Tree climbing harness

[Gord]

Good morning all. What kind of climbing harness do you use for tree stand hunting? Does your harness offer a way to get down from the tree after falling? What is your strategy to get down after a fall?

Thanks Gord.

[huntwriter]

I use the Hunter Safety System HSS-6 Pro Series vest. It converts within seconds into a lineman type climbing system (most treestand accidents occur while climbing up or down a tree). The vest has pockets to stow little items and converts into a deer drag too.

There is no safety harness that lets you get to the ground with a haul system. However, Cabela's and a few others outlets offer a pulley system, similar to that used by lineman that permits you to lowr yourself to the ground after a fall.

After 25 years hunting 97% of my time out of treestands I have yet to come close to fall from one. read, understand and strictly follow the treestand manufactures recommendations. Read and strictly follow treestand hunting safety guidlines and treestand hunting is very safe. Get careless and it could kill you.

[Ddog]

i use a linemans harness, it utilizes a strap that goes around the tree for climbing , and when i reach my stand the strap i have around the tree is at a reachable length so i can grab it and clip it to my harness before i climb into my stand. I disagree 100% with huntwriter on where most accidents occur, most accidents occur when climbing in or out of the treestand itself, not whilst climbing the ladder.
my harness is good for one fall if the shock strap tears, its there to cushion the fall by tearing away the threads in the folds. there is also a little pocket in which there is a cutting device to cut the harness if need be after a fall.
if i were to fall from my stand i would fall about 2 feet before the harness would kick in.
I often thought of how i would get out of the position of being hung in the tree, and hopefully i would be against the tree so that i could reach my steps or ladder so that i could get free from the strap and climb down.

[ROEBUCK]

Remember To Attach Your Safety Harness As High As Is Possible To Prevent A Jolt, And Allow You To Get Back On Your Stand, Also Carry A Easy Accessable Knife Just In Case You Need To Cut Your Safety Line If All Else Fails.let Someone Know Were Your At! Remember You Cant Hang In A Harness For Too Long As It Cuts Your Blood Suplly To Your Legs.

[Bowzone_Mikey]

Most falls occur while climbing ... some occur while in stand and you are falling asleep etc...

at the advice of friends, I am seriously considering installing climbing lines and using prussic knots ... They are simple ... extremly effective please have a read of this article

*edit* well I would upload it but its 278 kb PDF and the site only allows 19 kb

[ROEBUCK]

When Climbing, Keep 3 Point Contact At All Times.hoist Equipment Up By Rope When On Stand And You Shold Be Fine Climbing Up Or Down, Wear Your Harness At All Times In Stand And On Accent & Deccent. Accidents Are Nearly Allways Avoidable If Yo Do Things The Correct Way, And The Safest Way

[gary murray]

I have a full body linemens harness that i got on Ebay for $20.00. It has a small blade in a pocket that i can use to cut myself free.

[tomahawk]

at the advice of friends, I am seriously considering installing climbing lines and using prussic knots ... They are simple ... extremly effective please have a read of this article

kb

Do you have a link or URL we could follow to get this?
Thanks
Tom

[Bowzone_Mikey]

Do you have a link or URL we could follow to get this?
Thanks
Tom
here ya go ... took me a while to find the source


http://dnr.maryland.gov/naturalresource/fall2008/tree_stand.pdf

[huntwriter]

When Climbing, Keep 3 Point Contact At All Times.hoist Equipment Up By Rope When On Stand And You Shold Be Fine Climbing Up Or Down, Wear Your Harness At All Times In Stand And On Accent & Deccent. Accidents Are Nearly Allways Avoidable If Yo Do Things The Correct Way, And The Safest Way

A dear friend of mine never used a climbing device either. His excuse, "I always make sure to keep a 3-point contact at all times when climbing up or down from my stand."

On day in mid January (this is Illinois for those wondering about deer hunting in January) he slipped on a icy tree step and fell to the ground. He was only six feet of the ground but it still broke his back. A year later we carried his casket to the graveyard. He died from complications resulting from the broken back. Three point contact goes out the window if you suddenly slip and fall, especially for people that a bit on the heavy side.;)

Don't become a statistic, use a climbing belt.

[sfire436]

What the hell is a tree harness????

[Ambush]

"I always make sure to keep a 3-point contact at all times when climbing up or down from my stand." Don't become a statistic, use a climbing belt.
A sad and preventable tragedy

I always use a climbing stand. Do you have statistics that show whether more falls occur from hang-ons or climbers, accounting for the difference in the greater number of hang-ons in use of course. I think I recall reading that most falls happen when transitioning from the steps to the stand, which doesn't happen with climbers.

I have the HSS vests also and they make using a harness much more convinient, especialy in the dark.

[huntwriter]

A sad and preventable tragedy

I always use a climbing stand. Do you have statistics that show whether more falls occur from hang-ons or climbers, accounting for the difference in the greater number of hang-ons in use of course. I think I recall reading that most falls happen when transitioning from the steps to the stand, which doesn't happen with climbers.

I have the HSS vests also and they make using a harness much more convenient, especially in the dark.

No there is no statistics separating it into climbers and fixed position stands. Even if I use one of my climbers I wear the harness and attach it to tree, moving it up as I move the stand up. It only takes a few seconds longer.

You're correct. Second after the climbing up/down falls are falls stepping from the ladder/steps onto the stand platform. Always make sure the ladder/steps ate three to four feet higher up then the stand so you can step down onto the platform and still have enough ladder/step length left to hold comfortably on to it with both hands. Making the ladder/steps higher also makes a handy device to hang packs, binoculars and jackets from it. As you get on or off the platform never step onto the edge the stand could dislodge and tilt sideways. Always step onto the in the middle of the platform.

Another important point many hunters ignore is to practice with your stand about three feet of the ground under any conditions such as in the dark, in the rain and snow, until you're absolutely familiar with setting the stand up, taking it down, getting onto it and off it. The same goes of climbing stands practice in the dark to set it up and climb a few feet of the ground with it.

I only use the climbing stand about 30% of the time the rest I hunt from fixed position stands. I have many different treestand models to accommodate different trees. I don't like to look for a tree that will accommodate my stands. I look for the right tree that gets me close to the deer action from there I'll find the stand that fits the tree.

Currently I own about 35 treestands, a friend in America where I do most of my whitetail deer hunting stores most of them for me. Five of these are ladderstands between 12 feet and 16 feet high, and then I have five climbers of various models with my favorite being the Tree-Lounge. The rest are fixed position stands and some have adjustable seats and platforms to accommodate bent and twisted trees.

[bighornbob]

I use a full linemans harness all the time (came with the stand) It has a small box cutter in a pocket in case you have to cut yourself free. I use the linemans strap only when I am cutting branches and setting up the stand. Its nice when you have both hands free to cut branches or position the stand.

I always leave enough branches and use screw in steps so I always have 3 points of contact as others have said. Yes as Huntwriter has said you can never be too carefull but you are also assuming that strap and harness will save you too. We must remember too that as kids none of us ever climbed trees with a linemans strap or a full body harness either and we probably climbed alot higher.

I also put enouch steps in that I also step down into the stand.

I also leave enough branches below my stand that if I actually fell out and was hanging I could easily pull myself to the trunk. Also if I actually fell while in my stand my feet would probably only be 1.5 feet below the platform level.

BHB

[gary murray]

What the hell is a tree harness????
A harness is a body strap that you attach to the tree when using a tree stand so that if you fall for whatever reason it stops your fall. You put it on and attach a strap to the tree about eye level, maybe more depending on the length.

[The Hermit]

I bought a HSS Vest this year... going to try it out today in my practice stand in the back yard. It is WAY easier to get into than the old strap style!

[jrjonesy]

A HSS-6 vest is on my wish list for Christmas. Because I rock climb, I've always used my backup climbing harness for tree stands and it's always worked great. I do like the idea and ease of use of the vest style HSS-6 though and look forward to using it.

[ROEBUCK]

how long do you guys leave your hang on stands out on the tree?

[J_T]

how long do you guys leave your hang on stands out on the tree? For elk they go up in late July and come down in October/November when I find time. I simply move them to my deer locations and they stay up until Christmas. Take the family for a nice walk in the snow.

[jaeger]

I saw an interesting system in one of the bowhunter mags, it is called Controled decent system . you can google it , I think it is the cats ass!
A little pricey around $250 US but isnt your health worth that?