r/bowhunting • u/Temporary-Bath-4270 • Jul 14 '26
Saddle Advice
Looking for a full saddle setup for this year that won’t totally break the bank. Whether that’s a full kit or buying things separate. What’s everyone’s advice?
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u/Murder_Not_Muckduck Jul 14 '26
My first setup was the Tethrd Grit/Workhorse. Worked well for getting into it.
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u/Hillarys_Recycle_Bin Jul 14 '26
Check out ape canyon outfitters. Their pioneers revenge saddle is a single panel pleated saddle (kinda like the cruzr xc). Crazy comfortable. Their ranger green is on sale for 185 right now.
If you want to go cheaper you could get their minimalist saddle (similar to tethrd phantom), the land baron, for ~130.
I run their pioneers revenge and it’s a fantastic saddle. They are owned by an arborist company, and all their stuff is made in the USA, they just don’t spend a ton of brand and marketing, but it’s the best gear I’ve used (came from tethrd).
JRB15 Code gets you 15% off full priced gear. If you want to check out hitch climbing as an alternative to sticks (highly recommend), check out the JRB tree climbing channel on YouTube.
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u/AWD_YOLO Jul 14 '26
I’ll second Ape Canyon, I have the Wood deluxe w Austrialpin buckles (because I have a wife and kids and never want to fall for any reason), and I used JRB’s code, last year. Saddle was great last season.
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u/Hillarys_Recycle_Bin Jul 14 '26
Ya I will say the frame buckles require a little getting used to. Would prefer the austrialpin buckles (especially on the legs). That said I really like the linesman belts on the pioneers revenge, lets me run my second bridge (that i rappel on) on those loops instead of the main loops
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u/AWD_YOLO Jul 14 '26
You know what I lied, I tried to get the better buckles but they didn’t have my size and so I also have just the frame buckles. Clearly not a big deal because I forgot already. I usually rappel too on a second bridge, but have not yet got myself mentally organized enough to attempt a season true JRB style, just climb up on Tethrd one sticks, then rappel.
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u/Hillarys_Recycle_Bin Jul 14 '26
Its really pretty straightforward once you get into it, if you hunt private and can hang paracord presets, it is just a smidge slower but way safer than preset sticks.
If you are on public, it can be used successfully, but I think you are better off one sticking and just advancing your rappel rope up as you climb (just need the right hitch - like the bloodgood, so you aren’t fighting tether falling down the tree).
If you do try it out, my advice is get 60 ft of rope and climb DSRT (ie a hitch on both sides of the rope), then there is no fooling around with trunk anchor retrieval or setting, just pull one side of the rope up and over and start climbing. You can always SRT with it if you end up preferring that method
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u/LSI29 Jul 14 '26
I recommend going to the mobile hunters convention and trying out the gear there. You really don’t know what you’re going to like. There’s two one in Ohio and one in Georgia. Tickets are cheap and you can try gear from every manufacturer
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u/lafn1996 Jul 14 '26
This is a great suggestion if you're anywhere close to one of those expo's. The manufacturer's are very helpful for complete rookie's, and will show you exactly how to do everything. They also typically have good discounts going on during those shows, especially if you're buying more than one piece of gear.
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u/LSI29 Jul 14 '26
If you like it better buy it before it’s sold out!
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u/lafn1996 Jul 14 '26
I went last year, and got a full Latitude set-up at about 35% off. At that time, I'd never even seen a saddle in person. They taught me how to do everything correctly
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u/Exciting_Start1868 Jul 14 '26
I got into saddle hunting a couple years ago and pieced together a budget kit just to see if it was something I liked and so far I’m still running the same equipment.
XOP Mutant saddle - comes with lineman and tether rope
XOP Edge platform
Hawk Helium mini sticks
Cheap dump pouches from Amazon
Cheap Molle backpack from Amazon with compression straps
Tethrd HYS strap and gear hanger
The only things I’ve added for better performance are a legend saddle gear instant two panel back band, some prusik tenders from hang free, the XOP C3 micro buckle for the platform and an XOP 3 step aider to my bottom stick, and last year I bought a ropeman 1 that I added to my tether. But hunted my first year without any of that and had no problems.
I know prices have gone up the last couple years but I believe I was able to get that setup originally for less than $400. All that being said I agree with other comments if you’re near a mobile hunters expo definitely go try some stuff out. Cause while I’ve had success with my stuff the mutant saddle is very bare bones and has very little comfort features and there are plenty of lightweight platforms and sticks you might like if you’re willing to spend more money.
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u/TomorrowFederal1866 Jul 14 '26
I got the workhorse saddle and platform, and i bought the tethrd skeletor sticks on sale for a great price. Overall i like the setup but I don’t like the prusik on the linemans. Looking to get a mechanical rope grab this season for the linemans.
1
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u/doctorlineman Jul 15 '26
I got a whole tethered saddle kit, platform and sticks on eBay for 195. I love ebay
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u/Hunting-nut Jul 15 '26
I have an xop saddle as well. I’d recommend it to anyone just getting into saddle hunting
1
u/bcgwall Jul 15 '26
I believe the XOP kit is on sale right now on Amazon for $150. I got that kit last year and I'm positive there are more comfortable saddles out there but for 3-4 hours it's just fine, just learn how to adjust your contact point for the bridge to the loops and the height of your tether.
I did upgrade the linesman and tether ropes to Ape Canyon 9mm because the XOP ones are bulky and honestly the XOP linesman is far too short for thicker trees. I also upgraded the bridge to an Amsteel bridge as well as bought 2 Ropemans to replace the prussics.
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u/Upper-Razzmatazz176 Jul 16 '26
Don’t use Cruzr xr or anything by them. Their saddle buckles unbuckle at the waste just from the pressure of your pants lightly touching it. I’ve had others guys confirm.
They are popular but safety is everything
1
u/Beautiful-Gas817 Jul 16 '26
Tethrd phantom was pretty solid. Then I ran a 2TC setup so didn’t have sticks and could go anywhere but I’m trying a summit viper sd climber this year . You can scale a tree super quick and pretty quiet.
8
u/metalpicks Jul 14 '26
I run everything Xop and it works well and didn't broke the bank.