New to mobile hunting, saddle or stand ?

[Harris08]

I am Fairly new to mobile hunting. I began to try hang and hunt set ups last season and have desided to almost strictly hunt this way . I have hunted out of hang on treestands that are pre hung for most of my hunting career and i am comfortable with that setup. I have become very interested in the use of treesaddles for mobile hunting and can see the benifits of using them (light weight, safe etc).
My question is what kind of experience / cons have people had switching from a treestand to saddle. is there anything that people feel is a downside to a saddle or something they never could get use to? . I am just on the fence about investing in a setup and not sure if its worth the hype . Any input would be appreciated thank you.

[KRoss480]

I recently switched to a saddle last year and couldn’t see myself ever going back. There is a learning curve with a saddle, so I would say practice before you start hunting and be open minded.

[wolverinebuckman]

I went from a climber to a saddle and love it. I use steps instead of sticks, and can fit everything into a backpack. It is light, easy to maneuver through thick brush, and quite. In the tree I feel very safe, and comfortable.
I built my set up, using a rock climbing harness and a piece of fleece material... very comfortable, and a cheap way to get started to see if you like it. I don't know that I'll ever have a reason to buy a manufactured saddle.

[Thesouthpaw]

Either will work just fine. Whichever you pick, make sure to practice with a bunch before the season starts.

[Rob loper]

There’s definitely a place for both but
I really think stand will be the most used by me especially where i hunt. I can not trim trees or prep trees and spurs are not legal.
If i have a big enough tree that i can get around mist the way without branches or anything, ill use saddle but other than that im in a stand.
Like i said be versitile and dont let anyone tell you or try to convince u that one is better than other.
Cause it all depends on the situation you must adapt too.

[Mschmeiske]

I tried a saddle 3 years ago and I won’t look back. Get you one!

[Jonny]

All comes down to personal preference. Don’t know until you try it. Pros and cons to both.

[HunterBob]

I've only hunted out of my own DIY saddle a few times, but plan on making the switch come next year. Pros that I already see are comfort and the ability to maneuver around the tree to hide your profile, along with creating different shooting lanes by changing your position. Also, this will lead to a lighter weight to carry for scouting your way in and a more compact setup altogether.

[Dewey]

I have been 80% saddle and 20% stand or ground hunt the last few years now. It's good to have multiple options. When it comes to comfort the saddle wins every time. A saddle set up is lighter, more compact and about as good as it gets for mobile hunting.

The only negative I have with my saddles is it's not real easy to use my IWOM or HBS in real cold weather. I can still make it work with good coveralls but much prefer to just switch back to my stands in the real frigid stuff so I can use the warmest stuff I have with no restrictions or modifications.

[austin1990]

Not to sound like everyone else, but there is advantages and disadvantages to both. If you hunt in cedars or other limby trees a lot a stand is better. I myself dont hunt in cedars, but that's because here the few there are ain't big enough to hunt out of like most of the midwest. I used a saddle 100% of the time the last 2 years and dont see going back myself. There is a learning curve on how to get comfortable with it, learn the best ways to maneuver with the least amount of movement. I know 4 or 5 guys that jumped into saddles this year, and tried to hunt like a lock on setup and either got busted from fidgeting to much, missed shots because they didnt practice enough to keep your form consistent or other stuff. Now they blame the saddle, and have sold them and went back to lock ons, I think a lot of it is they didnt actually fine tune and learn their setup. Nothing wrong with that at all, and it is not the end all be all setup, everyone is different and is comfortable with different methods. If you can I'd try both and see which one you like better and go from there. Theres plenty of saddle hunters out there that would be glad to let you try their setups.

[Pfunk]

I have been 80% saddle and 20% stand or ground hunt the last few years now. It's good to have multiple options. When it comes to comfort the saddle wins every time. A saddle set up is lighter, more compact and about as good as it gets for mobile hunting.

The only negative I have with my saddles is it's not real easy to use my IWOM or HBS in real cold weather. I can still make it work with good coveralls but much prefer to just switch back to my stands in the real frigid stuff so I can use the warmest stuff I have with no restrictions or modifications.

I too am thinking of going to a saddle setup but this was my big concern. How easy is it to add/remove layers in the tree and how hard is it to stay warm once the grip of winter sets in. Thanks for the insight.

[Twenty Up]

I’ve dabbled on and off with saddles since 2014 and found myself going for the Lone Wolf when I had the option. I’ve since sold all my saddle gear and went back to loc ons.

To each their own, I definitely saw the benefits of a saddle but didn’t care for the whole leaning and squatting thing.

I also hunt a lot of small trees with a lot of limbs, it’s easy to squeeze a stand in one and sit vs. standing in a saddle.

[Dewey]

I have been 80% saddle and 20% stand or ground hunt the last few years now. It's good to have multiple options. When it comes to comfort the saddle wins every time. A saddle set up is lighter, more compact and about as good as it gets for mobile hunting.

The only negative I have with my saddles is it's not real easy to use my IWOM or HBS in real cold weather. I can still make it work with good coveralls but much prefer to just switch back to my stands in the real frigid stuff so I can use the warmest stuff I have with no restrictions or modifications.

I too am thinking of going to a saddle setup but this was my big concern. How easy is it to add/remove layers in the tree and how hard is it to stay warm once the grip of winter sets in. Thanks for the insight.

I can add and remove layers from the waist up very easily. Just stand upright on my platform and loosen my saddle waist strap if I want to tuck in.
With a heated vest I have been pretty surprised how warm I have stayed well into the teens with just a mid weight jacket. Any lower than that and I would use insulated coveralls in my saddle.

[cspot]

Personally I think it comes down to preference and also possibly the terrain where you hunt. WIth my fear of heights I simply can't get comfortable with a hang-on. With me wanting to ditch my climber, this caused me to look into saddles. As stupid as it may sound, I am far more comfortable in a saddle than in a hang-on.

[cspot]

I have been 80% saddle and 20% stand or ground hunt the last few years now. It's good to have multiple options. When it comes to comfort the saddle wins every time. A saddle set up is lighter, more compact and about as good as it gets for mobile hunting.

The only negative I have with my saddles is it's not real easy to use my IWOM or HBS in real cold weather. I can still make it work with good coveralls but much prefer to just switch back to my stands in the real frigid stuff so I can use the warmest stuff I have with no restrictions or modifications.

I too am thinking of going to a saddle setup but this was my big concern. How easy is it to add/remove layers in the tree and how hard is it to stay warm once the grip of winter sets in. Thanks for the insight.

I can add and remove layers from the waist up very easily. Just stand upright on my platform and loosen my saddle waist strap if I want to tuck in.
With a heated vest I have been pretty surprised how warm I have stayed well into the teens with just a mid weight jacket. Any lower than that and I would use insulated coveralls in my saddle.

I just bought an artic shield body suit that I plan on modifying for a saddle. Going to use a removable bridge so that I can put it on in the tree. (I will use the stock bridge then hook up the removable after I put on the suit and then unhook my stock bridge so that I am always tied off). I will need to cut a couple of slits and do a bit of sewing to modify the suit. Unlike you, where I am at in PA my use of the suit will be limited on most years. We simply don't get many really cold days.