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Pumpkinslinger Super Member
Joined: Sep 22, 2007 Posts: 5001 Location: NC foothills
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 8:38 am Post subject: Tree stand safety harnesses |
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I saw in another post that one of our members had a fall from a tree stand and broke his arm. I was reminded of one of my coworkers who fell out of a tree stand last year. He was really messed up; broken arm, ribs, pelvis and lots of other damage. He took months to recover and lost his job (exceeded the FMLA leave time). Here's a link to some info on tree stand safety >> www.treestandinfo.com/...safety.htm
When I first started using a tree stand I didn't wear my safety strap either, it seemed such a nuisance. Then I fell asleep in the stand one day and woke up as I was rolling out! I was able to grab on and didn't fall. However I wore that safety strap afterwards!
A little later I had a class in "Climbing and Rigging" for work. The instructor talked about the chest straps then commonly included with tree stands. He said that he had been hoisted off the ground wearing one once and lasted about 30 seconds before he made them put him down. Too much pain and pressure. On the other hand in a safety HARNESS he could hang for quite a while without much discomfort.
After talking to him I went out and bought a safety harness for hunting. Mine is from Summit but there are plenty of others around. www.summitstands.com/c...ccessories
Recently I read a little more about them and saw that some of the industrial harnesses have an attachment strap that is a loop for you to "stand" in should you be hanging. This allows you to take the weight off of your crotch if you have to hang for a while waiting for help. Apparently it is possible for the straps around your thighs to cut off the circulation to your legs if you hang for too long. I'll be adding a piece of rope to my harness that will provide a loop for my foot should I need it. I'll include a picture when I get it done.
I'm curious about what others of you are using so share the info!
_________________ Mike
"I ain't no better than anybody else, and there ain't nobody better than me!" Ma Kettle |
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chambered221 Super Member
Joined: Aug 17, 2007 Posts: 3455 Location: Lost for good !!!
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 4:32 pm Post subject: Re: Tree stand safety harnesses |
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I've been using the chest strap that came with my stand but it's been a concern of mine for a while now !!!
What did the instructor have to say about the vest style harness ???
_________________ Ask as many people needed, sooner or later your question will be answered the way you want it answered !!!
A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government.
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Suzanne Super Member
Joined: Jun 27, 2009 Posts: 3323 Location: Eugene, Oregon
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 6:47 pm Post subject: Re: Tree stand safety harnesses |
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I was a parachute rigger in the Navy and after using a parachute rig a few times you can appreciate the need to strap yourself in tight. Just like the recoil from a rifle butt, if you're not up tight against your shoulder the recoil will smack you hard. Now I don't have cajones to deal with (how do you guys walk around with those things anyway) but am sensitive to being smacked anywhere, so I would suggest a full harness to spread the body weight, and tighten it up, if you don't want injury. You would want to secure it from the back so that you don't get smacked in the face, but be able to disconnect from the front, so that if you do fall you can disconnect more easily and use that extra length of rope (you smartly tied onto the rig) to get yourself down. I don't climb trees but I used to climb rocks and one very helpful item is a jumar, which is a one way rope climbing device or ascending device that allows the rope to go only one way. If you have 2 of them you can actually climb a rope using your legs. It's tedious but it gets you there. That would be a handy item and not expensive or heavy, to snap onto your extra length of rope. Better than a broken anything.
Suz
_________________ May the moon keep you centered,
May the sun keep you dancing,
And the stars shed light on your dreams. |
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Crackshot Super Member
Joined: Oct 23, 2005 Posts: 1693 Location: Mich
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 7:43 pm Post subject: Re: Tree stand safety harnesses |
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My safety is to stay on the ground. I aint no hawk.
_________________ The human mind is the weapon, the gun is just one of its tools. |
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Pumpkinslinger Super Member
Joined: Sep 22, 2007 Posts: 5001 Location: NC foothills
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 7:56 pm Post subject: Re: Tree stand safety harnesses |
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Chambered, as long as it supports you with leg straps I figure it has to be a lot better than a chest strap.
As Suz mentioned, I get the straps pretty tight when climbing up or down although I have loosened them a bit when I was just sitting. Careful positioning of the leg straps is a must... I fasten the lanyard high enough above me that it is almost tight when I sit down. If I want to bend over much I have to lower it some.
Crackshot, its awfully neat to get about 15-20' up and have deer, etc walk right underneath you without ever knowing you're around. By the way, I put a knot every 5' in my rope that I use to pull my gear up so that I can tell how high I really am. Its hard to judge height looking straight down, at least for me. I know a guy who was "way up" in a tree in his climbing stand but the marks in the bark only went up about 6-7'.
_________________ Mike
"I ain't no better than anybody else, and there ain't nobody better than me!" Ma Kettle |
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Ominivision1 Super Member
Joined: Sep 20, 2010 Posts: 2984 Location: Iowa
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 11:28 pm Post subject: Re: Tree stand safety harnesses |
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Pumpkinslinger
Hey thats a neat idea putting knots every 5' on the rope, btw I also have a summit harness. Its the original sop harness and like I said in another post I will not head skyward without it again.
_________________ Regards
Limitations are but boundaries created inside our minds. |
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Crackshot Super Member
Joined: Oct 23, 2005 Posts: 1693 Location: Mich
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Pumpkinslinger Super Member
Joined: Sep 22, 2007 Posts: 5001 Location: NC foothills
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Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2010 4:23 pm Post subject: Re: Tree stand safety harnesses |
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I've been busted a few times but not nearly as many times as I've had them walk right by. Anyway, to each his own! I've had them pretty close while sitting on the ground too.
Nobody else using tree stands and harnesses?!?!? Or is everybody else up IN them? I've got a few more weeks before muzzle loader season starts.
_________________ Mike
"I ain't no better than anybody else, and there ain't nobody better than me!" Ma Kettle |
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Pumpkinslinger Super Member
Joined: Sep 22, 2007 Posts: 5001 Location: NC foothills
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Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2010 4:23 pm Post subject: Re: Tree stand safety harnesses |
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Trying to delete double post...
_________________ Mike
"I ain't no better than anybody else, and there ain't nobody better than me!" Ma Kettle
Last edited by Pumpkinslinger on Tue Oct 12, 2010 10:07 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Dimitri Super Member
Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5944
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Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2010 4:50 pm Post subject: Re: Tree stand safety harnesses |
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Yes a Harness is better then a strap. When I go up on a tree stand I use a commercial safety harness not a "hunting" product.
Still it is rare for me to get up on the trees.
Dimitri
_________________ A thousand hills, but no birds in flight, ten thousand paths, with no people's tracks. A lonely boat, a straw-hatted old man, fishing alone in the cold river snow. |
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hunterjoe21 Super Member
Joined: Mar 30, 2007 Posts: 1486 Location: Miles City, Montana
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Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2010 6:01 pm Post subject: Re: Tree stand safety harnesses |
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Mike,
I bought the Hunter Safety System Pro Series (http://www.huntersafetysystem.com/store/pro-series.html# [mine is actually the HSS-6, which did NOT include the lineman's climbing strap]) last year after I nearly fell from my climber at about 25'. I had quit wearing the tangled-up strap mess that was included with my climber, mainly 'cause it's nearly impossible to put on in the dark, 'specially by yourself.
It does include the "Suspension Relief Strap". which is the "strap" you referred to that allows you to relieve the weight from your thighs while you wait for help. It also doubles as a deer drag.
The only negative I've found is the tree strap that was included with mine. It's kinda cumbersome to use, but I have a strap that came with another harness that works much better.
_________________ My 1911 is more effective than your 911. |
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cbsweeney Member
Joined: Jun 18, 2010 Posts: 197 Location: New York
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Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 1:33 pm Post subject: Re: Tree stand safety harnesses |
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I hunt from a tree stand during bow season, and on occasion during rifle season. I do use a harness made by Gorilla. It is just a regular safety harness in brown instead of yellow. A little tedious to put on, but worth the effort. It has worked well for me for the last 4 seasons, and I won't climb into a tree without it. (dozed off once, and it scared the heck out of me)
_________________ Give a man a fish, and he will eat today. Teach a man to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day. |
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wiersy111 Super Member
Joined: May 13, 2009 Posts: 2376 Location: Central Minnesota
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Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 6:16 pm Post subject: Re: Tree stand safety harnesses |
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I use the harness that came with my Gorilla stand also it a bit of a pain to put on but I don't leave the ground without it. I'm working on a tree trimming crew right now and have been practicing with the spikes and climbing gear whenever I can, It has given me a few thoughts.
_________________ A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America " for an amount of "up to and including my life."
US ARMY RETIRED
The original point and click interface was a Smith & Wesson.
Being "Over the Hill" is much better then being under it! |
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English Mike Super Member
Joined: Jan 08, 2007 Posts: 1709 Location: Whitehaven, Cumbria, UK
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Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 3:14 pm Post subject: Re: Tree stand safety harnesses |
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I have a 100% foolproof way of preventing myself from falling out of a tree.....
.....I ain't getting up in one to start with.
You young athletic types can accumulate all the bruises & broken bones you like but I'll keep my feet on terra firma.
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slimjim Super Member
Joined: May 16, 2009 Posts: 8314 Location: Fort Worth TX
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Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 3:25 pm Post subject: Re: Tree stand safety harnesses |
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English Mike wrote: |
I have a 100% foolproof way of preventing myself from falling out of a tree....I ain't getting up in one to start with. |
+1 here!!!
_________________ "To anger a conservative, lie to him. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth." - Theodore Roosevelt
"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." - Albert Einstein |
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