I’m wanting to get into the saddle hunting game. It’s a little overwhelming trying to decide what to buy. Anybody got any recommendations on a good starter kit

I’d start with a used (lightly) one that someone else like you bought and decided they didn’t like it. That way you spend less. It’s a tool. Not an end all be all. I use mine mostly, but some instances call for something different.

Yeah I would like to find a good used set up

Don't go cheap. Buy NOTHING that is between safety and death from WalMart, Home Depot, etc... Don't attempt to reinvent the wheel. Thousands and thousands of hours have been already put into the sport and it's pretty close to perfection. But here is what you need to do... go to YouTube and look up, Staggs in the Wild. Greg will show you how tos and what not tos. One sticking, if you have the body strength is the way to go. I use a GriGri+ descender and love it. Greg uses a different one, but I love my GriGri Plus. It has to be a GriGri+.

Some hunters down in the South bash Saddle hunting. Keep bashing it... your bashing Saddle Hunting leaves more mature bucks for Saddle Hunters!!!!

Small tree or limbless tree where you're stuck out in the open if you use a Lock-on or climber? So you don't worry about that limbless tree where you'll be stuck out in the open with a lock-on or climber... Saddle hunt from the tree and you can move your body slowly to hide your silhouette from the deer and be able to draw back with most of your body covered by the tree. A tree with too big of limbs to saw with your handsaw? Go around the limbs!!! Then, you don't have to climb so high and utilize the limbs as cover.

Anyway, Saddle Hunting has made me way more successful. If you're closed-minded and bad-mouth Saddle Hunting, please, just stay that way! By saying "YOU", I don't mean you, the author of this thread... I mean to those Southern Hunters that think Saddle Hunting is a fad that will play out. It's only going to get bigger.

I'll tell you what I tell everyone that asks me about it. The first probably half a dozen sits you're going to hate it and wonder why you even bought the stuff. BUT once you use it a few times and figure out how to use everything correctly and adjust it to fit you properly it will completely change the way you hunt. I've been saddle hunting going on six years now and haven't looked back since.

Boy…he really likes his saddle

I'm too old to try and certainly don't have enough upper body strength to saddle hunt but from the videos I've watched, two things I wouldn't like. One and its a big one, is constantly facing the tree. How do you maneuver your bow around the tree from one side to the other if the deer comes from behind the tree? Also, it seems like a bag drag carrying all the components of the saddle in addition to your bow. I'm sure with practice, all could be overcome but it seems like a lot for a marginal improvement over a lock on or climber especially in the South where we have an abundance of trees to climb. Just my two cents.

I think it would definitely be nice to not have to have a straight limbless tree to climb but it just seems like it wouldn’t be near as comfortable having to stand up the entire time

I went through a few saddles before settling with the Cruz XR. I really like it, light weight and really comfortable. I use some XOP and/or Lone wolf sticks and I can get plenty high enough to hide. Climbing these NE Alabama mountains is hard enough, doing it with an awkward summit makes it even harder.

Won’t be doing either this year! Tore the Achilles tendon in July and that’s got me looking more at the ground blind route this year

Right now, Latitude outdoors has come out with some new saddles after merging with another saddle company. Their new saddles are the Lonestar and maverick. it seems like they are getting good reviews which leads me to my point, there will be some lightly used latitude method saddles hitting the used market soon.

As far as a starter kit, I went with the latitude method 2, its a two panel saddle, that comes with two dump pouches, tether and linemans belt.

As stated above the Cruzr gets alot of good recommendations too.

I remember about 5-6 years ago everyone on aldeer just about turned their nose up at saddlehunting. Glad to see it’s finally getting some recognition.

First, it isn’t more comfortable than everything else and it ain’t the end all be all, but it has a lot of pros. For public land the reduction in gear bulk and noise is the biggest sell for me. In my opinion sitting still in anything for 4+ hours isn’t extremely comfortable. That said saddles can be comfortable if you take the time to adjust/learn them. The same goes for climbing methods. At first you’ll think it’s hogwash and just wear you out to one stick climb or 2tether climb but once you get the movements down it’ll be as simple as a climber. As far as what you need you can spend as little or as much as you want. If you’re young and/or decent shape any climbing method you choose will work.

Whatever you do don’t pay full price or even close to full price for used gear. The saddle market is over saturated and gear can be had for cheap.

Saddle: your choice (single, two panel, pleat)
Rope: your choice (make your own or premade tether/lineman 8-11.4mm)
Climbing method: your choice (steps, sticks, one stick, climber bottom, 2tether, rope climb)
Platform: your choice(hang on hybrid, endless options fix, tethrd, latitude, Cruzr, trophyline, ROS (ring of steps), bolts)

There’s a lot of ways to skin the saddlecat depending on what type of set up you want and your goals. How are you hunting and what sacrifices are you wanting to make. There’s a middle ground between comfort, weight, and bulk and it’s probably somewhere around a 10x12” platform and a one stick. Are you rifle, crossbow, compound, or traditional bow hunting the most? Private or public?

If you’re thinking about it for private I would be looking at preset bolts and dryad drey (big hammok for your butt)

TLDR: yea there’s a lot of junk to parse through and I’m not sure I made it any better haha

Thank yall for the input. That will definitely give me a place to
Start

After numerous back & neck surgeries,Im all about comfort & have a hard time sitting over 3 hrs in any stand much less a saddle. Each to his own tho