do you prefer leg loops or butt strap saddles?

[voxac30dude]

just curious as to what you guys use out there in the vast world of tree care. i only know what guys in hawaii are using so, what do you prefer?

 

[pdqdl]

I started climbing on an old rope & leather pad rig that had individual leg straps; it was called a "nut-cracker" by the folks that sold it to me. I always liked it best for security and balance. Padding wasn't too good...new ones are probably much better.

Then I went to a butt-strap with retainer straps that held you in. That's ok too, and has much less tendency to cut off the circulation to my legs. I have used a couple of saddles that don't have the retainer straps, and I can't stand the lack of security. Look around, and you will find references to people wearing those under their armpits while being rescued out of a tree.

 

[treesquirrel]

Seat harness for straight up take downs and leg loops for trimming of widely spread crowns requiring lots of lateral moving around.

 

[NCTREE]

Seat harness for straight up take downs and leg loops for trimming of widely spread crowns requiring lots of lateral moving around.

:agree2: if you're gonna be sitting alot with spikes on for takedowns than the seat straps are the way to go. If you're gonna be doing alot of limb walking and running around in the tree then the leg straps are the way to go. I have a saddle for each. If you're on a tight budget I would go with the seat saddle first.

 

[voxac30dude]

i cant decide between this one and

this one

 

[Blakesmaster]

I've owned the top one pictured for about 6 mos and like it just fine. It can be a bit of a nut pincher but fairly comfortable overall. I haven't run any of the fancy new saddles yet though as a comparison. The second one pictured I had looked over too but I really wanted the independent leg straps. They're not as comfy if you're hanging from your line for extended periods but way better for overall movement in the canopy.

 

[voxac30dude]

thats where i need help choosing. we dont have alot of vertical tree's here in hawaii there alot of canopy type trees like monkypods and wattle. i am afriad of crabbing and thats the only thing keeping me from getting the 2 one. i want freedom of movement for pruning work. but we also have eucalyptus trees here which as you know have long trunks. i keep comming back to the leg loops. as far as nut crunching goes, when i first started climbing i used to make rope harnesses. talk about nut crunching. i have balls made of steel now. hahaha.

anyway i think the leg loops are gonna work for me becuase i mostly climb SRT here. i find it easier for the tree's we have on maui.

 

[PurdueJoe]

It's leg straps for me. I started in one old school weavers with just the butt strap and wasn't a fan at all. Word about "pinching" a buddy that started climbing a year after I did had a leg strap slip and he ended up having on of his testicles removed so it can happen.

 

[tomtrees58]

It's leg straps for me. I started in one old school weavers with just the butt strap and wasn't a fan at all. Word about "pinching" a buddy that started climbing a year after I did had a leg strap slip and he ended up having on of his testicles removed so it can happen.

thats me to stringer/ brooks/ blair tom trees

 

[Blakesmaster]

If you climb mostly srt get the first one pictured. Just so you know there is no way to crab in either of those saddles.

 

[fishercat]

i started out with the top saddle in the pic.

it was absolutely miserable.the next Buckingham was the Versatile with the seat and it was much better but it was the basic and i hated the bridge.i now climb on a Butterfly and the leg straps don't bother me at all but the bridge still sucks.i still may buy the seat and make it a Dragonfly but i am starting to think i should just put the $140 towards a saddle with a seat.the key to leg straps is how much padding the have and how far they go around your leg.

 

[voxac30dude]

ok i think im pretty decided on the leg loops. i feel safer when climbing srt. i dont like to drt unless i have to. i just dont like the feeling of slipping outta my saddle during an accent. anything is better then my old rock climbing harness i have been using.

 

[Bermie]

I wouldn't get either of those, find a leg strap harness with WIDE and well padded leg straps otherwise you'll lose your legs...well not liteally but think of circulation problems if you're hanging in it for a long time. I use the european style harnesses, B'fly or Edelrid...also the adjustments are more finite, not limited to a buckle...

 

[tree md]

I started out on a Weaver with a butt strap and used that style for many years. I have had Buckingham saddles too as well as a leg loop saddle. I had an employer buy me a leg loop saddle with floating D back in the late 90's and I hated it. I was doing almost all takedowns back then and riding the ball on the crane nearly everyday. The leg loop saddle was the most uncomfortable saddle I had ever worn. I wore it a week and gave it back to my employer; told him he could keep it. I went back to my personal saddle with a butt strap. I now own a Petzl Mini Boss with a stiff batten seat. Most comfortable saddle I have owned. I keep hearing people say that the leg loops help them to move through the tree better but I tend to work more efficiently when I am more comfortable. That means seat strap for me. Never had a problem with it slowing me down in a tree. Maybe because that is what I have grown accustomed too.

 

[Blakesmaster]

Maybe because that is what I have grown accustomed too.

Probably has a lot to do with it. I'd only been in the saddle a few years till I picked up a leg loop version with a floating D. IMO, any type of lateral movement on your rope is so much easier if you can spread your legs apart while still hanging on your rope. The floating D is a life saver when limb walking because it allows your line to hang at your side instead of dead center but a lot of guys don't dig 'em. I don't quite understand why but to each his own, I s'pose.

 

[BlackenedTimber]

i cant decide between this one and

this one

I am currently climbing in the top saddle. I like it just fine. The leg loops are the way to go for me.

Naturally this saddle doesn't have all the bells and whistles and all the cool new stuff that alot of the other saddles on the market have, but this saddle is relatively cheap and plenty sturdy. I like the twin floating-dees on the bridge because it gives you a good amount of mobility in the tree and helps to keep my climbing line termination from interfering with my friction hitch.

I have been tempted lately, as I have more time on my hands now, which means more Tree work and less Power Transmission work, to get the new Buckingham Master saddle, but thus far I have not had a NEED for it. I think you would do fine in the top saddle pictured.

 

[voxac30dude]

i realized that i will be doing some hanging from a line but for the most part the only hanging im doing is when im getting up in the tree and getting down. when i used to make swiss seat harnesses when i was younger i allways made leg loops. that just seams to be my go to choice. personally my body tells me im more secure when i have leg loops rather then a batten seat or a but strap. i personally think back support is where it's at though. having an extra wide back helps tremendously. for the $30 extra im totally buying the leg strap version.

 

[Sunrise Guy]

I started with leg straps. I'd enter a tree as a bass and exit as a soprano. There was no way I could get comfortable. Then I went with a seat. What a difference! When adjusted properly, and I mean trial and error over a complete morning session, the seat is never in my way and I have just as much lateral movement capabilities as anyone using leg strap saddles. Also, I know someone posted about slipping through the seat. That's goofy. All seat harnesses that I've seen come with leg straps to keep that from happening. The straps do not have to be kept very tight, though, and that's the beauty of the system, for me. I have a Buckingham Traverse. http://www.buckinghammfg.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_ID=1629

 

[Tree Machine]

I've gotta go with Sunrise. My very first saddle was a buttstrap, the next a legstrap. Next a bosun seat style with central tie-in, then a bosun style with floating bridge.

I was able to test-climb an Ergovation for a couple months, leg-strap + floating bridge.

My rock climbing / caving harness is leg-strap, central tie-in.


For the bulk of the guys out there who I'm sensing have never used a bosun-style saddle, it too has leg straps. However, instead of the forces being taken up primarily by the backs and sides of each of your thighs, and generally pulling up (since your weight is generally pulling down) and in (think 'triangle'), the leg straps on a bosun-style saddle simply keep the support from below in place, from sliding up your backside.

Since the title of the thread is 'leg-straps vs butt strap' I'll refrain from hijacking the thread to share the host of bosun advantages and the why's behind them.

If you're from the side who says bosun saddles limit movement in the tree, please cap it unless you actually have firsthand experience rather than a blind, uninformed opinion based on what you heard someone else say. This is one of the most wrongly assumed opinions that I know of in all of Arboriculture.

 

[jomoco]

I thought everybody knew that the first arborist in the world was a sailor lookin for a mast pole.

jomoco