Rec saddles?

Alabama_Woodsman

Alabama_Woodsman

Location
Alabama
I stopped climbing 2 years ago and took a nice white collar management job. I miss the tree life though, so I want to get myself some new gear just for recreational use and a little trimming around my 7 acre property. Has anyone ever used one of those cheap rock climbing rigs like a black diamond or even the petzl stuff? I see them for less than $100 and almost pull the trigger. Then my brain goes " no bridge??!!; No lower D's?!!!; Look at that tiny webbing!!!!; What is this shit?; But wait, the rock climbers use it, it must be at least ok."
What do you guys think? $70 or so for once or twice a month rec use at home?
 

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Yes, and I've been surprised to find a lot of guys here started in them... But you'll find that not many still use them.

They are all designed to keep you safe, but the major difference between tree harnesses and all others is the others aren't designed to hang in for long periods. Rock harnesses and Alpine stuff are designed to hold a bit of gear and be as light as possible, the user is ideally only hanging from the harness if they fall.

Modern tree access harnesses are designed to hang in, and for work positioning.

For rec climbing, if you can stand the harness long enough to get in the canopy, it's certainly doable. If you mod the harness, you can add some rings for positioning.
 
Mowerr said:
Some manufacturers do make some saddles for rec climbing. They tend to be cheaper lighter than pro harnesses.
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Yeah, look into New Tribe. From all accounts they are super comfortable, but they aren't in the same price range as rock harnesses if that's the limiting factor.

Rock harnesses can be had between 50-100, the newtribe stuff starts over 100, with the rec ones coming in around 125-150, and of course work stuff is all over the place depending on whether you want a basic old-school saddle or a fancy pancy Cadillac.
 
Biggest drawback to rock harnesses IMO is the lack of side D-rings. I've climbed lots of trees in a rock harness but you can't get too fancy with redirects without being able to secure yourself while slacking your main line/system.
 
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Rec harness?

I am looking for recommendations for recreational tree climbing harnesses. I am commercial arborist myself (using a tree motion) so this is not for me. I have a friend who wants to do recreational climbing and I'm trying to help him get set up. I see some of them marketed for recreational...
www.treebuzz.com

I was looking a while ago. See link to thread. ..
 
New Tribe Twist is a great rec saddle, if you don't need all the bells and whistles of a pro saddle. Very comfortable to sit in for extended periods, great value for the money. Sitting very long in most rock climbing saddles can restrict blood flow to the legs and this is actually rather dangerous.
 
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You can modify a big wall harness like the Petzl Caladris to work... but as everyone has mentioned, they're not much fun to hang in for very long. You'd be a lot happier with a lightweight tree harness like the CAMP Tree Access Evo or the EDELRID TreeCore and both of these offer a chest harness add-on that turn them into full fall arrest setups.

Petzl-Caladris.jpg

EDIT: Pic is old Petzl Caladris modified for tree work... an early prototype.
 
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In @ATH thread that he linked to, I’m really loving the looks and price of the Singing Rock Timber 3D as well as his review on it.
My advice would be to try to score one of those in a couple weeks during Black Friday sales.
I’d buy one if I needed another saddle.
Probably goes without saying, but there’s lots of comfy work saddles out there that’d be perfect for rec climbing as well.
 
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I appreciate the feedback guys.
I'd only be climbing around enough to satisfy my cravings. Once, maybe twice a month for an hour or 2 and I dont imagine I'd be doing too much hanging. Definitely not much cutting, if any. I'll probably end up pissing my wife off and just buying another Sequoia so it can spend more time in a bag then in a tree. Im probably just trying to talk myself out of the inevitable, even though $100 would probably cover my needs.
 
DumpyMcDoodleface said:
Yeah, look into New Tribe. From all accounts they are super comfortable, but they aren't in the same price range as rock harnesses if that's the limiting factor.

Rock harnesses can be had between 50-100, the newtribe stuff starts over 100, with the rec ones coming in around 125-150, and of course work stuff is all over the place depending on whether you want a basic old-school saddle or a fancy pancy Cadillac.
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Don't need a Cadillac, but damn sure not going back to a weaver 4 D and a Blake's hitch. Too old for all that these days. I will look into new tribe. Thanks
 
I agree with all that has been said regarding rock climbing harnesses and tree saddles. I am a rock climber as well and cannot imagine climbing a tree in my rock harness. Access sure but hanging in the canopy and moving around I would miss the D’s on my Treemotion S. Light.

Speaking of which: I hung in the new Sequoia and the Treemotion Evo at Expo and I want to buy an Evo! If you decide to go with a used saddle take a hard look at JTrees Treemotion. I know you said you won’t be cutting but if you get up there you know your gonna see something you want to take care of. . .
 
It’s a misconception that if you’re a rec climber that somehow you can get away with a lesser saddle than a working climber. Doesn’t work that way. Tree Motion Super Light is excellent for rec climbing, it’s the one I recommend these days far as comfort, versatility and value goes.

Rock harnesses are for catching falls, terrible for tree climbing. Paying $100 to suffer makes no sense ;-)
-AJ
 
B_Strange said:
. . . I know you said you won’t be cutting but if you get up there you know your gonna see something you want to take care of. . .
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I wasn't rec climbing even my first month before I was looking at some big dead limbs hanging over my driveway. Bought a Silky hand saw and scabbard from WesSpur my next trip up to Bellingham. Then the girlfriend had some dead ones too. Hard to say no because it is actually fun! Anyway, back to the actual issue, what is the point of climbing for fun if you are not totally comfortable? As pastimes go, a good saddle is really not a lot of money. Look what guys spend on bass boats and fishing tackle, motorcycles, air planes, scuba gear, ski equipment, etc. Tree climbing is actually quite affordable by comparison, even with the best gear. My brother guzzles up more money in beer every month than all my kit cost me.
 
Forgot about the S Light... yeah, another great one.

I mentioned the Caladris only because it's about one C-note and it's a big wall harness, which are a little more comfy than most rock climbing harnesses. Not good, just better than horrible. I use them for quick trips up and down, setting anchors and stuff, and whenever I won't be hanging in it for more than a couple minutes at a time. They're really not bad for that stuff.

Still, a real tree harness is so much better.
 
moss said:
It’s a misconception that if you’re a rec climber that somehow you can get away with a lesser saddle than a working climber. Doesn’t work that way. Tree Motion Super Light is excellent for rec climbing, it’s the one I recommend these days far as comfort, versatility and value goes.

Rock harnesses are for catching falls, terrible for tree climbing. Paying $100 to suffer makes no sense ;-)
-AJ
Click to expand...
I dunno, I guess it depends on what you're doing as a rec climber. If you're just looking to get into a tree and free climb with some fall protection, that's pretty ideal.

@TREEfool comes to mind, he primarily seems to want to get into the tree, set a hammock or tent and hang out.

The big problem I had with my rock harness was that when I first started I was really inefficient and in poor shape... So I spent a lot of time hanging before getting to where I could put my feet somewhere. Then I modified my harness to add some D's mostly for positioning, but I didn't really need that for climbing. Now I'm less inefficient, and I have a little better gear, and that helps... Though I'm not in much better shape. Haha.

I guess I'm not really saying a rock harness is ideal for anyone, but that I do think you can get away with a lesser saddle because you are doing it for fun. You can rest in between tedious bits, you aren't really focused on cutting or rigging - so you don't need to be able to support as much gear and you'll likely have both hands free to climb or position yourself.

With that said, I also totally agree with @Burrapeg its hard not to climb your own trees and not just see all the work you can do while you are climbing for fun, and if you know you like climbing, and it's going to be a regular thing for you, it makes no sense not to buy a decent harness. And tree climbing is possibly my least expensive hobby... Especially once you get your gear and it's just consumables.
 
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