Sequoia 1.1 Ideas

oceans

oceans

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THIS IS AN EXPERIMENT! DO NOT USE ANY CLIMBING SYSTEM OR COMPONENT OF A CLIMBING SYSTEM IN A MANNER OTHER THAN THE MANUFACTURER'S RECOMMENDATION. THE SEQUOIA SADDLE IN THIS THREAD HAS BEEN MODIFIED AND NO LONGER MEETS PETZL'S RECOMMENDED CONFIGURATION!

So I've always gone back and forth between the TreeMOTION and the Sequoia for a few reasons.

The TM positives:
~ Near infinite adjustability and a bit more comfort for climbs involving longer term hanging or positioning (like cabling or such).
~ Its options for customized gear loop locations are nearly endless.
~ I always loved the concept of the lower D rings for positioning in which my lanyard is oriented upwards.
The TM drawbacks:
~ With all that adjustability, those buckles are simply a pain to do so with while the saddle is on. Through the seasons in the NorthEast, clothing layers change enough to warrant easier adjustment. I could hang in the saddle and make a final waist adjust under tension, but that just gets old fast.
~ In certain positions with lower rope angles, lanyard attachment to the lower D's can still be an interesting decision process. ("Should I go under my bridge or over it?" "How on Earth is my bridge in the way of this carabiner?" Urrrgh!)

The Sequoia positives:
~ Very easy to adjust the waist loop in my opinion.
~ Set it and forget it. That thing ain't goin' nowhere.
~ Ultimate in minimal, lightweight design nature with breathability of the material. Very nice.
~ Gated Rings. They just rule. What a great idea!
~ Decent gear loop placement.
The Sequoia drawbacks are:
~ The leg loops have little keepers that hold the tether between the gated ring in just the wrong place. I always want to rotate the leg loops in such a way to get more padding between my legs, but the longer I sit in the saddle, the more the leg loops get twisted back to an uncomfortable point. (REAL big URGGHH!)
~ When your climbing system goes off to the right or left, the Gated Rings get pushed against your body and it gets really difficult to attach your lanyard without capturing your shirt.

I thought if I could get closer to the Sequoia upper and the TM lower, I'd be pretty happy, so I tried out a few ideas. So far, this is what seems to work out rather nicely. There are still a few situations in which it doesn't work (no different than before), but overall, I feel it's an improvement.

I bought some RATED Oval Links at the local arborist supply shop and tried this out. Taking these "selfies" was only a little weird. Hopefully I get the idea across. :)
 

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There may very well be. It's worth pointing out. I know that many aluminum ascenders have small metal links connecting web loops to them and such, but that may or may not be for life support. I'd like to know if there is an issue from an expert on that subject, but for now, I'll be looking for any issues when I do routine gear inspection.

The position of the rings is much much better for me now. I can also spin the leg loops to where the padding is more effective.
 
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I'll be honest Eric, I like that you think outside of the box but this seems like a straight up bad idea. You've added two more screw components to it which, to me, is two more points of potential failure. You have moved away from the manufacturers recommended bridge, I think this is also a bad idea. The way you have the bridge configured is causing the webbing to contact the OP bridge which is another unnecessary potential failure point. I also think you should throw disclaimers into a post like this, people look up to you as a gear innovator and rightfully so, but I would hate for some newb to see this and go for it without realizing that this is an experiment.
Peace.
 
You're right about the disclaimer, and I will update the post. Thanks for your feedback. There are lots of climbers out there with home made and modified systems, and I've even read articles about these things. It is important for people to climb on systems that are set up according to the manufacturers' recommended use. I have violated Petzl's recommendations, but I've also found a way to keep blood flowing through my legs with this saddle. ;)

Part of your reply goes hand in hand with some of the issues I have with complex climbing systems in general. The more complex a system is, the greater the chances are for something to go wrong, whether it be climber error, of downright failure. This is much of the reason that I gravitate to SRWP systems in general, as they can offer a climber an all inclusive system.

The bridge is Sterling RIT, and your avatar is much more menacing now than the previous ones. :)
 
Thanks, Tree Access. I'm not thrilled with the upper section either, but when I ran the hip loops and factory bridge down to the rings (waist loop in the lowest eye) it just didn't feel right under suspension because too much of my weight was distributed to my legs. The RIT was lying around so I grabbed it for this. I have another cordage to use, but it would have required knotting at just the right length and then cutting, which I didn't want to do just yet as this is just an idea.

I am going to try switching the L and R leg loops, similar to a Glide Lite, which will put the buckles inside of the rings, which might make the bungee location better in the back and may even make the saddle a bit easier to step into.

A while ago, someone here was playing around with the idea of a pair of Figure 8 plates for the connection system on a custom saddle. I'd like to try that, too, but the Sequoia has the hip loops stitched shut for incremental adjustment, thus requiring other gated hardware to form a connection.
 
Someone needs to make something shaped like the tree motion d's that is openable. For addition to imperfect saddles. You like the sequoia for the most part. You just need a way to open up that crotch interface area (you like that?)

I like the cougar for the most part, I just need the lower d's from a TM. They wouldn't need to be openable for me I guess.

Anyone have any spare TM d's lying around? Anyone...
 
I like to switch my legloops as well, stepping into the harness is way more comfortable, and the padding of a lot of legloops even fits me better then!
The legloops of the Sequoia are crap IMO, try to get other ones. I think they are the biggest "con" of the harness, but with other ones its quite perfect for me. I like it for beeing so light and for the soft and thin padding of the hip belt.
The new open-able rings with the bigger opening may give you even more options for modifying, check them out.
 
" like the cougar for the most part, I just need the lower d's from a TM. They wouldn't need to be openable for me I guess. "

Mac have you tried the Liger mod? The 3 hole rigging plates work just like the lower d's.
Waiste loops on large hole, leg loops on lower hole, bridge through the top hole and you got the middle slot for lower lanyard attachment z
 
JontreeHI said:
" like the cougar for the most part, I just need the lower d's from a TM. They wouldn't need to be openable for me I guess. "

Mac have you tried the Liger mod? The 3 hole rigging plates work just like the lower d's.
Waiste loops on large hole, leg loops on lower hole, bridge through the top hole and you got the middle slot for lower lanyard attachment z
Click to expand...
I have ligered my couger, I just want bigger spaces for attatchment.

I actually have the big hole faced out for attatchment. Waist thru top hole, legs thru bottom hole, and bridge thru middle hole.
 
macswan said:
That f8 idea seems like a solid one too, I just need to figure how to incorporate it.
Click to expand...
I think the older thread included some back and forth about just which 8 to use, and apparently someone made one with 3 total eyes...one large on bottom, one smaller on top, and about a 7/16" hole smack dab in the space between them. Perfect in my opinion.

About the only thing that this mod did was keep the rings from pushing up against my body on lateral positions, so that's a real plus, but otherwise, it feels just like it did before, and I still have to be thoughtful about whether to install the lanyard over or under my primary system to keep the adjuster and carabiner snag free. It really bugs me when something interferes with my lanyard hitch and keeps it from self grabbing.

@ Access: I still have to swap the leg loops, but haven't only because I stitched the bungee webbing in the back to keep them from slacking out. I just need to pop out a few stitches and get to it. I'll look into the new leg loops, unless the swap really bolsters comfort.

@ Treeweaver: Thanks a lot, man. I know you rock the Sequoia too. Last I remember you went back to the standard issue and away from the SRT...?

@ Mac: I agree that a sort of universal piece of harness hardware could take a number of saddles into a whole new realm. I would almost completely forget about my hip D's all together if the lower system was totally dialed in.
 
monkeylove said:
Oceans, have you tried the leg straps from New Tribe? I find them to be the most crotch friendly pads.

Frank
Click to expand...
I have not, but I have actually seen the result of someone who has. Really nice looking system with matching colors to boot. I hope the uncontrolled mad scientist himself chimes in here at some point...
 
After a serious nut pinch on the sequoia srt I ditched to a NT onyx and so far I like in a totally different way of the sequoia which I also liked for a lot of the same reasons you mention. The onyx isn't as light and breathable as the sequoia but way more comfy, I almost feel a little guilty for it being so comfortable ..
 
You know, Dorian, guilt is just a self inflicted feeling that will actually destroy you over time. Good thing you're "almost" feeling guilty.:)
 
Here's the Sequoia SRT harness leg pad mod I did quite a while ago, still very comfortable, doesn't limit my mobility, very light etc.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/naturejournal/sets/72157631041874516

And some photos of the same yesterday
13982498714_5df977a34d_z.jpg


13982071625_d105cb586e_z.jpg
 
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