I've been out a couple times this year with a saddle. Never really liked fixed stand hunting so it was a good upgrade for a ground hunter like me. I like that you can stalk to a good spot and setup pretty easily. Tried a climber once but didnt like it much and known a couple buddies who got hurt with old or screwed up climbers. Past experience with climbing, rapelling, etc really help with the knots and basic understanding of what you are doing
The money does get annoying - the basic saddle, bridge, tether is one thing and pretty fixed. But getting your butt up the tree has options - Sticks, single stick, spikes (if you can use them), SRT/DRT, steps (at least 2-3 varieties). Everyone will tell you to try a few, but each one is a couple hundred bucks to try
Right now I am mostly doing SRT ascending or single stick. Basics of each
SRT -
You need:
Rope (recommend 1.5-2x the height you want to get to). 8mm or larger static. RWRope is a good source
Ascender - I tried a bunch of options and settled on just a single peztl hand ascender and a foot loop. Chest/foot did not work well for me
Belay/Capture device - After trying all the cheap options (prusik, etc) I broke down and got a grigri+. Made it much easier
Throw bag and line - I made a throw bad with some duck cloth, lead shot and webbing. You can buy them. For line I use 550 paracord and always have at least 2-3 lengths of it. If I find a good spot I will leave a pre-tie
Basics - Find a good tree with a crotch or limb - you want it about 4-6ft above where you want to hunt from. Lots of info on arborist sites but the general rules are a wide crotch is stronger and the limb should be at least as big around as your upper arm.
Use throw bag to get line over tree limb as close to the tree as possible
Tie double figure 8 on the end of the climbing line and pass the free end through it. Keep the throw line tied to the 8 so you can pull it free. Pull the line up to choke the limb
Ascend the line with the ascender and belay device
Once at top pull up your platform, bow, pack, etc. (you can use the throw line for double up)
Hunt
Lower your gear
Rappel to the bottom on the belay device
Use the throw line to pull down the climbing rope
(optional) leave a loop in the tree of paracord if its a good spot
Single stick -
Fuck it, this will be a pain to describe - just look up some youtube videos.
Without spending a pile more cash I've found this will get me everywhere I have tried to be and has a lot of overlap. You need a climb height rope for either, I have a single stick with a platform so that doubles up, etc.
Play with this shit before you get in the woods. Preferably with someone nearby with a camera and phone when you fuck up. I got my ass stuck up a tree practicing and had to tie off to a branch to free the rope so I could get back down. I was able to self recover and had the extra line on me, but if I hadn't someone was there to throw me crap I forgot
