The
TreeBay forum on here is a good place to watch for bargains. For a saddle, you could probably get by with
THIS one on Amazon, for awhile. I got one for a 15-year-old that wanted to learn to climb. It's a cheap, Chinese harness... but seems to be well constructed, considering the price. I climbed on it for an hour before giving it to him, and it didn't scare me. He's had good luck with it. I would inspect it thoroughly
every time you use it just to be safe. I have no idea how long they will last, but the materials used seem to be adequate... not as robust as name brand stuff, but looks like it will do the job. The harness is a knockoff of the older style Petzl Sequoia, so at least they copied a usable harness design.
It might help to make a list of what you need to get started, and post it. Some of us have a lot of gear that has piled up, and can probably help you out with some good bargains. As a rule, most of the folks on here like to see people take an interest in climbing trees, and can be very helpful.
This stuff can really snowball... there's lots of stuff you need but don't always think too hard about when you start up. I understand being on a budget, and you certainly can get going without going broke. That's a good idea, because sometimes it turns out you don't like it as much as you thought you would. Sounds like you've already done it enough to decide this, though.
And post that list... I'll bet I've got at least one thing on it that I have too many of.
