One Stick Saddle Hunting and Rappelling on a Budget

[@heathshannonhartt2861]

Nice Video. I love my H2 Saddle. Glad to see you didn't edit out the fact that you forgot your retrieval line. Only suggestion that I have is to climb with your rappel rope. That way you always will have a direct route to the ground should something go wrong when your climbing.

[@thomascindy8915]

So I have messed around with climbing with my rappel rope and I honestly am not a fan. The quick link drives me nuts as it does not bite down on the tree like solid rope does. I have a tether locker but the issue I found is it will slip if pressure is added in certain directions. Instead, I’ve researched and practiced escape/transition methods incase I may ever need them. Thanks for watching!

[@thewildgame1]

Ive been using three sticks with aiders and it's definitely harder than just using a climber. I'll have to try this because I do like the comfort and versatility of being in a saddle

[@thomascindy8915]

For sure! The biggest advantage to me was the versatility and hunting from whatever height I needed to be at. Using multiple sticks, you are more limited.

[@H2Saddles]

Great Video. The great thing about one sticking is that there are many ways to do it. I climb with my rappel rope as a tether and also use it bring my bow up.

[@thomascindy8915]

Thank you! I continue to experiment with different methods and nuances with one sticking. Definitely my preferred climbing method overall!

[@LIFEONTHELINE-xn8gs]

I agree. You should try the S.M.A.R.T. One Stick (No Slack) method. That H2Saddle did look nice.

[@iant720]

Do you have a seperate line to retrieve your tether after rappeling down too?

[@thomascindy8915]

@@iant720 yes. It doubles as my bow rope.

[@randomguy1371]

Thought you might appreciate the heads up, the ropeman 1 is not made to arrest falls. It is suitable for a lineman belt, but shouldn't be used for your fall arrestor system

[@michaellaura1231]

I’m new to one stick / rappelling as well. Did it last season here in South Florida. A couple of things I’d be concerned about. 1. If you accidentally drop your rappel rope when you are transitioning to it, you’re stuck. Getting down will be a pain in the neck. 2. If you are climbing with your short tether and the cam cleat comes undone and you lose the stick, you’re stuck. You can put your rappel line on but you’ll probably have to untie the knot in your tether to slide off it or cut it. Then transition to the rappel line. I climb with my rappel line so I always have an escape to ground if I lose my stick or if something goes wrong. I used a quick link last year but am trying the JRB Cinch method this coming season. Along with an auto block and a mammut smart 2.0. Something to think about. Happy hunting.

[@stevenl4494]

Definitely....climb with the rapell line for this method. Doubles as the tether. No need to transition.

[@cdickenson22]

I put a piece of 550 around my stick in between the cams so they don't slap together. Reduces the noise of the cams and as long as your amsteel is thicker than 550 cord it doesn't hinder it's grip. Happy hunting this season.

[@timkaldahl]

I know this is quite OCD, but thank you for spelling rappel corectly.

[@77blawrence]

I hunted one stick for a season and hated it until I realized that I was trying to put my stick too high and had to bend down too far to get my stick to move it up. Once I shortened the distance of the stick on the moves, I loved it! Only way to go for me now. Great video.

[@thomascindy8915]

Awesome! Thanks!

[@smau990]

Thing for me I climb to top of the stick and reach tether up, then I step back down to bottom step of the stick to retrieve. Easy reach and easily enough room under tether. Fast moves matter much more than long moves.

[@stephenthompson640]

I’d like to see a deer hunt scouting video. It would be helpful to show a couple of new hunters I’m mentoring. Thanks again!

[@thomascindy8915]

We will probably do some once the season gets alittle closer 👍 thanks for the input!

[@stephenthompson640]

Thanks for a very informative video. I’m still considering a saddle. Also most videos don’t show folks going over a few feet from the ground. You going to hunting height and descending is awesome!

[@thomascindy8915]

Thanks!

[@juanrodriguez-mu7ko]

Awesome thanks looking to start saddle hunting thanks in advance 🙏🏽

[@OL-son91]

This helped me a lot. Good job!

[@kennethduke8348]

Great video, and nice house too

[@thomascindy8915]

Thanks Kenny!

[@bigjimar77]

I used the muddy pro stick with a two step aider.

[@SMSCHA]

I kept wondering when you were going to put on the line to retrieve your rappel rope.😁 Good video though

[@thomascindy8915]

Yup! 😆😆😆

[@lizzleyt]

While i understand trying to stay as budget minded as possible safety should still be the top priority. That ropeman is a rope capture device not meant for fall arrest. With all that slack you leave in your tether if your stick were to fall out there is a good chance that ropeman will fail. You can pick up a madrock or vergo for $100 or less and its suited for the application you are using it for. It also offers the advantage of climbing with your rappel rope so if something were to happen you wouldnt have to do anything to self rescue.

[@thomascindy8915]

Thanks for the info. I’ve experimented with climbing with the rappel rope and wasn’t a fan of it. I’ll keep experimenting with ways to reduce slack in my tether. Thanks for watching.

[@lizzleyt]

@@thomascindy8915 thank you for the videos👍

[@thomascindy8915]

After taking your feed back into consideration and doing a little research, I have now decided to back up my rope man with a 6mm prusik above it. I tried it out and it’s going to work great. Thinks again for the input! Safety is definitely number 1 👍

[@lizzleyt]

@thomascindy8915 Fantastic! Coming home safe after the hunt is the most important thing!

[@stevenl4494]

You can definitely ditch the tether. The way youre doing it - its no added value really. As a suggestion, look into the JRB Longhorn Agile hitch. Easy tending, replaces the kong duck, breaks easily under load, non mechanical. It'll serve as your auto block when combined with a simple munter hitch on a carabiner. Might be something to streamline the process.

[@thomascindy8915]

The issue for me with trying to hunt off of the rappel rope is it does not bite the tree very well. Even using a tether locker, if I try to swing around the tree for a shot, the rope slips and spins slightly. Had it happen several times and I’m not a fan of that sudden jolt thinking I’m falling for a split second!

[@stevenl4494]

@@thomascindy8915 So your tether doesn't slip then? What's the difference between the two? I agree, I certainly would like any sudden shift.

[@ritchieyang]

Do you have a video of how to install the cam cleat onto the climbing stick?

[@thomascindy8915]

Not currently but I plan on making one in the near future 👍

[@noahf184]

What would you do if you dropped your figure eight or if you dropped the repel rope when up in the tree?

[@quintonritter9539]

Check out a munter hitch. I believe that’s what it is. You can basically use a carabiner to rappel.

[@jricks31]

What’s the chances of that ascender failing? It seems like if that fails you’re hitting the ground quick.

[@thomascindy8915]

I have it backed up with a 6mm prusik 👍

[@rippinlip23]

Ok so how do you get down if you drop your 1 stick as your taking loose from the tree to move it up?

[@thomascindy8915]

One way would be to go ahead and set your platform to climb onto in order to transition to your rappel. Another way is attach my rappel line, hook into my figure 8 and make a foot loop in order for you to step into so you can release the pressure off of your tether so you can disconnect. A lot of different ways to do it, just have to practice 👍

[@aaronlittle2112]

What happens when you drop it !! ??

[@thomascindy8915]

@@aaronlittle2112 there’s a couple things you can do. Set platform and climb onto it, or set rappel line and use a foot loop to transition from tether to rappel.

[@lisamcqueen8509]

Climb any tree, with JRB, tree climbing! Check him out! Be safe, good hunting, and have a great day! Steve

[@thomascindy8915]

Thank you!

[@bigjimar77]

Only way to hunt.

[@BullPath]

Hey Brother, just a thought. The whole point of one sticking is obviously weight reduction , and safety. - You are ascending the tree with a 9 foot tree tether. Lets say you get up to 15 feet and want to get to 20 feet. You make your next move by getting your stick and then you accidently drop it. There are 3 things that will happen. Option 1. you will be stuck in the tree with no way down because you have no belay device or the rope length to do so. You call an emergency service, and they extract you from the tree - Option 2 . You accidently drop your stick, and your phone is dead. But thank goodness you have a knife. You cut your bridge, and you bear hug the tree all the way down to the ground . Or you try to bear hug the tree and accidently fall and break a leg. You crawl out of the woods and make it home alive. Again, no belay device of sufficient amount of rope. Option 3. You drop your stick on accident, your phone is dead, and you have no knife. You are a dead man hanging without suffecient amount of rope or belay device. - Im sure you done it this way 1000 times, but all it takes is one time you dropping that stick with your set up and you run the risk of dying. - Just say fuck it and get the 40 feet of 3/8 rope with a Mad Rock Safeguard or a Petzl Gri Gri.

[@thomascindy8915]

I honestly just recently switched to climbing with my rappel rope. I had an escape plan with additional rope incase that scenario were to happen (foot loop step to transition from tether line to rappel line) but taking safety and simplicity into consideration, I switched 👍

[@BullPath]

@thomascindy8915 good ! Way more fun as well with rappelling

[@mobilehuntinggear5303]

I couple more options - add a grapple hook to your bow line & retrieve your stick & return to climbing up - take your lineman belt out & use it as a foot loop to 2tc down