tree saddles

[MI_bowhunter]

This is my first year using the saddle and I love it.  I'm using the same set up, but I use 4 of the LW climbing sticks so that I can get 20+ feet up.  For a base I use 5 ameri-setp strap on steps, but put on a single (8') camo ratchet strap.  Works perfectly. 
 
Screw in steps would be great, but I mainly hunt state land so screw in's are out of the question.  Some trees I only need one LW stick, then I climb branches. 
 
It does take more timing using the LW sticks, but they are quiet and once you get the hang of it, quite easy to set up.  I strap the first one at the base of the tree.  Then I take two more sticks and loop them over my head and under my left arm and another under my right arm.  I then prop the last stick up against the tree.  Once up the first stick, I grab the one propped against the tree and strap that as my #2 stick.  Climb it, then strap #3 and #4 as I go up.  Doesn't take but 5 min to get up 20', but does take some practice.  Once I get to the top, I strap on my base and tie off my saddle.  Then pull up my bow (which is attached to my saddle via a 30' rope). 
 
Hope this helps.  One word of advice, set up so that you can shoot your bow to the left.  It is very hard (for me anyways) to draw my bow when shooting to the right.  Need to practice and build up those muscles!! 
 

[BirdMan]

ORIGINAL: DeanoZ

Yeap..and another tip for a quick platform set up that someone else mentioned is to use 4-5 of the ameristep strap-on steps on a single strap and just strap them on...easier than the screw-ins and faster.

Birdman, how many of the LW sticks did you buy...looks like three 36" sticks come to a set?  How high do you get in the tree with just 3 sticks?

 
I have 5 LW sticks and can get 25+ feet depending on how I space them out.  I have 6 ameristep strap on steps on a ratchet strap for a platform.

[hunt4ever]

Great advice guys,
I am going to stop by Dick's either tonight or tomorrow and pick up 5 LW straps and 5 ameri-setup straps.  MI_bowhunter, I have trees in the back yard so I will practice your set up procedures.  It seems to be straight forward once you get the hang of it.  Thanks again guys for your help, [size="4"]Tom Mac[/size]

[DeanoZ]

Thanks for the info Bird...once I can find some sticks I'll give it a whirl again.

[BerkHunter]

Awsome forum guys.  I am gonna look into getting one.

[hunt4ever]

Just wanted to give an update on my Trophyline tree saddle that I purchased a couple of weeks ago from Cabela's.  Bow season in the Southern Zone in Upstate NY begins next Saturday, 17 Oct.,  so the pressure is on to get my act together.  Based on posts from this forum, I purchased a set of 3 LW climbing sticks and screw in steps for the platform.  Also, based on everything you guys have told me about the saddle, I am very anxious to use my saddle.  Because of other things that I have been involved in, like the tree house I am building over one of my key food plots (ref. attach. photo), yesterday was the 1st time I have had a chance to pull the saddle out of the box.  My comments are (1) the video and the 48 step set-up instruction received with the saddle was useless, (2) the video that Trophyline has on it's website was very helpful in that it gave a step-by-step setup that made it clear to someone like myself that has not used the saddle before, and (3) I practiced on the ground and the tips in this forum was very helpful, especially those of John Eberhart.

I need to practice on the ground more in the next few days, but I think once I do that, I will be as comfortable as you guys are in the use of the saddle.  Question:  Some mentioned that they have cut the shoulder straps off, why not just let them hang in back like John Eberhart does  I found the shoulder straps very uncomfortable and really off no use. Happy hunting, [size="4"]Tom Mac[/size]

[wildotter]

Hello all! I hunted in my new Tree Saddle for the first time this past weekend after a few practice rounds. I LOVE IT!!! Unfortunately, I too was having the same problem several others have mentioned with the slow, strenuous process of getting to my desired height using screw-in steps. I have a set of LW sticks, but that only gets me about 12-15 feet off the ground, and I prefer to be no less than 20 in most locations...especially since the leaves are starting to fall here in Arkansas. So...after the 2 minutes required to get my LW sticks on the tree, I proceeded to spend another 30 min. screwing in steps to get close to 20'. I was dripping with sweat, and daylight had arrived. I found this forum entry while researching methods for climbing trees when using the Tree Saddle. After reading this thread, I've now ordered another set of LW sticks (these are awesome by the way),  2 3-packs of the Ameristep Strap-On steps to use as my base, and a "strap only" ratchet strap from the sight listed here.
 
As for the performance of the saddle...I sat 6 hours in my first sitting and was totally comfortable. I am a size 31-32 waist, so I ordered a medium (Tyler is still there, and I can honestly say this was the best customer service experience I've ever had...he went above and beyond what I had expected when I found out my saddle was backorderd). I found that I have to tighten the waist belt all the way down to get it snug, but I didn't have any problems with trying to slide down while walking to my stand location.
 
One thing I did notice in my evening setup...I set up in a leaning tree (minor lean around 5-10 degrees) and I set up on the "top" of the tree based on the trail I was hunting. Throughout the hunt I noticed I was having to almost work to keep from swinging around the tree toward the "bottom" side. It felt like gravity was trying to pull me around the tree. So, for those of you that are more experienced with the TS, is it better to set up on the "bottom" of a leaning tree? In this case, I would have had to forgo setting up for the 90 degree shot to the left in order to get "underneath" the lean of the tree.
 
All-in-all, I am sold on the saddle. And after I get my new LW sticks and strap-on steps (hopefully by this weekend) I think I might have some lock-ons and a climbing stand for sale, lol
 
Thanks to everyone for their input...

[the turkey guy]

my answer to your question would be try play with were you put you strap turn it so it help's fight the curve in the tree.i'am hunting a tree with a double S and  if i turn the stap no problem and glad you like you saddle it just keeps geting better. thanks rob.

[hunt4ever]

ORIGINAL: wildotter

Hello all! I hunted in my new Tree Saddle for the first time this past weekend after a few practice rounds. I LOVE IT!!! Unfortunately, I too was having the same problem several others have mentioned with the slow, strenuous process of getting to my desired height using screw-in steps. I have a set of LW sticks, but that only gets me about 12-15 feet off the ground, and I prefer to be no less than 20 in most locations...especially since the leaves are starting to fall here in Arkansas. So...after the 2 minutes required to get my LW sticks on the tree, I proceeded to spend another 30 min. screwing in steps to get close to 20'. I was dripping with sweat, and daylight had arrived. I found this forum entry while researching methods for climbing trees when using the Tree Saddle. After reading this thread, I've now ordered another set of LW sticks (these are awesome by the way),  2 3-packs of the Ameristep Strap-On steps to use as my base, and a "strap only" ratchet strap from the sight listed here.

As for the performance of the saddle...I sat 6 hours in my first sitting and was totally comfortable. I am a size 31-32 waist, so I ordered a medium (Tyler is still there, and I can honestly say this was the best customer service experience I've ever had...he went above and beyond what I had expected when I found out my saddle was backorderd). I found that I have to tighten the waist belt all the way down to get it snug, but I didn't have any problems with trying to slide down while walking to my stand location.

One thing I did notice in my evening setup...I set up in a leaning tree (minor lean around 5-10 degrees) and I set up on the "top" of the tree based on the trail I was hunting. Throughout the hunt I noticed I was having to almost work to keep from swinging around the tree toward the "bottom" side. It felt like gravity was trying to pull me around the tree. So, for those of you that are more experienced with the TS, is it better to set up on the "bottom" of a leaning tree? In this case, I would have had to forgo setting up for the 90 degree shot to the left in order to get "underneath" the lean of the tree.

All-in-all, I am sold on the saddle. And after I get my new LW sticks and strap-on steps (hopefully by this weekend) I think I might have some lock-ons and a climbing stand for sale, lol

Thanks to everyone for their input...

As indicated in several other post, I am a new guy with regards to using a tree saddle and wanted to share some things with others. First of all, like Wildotter, I found Tyler (phone # 866-444-4868) went above and beyond helping me solve my problem and soooo thankful Turkey Guy suggested all new guys speak with him.  A big thanks to Turkey Guy and BTW I did tell him you sent me.  My problem was that I ordered mine from Bass Pro Shop and received the only one they had which was a medium size.  Bass was not a problem, although most of the people that I talked to didn't know what a tree saddle was, so I very quickly felt that it was a good thing I had Tyler.  I have a 38" waist and know that the specs call for a large, but didn't think this would be a problem, since the Trophyline run large.  In practicing on a tree outback, I found the saddle very uncomfortable because it was riding up from my waist.  When I called Tyler, and told him my size and that the medium was riding up, he very quickly told me that I needed a large so the saddle could form a pocket for my but to sink into.  That made perfect sense and I knew that was my problem.  Tyler told me to talk to Bass and see what they said and call him back.  I called Bass and they told me they didn't have any saddles which was not a surprise.  So, I got instructions on how to return my saddle and get credit for it.  Called Tyler and he told me he had a large and instead of going back thru Bass, just send him mine and we would make a swap.  No paper work necessary, you talk about great customer service.  Anyway moving on, I have not hunted out of my new saddle, but plan on doing so this afternoon.  I purchased a set of 3 LW's the other day and installed them in a tree.  To get to about 20', I installed 5 screw-ins on the bottom and the LW's on top.  I had planned on installing the platform with 4 screw-ins and hunting out of my saddle on Tuesday.  However, I was soaked/drenched with sweat when I finished installing the screwins & LW's and figured that no critter would come within 500 yards of me, no matter how much scent cover up I put on.  I didn't practice strapping the LW's to a tree, so I had some problems and it was a warm day.  As they say: practice, practice and than practice. I ended up going to my pickup about 5:30pm and sat there until dark watching a turnip & brassica food plot where I caught this big boy (3-1/2 year old?) below with my trail cam.  No luck seeing him who I have never gotten a photo in two years of him during day light hours. Only 1 hunter caught a quick glimpse of him last fall chasing a doe.  He is very nocturnal and lives in a cave someone, but I can't figure out where.  Happy hunting, [size="4"]Tom Mac[/size]

[hunt4ever]

I just wanted to clarify the statement I made in post #106 regarding the video I received with my medium saddle from Bass was useless; however, I received different video's when I received my large size from Tyler and they were very helpful.  For those that don't know, I swapped my med. size for a large size, see my latest post.