snacks, and a few survival items).