I have a really light weight saddle setup that people have asked me about, so I thought I would post it here (and on AT). I use an Ambush saddle with the shoulder straps cut off. I use a climbing rope and carabiner as my tether. I use a Lone Wolf stick tension strap as my lineman's belt. I use a Woody hunting hand drill and custom made Titanium Treehopper-style bolts.
Regarding the Titanium pegs… I had them custom made from a company called Mettec. (mettec.com)
I worked with a nice fellow named Dave to get them exactly like I wanted. Here are the details:
The material is aircraft grade Titanium. As strong as grade 8 steel, 47% lighter and will never corrode.
3/8” x 6.5”
Each bolt weighs 1.88 ounces
The business end of the bolt has one inch of coarse, rolled threads (The main reason I spent the extra money over the steel bolts that are available dirt cheap. The steel bolts usually have 1.5 inches of machined threads, which makes them more succeptible to shearing when used as tree steps). With my bolts, I have 5.5 inches of solid shank (insert your joke here) vs. the Treehopper steel bolts which have 4.5 inches of solid shank. I also had the hex heads turned down to make them smooth for carrying. The head still has enough ‘lip’ to catch my boot if I get too far out on the bolt.
Cost…$22 each. Yes, I know I can get the steel bolts for less than $1 each. I do use some of the steel in trees that I plan on hunting multiple times. I just leave them in the tree and don’t worry if someone steals them.
How can I justify spending $220 for 10 bolts? Well, I can’t. However, I can make a case that it makes as much sense as spending $190 for 4 Lone Wolf climbing sticks.
Here goes my argument:
4 Lone Wolf sticks, when placed 20” apart will get put your top step at exactly 200” (about 17 feet). Do the math if you don’t trust me. Each stick measures 30” from the top of the first step to the top of the third step (you don’t get all 32” of length in real world climbing).
By comparison, I can space each of my Titanium bolts 20” apart and reach a height of 200”. Therefore, my 10 bolts at $220 will reach the same height as a 4 pack of LW sticks at about $190. I can justify the price difference because my 10 bolts weigh 1lb 3oz and fit it my pocket vs. The 4 LW sticks weighing 10 lbs and packing at about 3 feet long by 1 foot high. You can add 6oz for my EZ-Kut (woodpecker) hand drill, but I only have to drill a tree one time. After that I just slide the bolts in the holes each time up.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my LW sticks. I use them when I hunt pines and poplars, which is quite often. For hardwoods, I will take my Mettec bolts every time.
My ambush saddle with the titanium bolts and hand drill weigh about 6lbs total. That is pretty light for a complete treestand/harness system. Absolutely, unnecessarily light, but awesomely cool.
I have pics, but can't figure out how to post????
Hope that helps for those who have asked.
Topic: my Ultralight Tree Saddle and Titanium bolts (Read 871 times)
