5 Sure-Fire Reasons Why Tree Saddles Are Better

So there you are, it’s hunting season and you are heading out to hunt the seasons opener with the first evening hunt of the year.  You have a buck patterned down using a certain trail passing by the perfect hunting tree.  You’ve hung your stand and cleared shooting lanes previously through the summer and everything is set …..(perfect).  But when you walk up, you find your perfect tree blown over from the severe thunderstorm from a few days before leaving you completely SOL.  What do you do now?  You can't get a stand hung in any of the surrounding trees because of their shape and branches.  So you're forced to pull back, and hunt a different day.

Its a crazy scenario, but if you’ve ever experienced a hunting situation like this or something similar, then you know the limitations of stand hunting. While hang-ons, climbers, and ladder stands are conventional methods of ambush hunting, they have their limits when trying to find a hunting location.  Weight, tree angle, and even stand mobility can limit what tree you can hunt out of.  But, the answer to all of these problems has been around since the 1960’s and has recently been all the buzz in the hunting industry.  

In 1961, the Green family took the hunting community by storm and the Tree Saddle rapidly became a successful ambush hunting method ahead of its time. The tree saddle is made of fabric and the lineman’s belt and tree tethers are made of either ropes or nylon straps. Using the same climbing sticks or steps as you would with hang-on stands, you’re able to comfortably sit in a hammock-like fabric seat that is tethered to the tree in front of you. In the 1980's James Green introduced his Trophyline saddle and since then, companies have incorporated the treesling/saddles concepts and features into designing their own rendition of the product.  

But what makes a tree saddle soo special? And why are people using them over a conventional tree stand?

Here are 5 sure-fire reasons why tree saddles are better than traditional fixed stands:

Safety

The number one downside to conventional tree stand hunting are the fall hazards.  Thousands of hunters are injured or killed from elevated hunting.  In fact, recent estimates say that there are almost 6,000 hunting accidents to hunters each year involving falls from tree stands and 50% of all hunting-related accidents are related to tree stands.

When you properly hunt from a saddle, you are tethered to the tree from the moment you step foot off the ground.  The entire design mimics that of a telephone utility worker or an arborist working from a tree.  You can't fall out and highly regarded as the safest method for elevated hunting.

Weight

If you have ever carried a conventional hangon stand or a climber a few miles out onto state land, you’ll understand the importance of a lightweight setup.

With the average weight of a complete saddle system (pouches, tether, lineman's rope, gear hoist, etc.) the entire weight is around 2-5 lbs.  At almost a half the weight of the lightest hang on stand, you can see why soo many mobile hunters are making the switch to saddle hunting.

Adaptability

 Things can change in an instance, and knowing how to be adaptable can make or break your hunt.  Tree selection, especially, is sometimes a huge decision when determining where to hunt.  If you have a conventional climber stand, you are limited to specific diameter trees and trees with little to no branches.  The trees must also be growing nearly straight with minimal leaning angle.

Tree saddles allow a hunter to maneuver into almost any tree regardless of diameter or angles.  

Stealth/Mobility

Walking out to your location fully loaded with climbing sticks, a full size hangon stand, safety harness, backpack, accessories, and weapon can not only be bulky, but also noisy.  

If you’re like us, being able to slip into our hunting spots quickly and effectively is one of the first steps of success.  Metal stands are bulky and can be loud when trying to move through any kind of thick areas. With a saddle, you are wearing (or packing) the saddle out with you around your waist, and carrying your steps on your pack.  

Just for comparison, I compared the size of a fully loaded fixed stand pack profile to that of a fully loaded saddle profile.  I wanted to see just how much “skinnier” I could make my profile.  After comparing the two, the saddle profile was almost 50% smaller that the fixed stand profile.  

Functionality 

Fixed metal stands are faced in one direction with the platform and seat facing one way.  If an animal approaches from a direction in which you weren't anticipating, it can make for a very surprising and abrupt end to your hunt.  Fixed stands can cause you to be “ski-lined”, meaning your human outline is visible against the sky making you an eyesore and easily identifiable to animals.  In addition, if an animal walks behind your forward-facing position, your shot angles are limited.

With a saddle, you have 360-degree shooting mobility around any tree, so there are no missed opportunities. During the rut, bucks chase does everywhere, and being able to jump on every opportunity is a huge deal.  In a saddle, you are also able to use the tree to stay hidden behind blocking the deer’s view until you are ready to pop out from behind and make your shot.

Saddle hunting can be challenging and intimidating to some people.  But after a few practice rounds in the backyard, it becomes like second nature.  There is obviously a small amount of learning, but if I can learn how to do it, I'm sure anyone can figure things out.   

If after reading this, you want to try out saddle hunting this year we recommend starting with understanding the basics of tree saddles.  There is a lot of information on saddle hunting setups, custom equipment, tips, tricks, ect. But here is a great place to start.

You can also learn about our own Ultimate Saddle Hunting Setup Here