Buckingham Versatile Deluxe Review

[Damon]

Ok so i have my new saddle for almost 2 months now and have really put it through its paces here is what i think about it

Pros
Price-369 from Wesspur is a very very reasonable price for a saddle with these features
Gear loops-gear loops are covered in a plastic tube to help make them last
Ring and snap style chainsaw attachments
Quick adjust leg loops
wide padded seat
multiple belay points so you have multiple tps
integrated floating bridge- this is the most bomber floating bridge arrangement i have ever used, in my petzl saddle i never really felt like i had anymore then a shoestring holding me up and this is not a problem here, with an hdpv roller on a williams crab moving about the canopy is effortless



Cons
Weight- this is a heavy saddle, with a chainsaw hanging of of it you really need suspenders to be truely comfy sitting in the hooks
Brass snap- these just suck i dont really understand why the put them on proffessional saddles



Things i would change or did change

The first thing i did when i got this saddle and i mean before i climbed with it was put a pair of wiregate accessory biners in for chainsaw straps i dont really know why manufacturers dont do this i think every on has either had a near miss or dropped a saw from a failed brass clip and some point

The next thing i did was pony up 60 bucks for the addon suspenders people with hips may not have this problem but at 6'5 and 160 pounds i have a hard enough time keeping my pants from falling off let alone a harness with my 200t and a 441 hanging off of it

i would have liked a set of lower ds but unfortunetly the ultimate saddle has yet to be designed

i would also like to have had a double row of gear loops because i care a **** load of slings with me when im rigging because i work alone alot and hate having to go up and down too many times i think at some point i will add something to get myself a little bit more storage for biners slings and hardware

 

[pdqdl]

...
i would also like to have had a double row of gear loops because i care a **** load of slings with me when im rigging because i work alone alot and hate having to go up and down too many times i think at some point i will add something to get myself a little bit more storage for biners slings and hardware

I carry all my slings on a rescue-8, with each different color daisy-chained in groups of 4. My old buckingham saddle doesn't have diddly for attaching extra gear. The big ring on the "8" holds a ton of carabiners, and it keeps them tidy in the gear bag, too. Working by yourself, you should have a figure-8 or other friction device of some sort just for lowering bigger wood by yourself.

 

[lone wolf]

Ok so i have my new saddle for almost 2 months now and have really put it through its paces here is what i think about it

Pros
Price-369 from Wesspur is a very very reasonable price for a saddle with these features
Gear loops-gear loops are covered in a plastic tube to help make them last
Ring and snap style chainsaw attachments
Quick adjust leg loops
wide padded seat
multiple belay points so you have multiple tps
integrated floating bridge- this is the most bomber floating bridge arrangement i have ever used, in my petzl saddle i never really felt like i had anymore then a shoestring holding me up and this is not a problem here, with an hdpv roller on a williams crab moving about the canopy is effortless



Cons
Weight- this is a heavy saddle, with a chainsaw hanging of of it you really need suspenders to be truely comfy sitting in the hooks
Brass snap- these just suck i dont really understand why the put them on proffessional saddles



Things i would change or did change

The first thing i did when i got this saddle and i mean before i climbed with it was put a pair of wiregate accessory biners in for chainsaw straps i dont really know why manufacturers dont do this i think every on has either had a near miss or dropped a saw from a failed brass clip and some point

The next thing i did was pony up 60 bucks for the addon suspenders people with hips may not have this problem but at 6'5 and 160 pounds i have a hard enough time keeping my pants from falling off let alone a harness with my 200t and a 441 hanging off of it

i would have liked a set of lower ds but unfortunetly the ultimate saddle has yet to be designed

i would also like to have had a double row of gear loops because i care a **** load of slings with me when im rigging because i work alone alot and hate having to go up and down too many times i think at some point i will add something to get myself a little bit more storage for biners slings and hardware

Watch the gear loops they will break we broke 2

 

[NCTREE]

I love my versatile, its going on 7 yrs now. Haven't had any problems with the gear loops breaking then again I don,t carry to much bells and whistles. The only thing i,ve had to keep an eye on is the the bossum seat adjusters are starting to rip.

 

[Donald]

I too have one from Wesspur and I love it. I love the huge back support and the bossum seat. I'm a beginner climber so I'm still figuring out how to organize stuff on my belt. Yes it's a bit heavy but sure gives me peace of mind knowing the heavy duty quality will keep me alive.

 

[Damon]

I have tried the fig 8 a few times and i used to sort slings by color but i started buying bulk blaze orange and neon yellow tube webbing and tying my own which give me alot more flexibility and i have started clipping the webbing onto a few single biners and keeping all my wiregates on a sling i carry messenger bag style over my shoulder, it works well because there on my back out of the way and its less weight for me to have dangling off the saddle the biggest problem is that if im doing a big job its not uncommon for me to lug 40+ wiregate biners and 40+ slings up with me because i make money cutting not screwing with climbing up and down, Ill tell you what my hat is off to the guy that invented the speedline because while it may not be something i use every day i use it alot and not only does it save me lugging but with my curent setup i can move it around in the tree without having to climb down and unhook anything so when im done cutting i just throw my rigging line go unclip everything from the speedline load the trailer and away i go. i still have yet to find a really good way to keep both my 441 or my 450 and the 200t with me in the tree so sometimes after ive climbed up ill hook the 441/450 to a branch or something out of the way but i would like to be able to keep it on the ground untill i need it though i dont like having anything tied to my rope that im not going to use immediately because of how limiting it can be by all means i am open to suggestions if anyone has any

as for the gearloops i will deffinitly keep an eye on them like i said i wasn't particularly impressed by them or the brass chainsaw clips

do you guys use a lanyard on your 200? i seem to use one about 90 percent of the time but everytime i dont i realize how awesome it is to have complete freedom of motion but at the same time im afraid something will happen and ill drop it

 

[lone wolf]

I too have one from Wesspur and I love it. I love the huge back support and the bossum seat. I'm a beginner climber so I'm still figuring out how to organize stuff on my belt. Yes it's a bit heavy but sure gives me peace of mind knowing the heavy duty quality will keep me alive.

They are pretty comfortable I got to tell you.

 

[lync]

Ive had mine 3 years daily use. It holds up well. I found that the bridge was a little too long put the hardware right at face level. Installed a bride from a medium size(mines xl) got it from sherrills clearence items. Keeps things a little closer. Suspenders are a must Those brass snaps are for a handsaw at most. Petzl carry tool thru the slot just behind the hip d ring. I climb with a15 foot lanyard daisyed up till needed. A william beaner w/ a vt is my adjuster, put a delta screw link on the bridge leave it pushed over to one side. Can quickly set up a second tie in by transfering the lanyard beaner to the bride, and cliping my snap to the delta link. Much more comfortable than from hip dee to dee.
Corey

 

[RacerX]

do you guys use a lanyard on your 200? i seem to use one about 90 percent of the time but everytime i dont i realize how awesome it is to have complete freedom of motion but at the same time im afraid something will happen and ill drop it

I always use a bungee lanyard on my 020T. Seems kind of foolish to risk dropping the saw for a little more freedom of motion. The stretch of the bungee gives me all of the length that I need. Any more motion would mean cutting way over my head or cutting one handed, both methods that IMO should be avoided.

 

[tree MDS]

Dropping your saw is a method that should be avoided IMO..

 

[lone wolf]

Dropping your saw is a method that should be avoided IMO..

Especially on your groundsman's head!

 

[tree MDS]

Especially on your groundsman's head!

Isn't that what the fangled hardhats are for these days?

I prefer my old school ladder hook, I just hang it on the round ring with a screw link (right side) on my versatile. I do wish I never took off the safety lock though. Always thought the bungee thing seemed like something geared more towards the greenhorn.