The Bry-Dan Saddle

chris_girard · Feb 24, 2009

I was reading some old literature the other day about Ed Hobbs and the Bry-Dan saddle that he invented and I’m amazed at his ingenuity and foresight.

The Bry-Dan saddle was decades ahead of itself. Today we are seeing a breakthrough in saddle design in terms of form and function and I look forward to the future to see what new designs are in store for Arborists.

I was wondering who out there still climbs in a Bry-Dan and how do you think it stands up to these newer saddles?

familytree · Feb 24, 2009

Talk to sohner, he still rocks his out to this day. An older friend of mine, now retired, climbed on one for years, he swore by it.

rangerdanger · Feb 24, 2009

Like ft said, sohner is still rocking away in one.

I know Dad still swears by the Blair UL. Like you said with the Bry-Dan, the Blair UL was the TM of it's day, with the sliding bridge, customizable belt, and being able to replace the belt, leg straps for a butt strap, back pad, etc. And they are durable!! Dad is running on 15 years in his. Replaced the belt once, back pad once, and leg straps once, all at different times.

treeyeti · Feb 24, 2009

Does anyone have a picture of said saddle?

DSMc · Feb 25, 2009

I was very fortunate to be with Ed during the development of the Bry-Dan saddle. Fun times. The Bry-Dan was way ahead of its time and still has admirable attributes in today's market.

I am not sure if anything in the design has been changed but one of the criteria was that an injured climber could be lowered from any point off the saddle. The shoulder straps could not be removed for that reason.

It was feather-weight and all-day comfortable. No hot spots or pressure points. All of the climbers for the company were fortunate to have individually custom-fitted saddles made.

I used mine for many, many years. Its only downside for me was there were no adjustments in the leg straps which in the climate that I am now working does not work well. I go from summer weight clothes to bulky Alaskan gear. The Pillsbury Dough Boy look is often necessary to work without freezing to death.

Here is a current link

http://www.sierramoreno.com/saddles.html

Dave

jomoco · Feb 25, 2009

I really dig those big manly D rings!

I hate the teeny tiny D rings on some of the newer saddles. I not only hate them, I firmly believe they are downright dangerous.

Those old timers used big D rings on their saddles for many good reasons. They also liked their D rings tightly restricted in their attachment to the saddle so they don't flop around loosely playing hide and seek with your lanyard clip/snap.

jomoco

TMW · Feb 25, 2009

I have been climbing on it for about 7 years now. I can't see climbing in anything else, which I still do from time to time for various reasons.

It is comfortable and functional.

I am sure I have some pictures of it somewhere, unfortunately, I am in it at the time. I'll spare you if someone else posts pix first.

TMW

chris_girard · Feb 25, 2009

Tim I remember you saying that you wear the Bry-Dan saddle. I'll have to take another look at it next time. I'd love to learn more about it.

sohner · Feb 25, 2009

Guess what the Bry-Dan saddle is going through some changes. For those of you that wanted adjustment in the leg loops your wishes have been answered. For those of you that wanted a little smaller D-ring so as to not always bang your elbows your wishes have been answered. The D-rings are not to small just right for the saddle. The back pad has been changed to better accomadate sweating issues. Their has been a loop sewed into the shoulder straps in the back so as to qualify for fall arrest. It can now be used in a bucket truck for fall protection. The other changes that have been made to the saddle seem to be from what I can tell a great addition to an already great body positioning device. I got mine a couple of days ago with all of the changes and am waiting for it to stop raining so as to go out and rock in it a bit. I will post pictures just as soon as I can so you can see the changes up close and personal.

Yes it is a saddle ahead of its time but with that said it may not be the right saddle for everybody's body.

The attached photo is of an older version. Newer photos to follow.

jf1962 · Feb 25, 2009

I'am on my second saddle , I use it for all my big take downs and love it ...

Later in SO-CAL

jf1962 · Feb 25, 2009

Here's one for the Old School climbers ... my first belt

chris_girard · Feb 26, 2009

Robert, thanks for the update on the latest additions to the Bry-Dan saddle. Look forward to seeing your new one in action.

The more that I read about Ed Hobbs, the more amazed I am on how far ahead of his time he was in Arboriculture tools. Sort of like Dr. Shigo was with tree biology.

chris_girard · Feb 26, 2009

[ QUOTE ]
I'am on my second saddle , I use it for all my big take downs and love it ...

[/ QUOTE ]

jf, thanks for posting the pics. I like the stand in your shop that your saddle is on. Is that a tree?

Why do you use the Bry-Dan for all of your big take downs? Can it be used for SRT with a Croll like the TreeFlex and TreeMotion saddles and how would you describe it at far as ergonomics compared to these two saddles?

jf1962 · Feb 26, 2009

Chris G....

Yea , that's a large tree branch we installed in our shop for the guys to work on knots during our rainy days ,,,

The reason I like this belt on big take downs , is because its made of a sturdy material and the harness is a big plus when hanging a large saw off your hip . I have use it on a SRT system before , but instead of a croll I used a mico grab because that's all i had at that time, but now I climb SRT w/the Sequoia belt..

Hope that help..

Later in SO-CAL

chris_girard · Apr 16, 2009

[ QUOTE ]
I have been climbing on it for about 7 years now. I can't see climbing in anything else, which I still do from time to time for various reasons.

It is comfortable and functional.

I am sure I have some pictures of it somewhere, unfortunately, I am in it at the time. I'll spare you if someone else posts pix first.

TMW

[/ QUOTE ]

Tim, I have a few photos from our tree job that show your Bry-Dan saddle.

chris_girard · Apr 16, 2009

Pic. No. 2

chris_girard · Apr 16, 2009

Pic. No. 3

chris_girard · Apr 16, 2009

The last one is Tim in the foreground and my Groundworker (Wife) Heide and I setting up the GRCS on the cherry tree to be removed in the background.

chris_girard · Apr 16, 2009

So does anyone have anymore info on the new Bry-Dan saddle?

Though personally, I like Tim's, but then again its the climber who does the work, not the saddle and Tim's an awesome climber.