My first "real" saddle was similar back in the day. It crushed my hips badly. I made my own spreader with a turnbuckle thing and it didn't help at all. I think my next saddle was a New Tribe Ness Pro and it was awesome. I got it in about 2005 and finally wore it out. New Tribe in 2015 declined to rebuild it. They said webbing has a life of 7 years, etc. Here is how they informed me...after this I moved on to my current saddle, a Matt Cornell rope saddle..it has been great.
Per New Tribe in 2015:
"since you say it is 10 years old, here is the advice I would give regardless of its condition:
Because safety is the top priority for our products, we never rebuild saddles, and surely not those that have a lot of time or a lot of wear. We do not recommend prolonging the life a saddle once parts like the chafe wrap and webbing are worn out. Instead, we consider it a sign to retire the saddle. Even when there is no visible wear, unseen weaknesses in the webbing structure leave the strength of the saddle in doubt. And even if rebuilding were acceptable, the cost of it would exceed that of a new saddle. Your best choice is to buy new, and have equipment you can hang your life on.
Nylon webbing has a safe life of 7 years before the nylon begins to imperceptibly degrade. The reliable active life of a safety saddle may be as little as 3 years, if it has seen hard use, even when it is properly stored and maintained. While the saddle may still appear to be intact, yours is too old to trust with your life. The wisest thing to do now is retire it.
For more information, please see the attached page describing product life and inspection advice.
Climb safe,
Sophia Sparks
Owner
New Tribe, Inc.
Grants Pass, OR
1-866-223-3371"