Sore Hips While Hanging In Saddle - Expected?

lxskllr

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I like my saddle a lot, but doing that pine today got my hips angry. I was pretty much supported by my saddle 100%. Nothing to stand on at any point. Felt amazing leaning back in it, and kneeling against the tree. Took the strain off my hips. Anyway, is this expected behavior from a split 2D butt strap saddle? Thinking I might try my Camp harness, but it's kind of PITA to get it out of the truck.
 
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  • #3
Not long. It was about an hour aloft, but it's the first time I've been 100% on rope. Previously, I was either on spurs, or getting up to branches, so the saddle wasn't holding my full weight the whole time. I'm thinking it might be a design feature, since the rope attachment is pulling the sides of the buttstrap together and up.

Just wondering if anyone else noticed with these old school saddles. I've been a little paranoid about my hips lately. They don't always work 100%. Wondering if it's the first stage of needing new ones, or just getting old.
 
What Camp saddle or harness you got?
If it’s a TreeAccess, I hear it’s really nice. The bridge is cool looking, like soft lower positioning rings built in. Funky but interesting.
 
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  • #6
It's not the TreeAccess, It's the ANSI XT. It's basically the TreeAccess minus the rope bridge. You can connect the climbline to the lower D, and you have the work positioning stuff of normal saddles. When I got it, I wasn't aware of the TreeAccess, but I probably wouldn't have gotten it anyway. The one I got was for fall arrest for work, and as a minimally functioning saddle I could climb in while at work, while my main gear wasn't available. And of course the cheap price. I paid about $255 for the ANSI XT after TreeStuff coupon.

edit:
See ^^^Above Eric
 
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  • #8
You got a great deal with the coupon and your timing. It’s $520 at Treestuff today.
Looks like $329 is what they're selling it for. I might have gotten the letters wrong. It looks pretty much like this, but my leg buckles work differently. Maybe it's GT. I thought I had the manual sitting here near me somewhere, but I'm not seeing it. It's not exactly a climbing saddle, but it'll work as such.

 
I wonder why the other one is so much more $.
I had forgotte… but remember now reading your thread several years ago when you were contemplating this purchase.

I've been looking at different fall arrest harnesses, seeing if something interests me enough to change over from my HomeDepot special. It's the basic nylon web harness, where putting it on is like trying to organize an octopus. It serves it's purpose, and since it isn't something I regularly wear, sufficient I guess. I also have self rescue in mind in case of a fall, and that's virtually impossible with a basic harness. TreeStuff has this...

 
John, you’re gettin old my friend🤪. I have had similar experiences with the pain. It seems like a crapshoot whether it hurts or not and location or severity of pain.
 
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  • #11
Probably cause they can. A couple rigging plates, a piece of nylon, and a piece of rope. Maybe a $100 premium? It would be a better climbing saddle though. Mine gives you all the mounting points you want as long as you don't want more than one :^D That one works well enough though. I'd have to spend more time in it to know exactly what I like/don't like about it, but it works fine for my intended purposes.

realtime edit:
I didn't want to hear that Mike!
 
There's an old thread at TB.COM titled Stand Up Climbing Harness that delves into suspension harness trauma being necessary because extended lower D suspension alone cuts off, at least to some degree, blood flow to your lower legs.

Indeed paramedics are trained to treat suspension harness trauma by rigging foot straps for the victim to stand up on to return normal blood flow to the lower legs.

Personally IME, spending more than an hour or so on either upper D's or lower D's becomes uncomfortable enough to switch between the two to obtain relief, if only for a few minutes.

I have a custom made pair of boots from Wesco, HighLiner's that allow me to stand up on a perfectly vertical bodyline.

image.jpeg

Jomo
 
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  • #14
That's probably in the ballpark of what it's worth. Mine's Chinese made, but it seems to be put together well, and has good features. Probably what I like least about it is the fairly thin back. I like the heavy materials on my old school saddle, with the thick leather back. It's kinda heavy, but it feels good when I put it on.

If I got a more modern saddle, I probably wouldn't stray far from what I have. I like the looks of the Spartan seeing it in catalogs, but I'd want to check it out in person. I'd want to make sure it has the thick chunky back. Might not be as heavy as mine, but close would be good enough.
 
I am not familiar with the harness you mentioned but does it have a soft seat or hard seat as opposed to individual leg loops?

Lots of old school climber I used to work with didn’t like the newer harness’s with articulating leg loops as if not set up correctly they pinch your bollox.

A lot of these guys also had hip problems and I knew at least two who had hip replacements.

Gear and ideas advance. Don’t be cheap and just make do. Make use of the technology and get a decent harness instead of one that hurts your hips. Seriously, your hips will thank you.
 
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  • #16
This is my primary harness, and the one I was wearing yesterday...

sad102.jpg

I've been super happy with it up until yesterday. It's fantastic for spurs, and decent enough for ropes, but it's perhaps not great for hanging in rope for long periods of time. I'll try it again next time I go up, and see what happens.

I can relate to the pinching bollocks thing with the leg loop saddles :^D My truck setup has that, and I have to be particular putting it on, or it gets pinchy. I'll try that for comparison if my primary fails again. It isn't really about money at this point. It started that way, but I decided I like this stuff, and am in for the long haul, so I buy what I think I need. Seldom frivolous though. You don't get to be pseudo rich by buying everything you see. I try to carefully target my purchases. Might have been someone here that said "I can buy anything I want cause I don't buy everything I want". That's my philosophy.
 
That is the classic type of harness to cause long term hip problem.

I think it is because the seat type attachments cause you legs to close so you subconsciously have to correct it by using muscle groups you’re not used to to keep the legs apart.

iMO at least it is a harder base rather than a soft seat. They are the worst.
 
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  • #18
Well, if I end up getting something else, what do you all think of the Spartan?


What I like about it(looking at pics) is the heavy materials. I like stiff strapping and stuff that kind of holds it's shape when sitting. Pretty sure I'll be sticking with Buckingham regardless of what I get.
 
Gerry covers Saddles well in his book ... before he published I was already using an old school four dee.
Moved on eventually with good information to leg saddles. He has a couple of great lines in Fundamentals , one about climber breaking in the saddle or the opposite , other about the four dee butt sadlles really being two saddles ...
 
Check out the New Tribe saddles.
The Nikosi has an interesting connection between waist belt and leg section that shares the load.

I fly the Onyx almost exclusively now, and it is comfortable whether on a crane hook, gaffs, or hanging off myTIP, and otherwise unsupported for a long time.
I added a second rope bridge to the Onyx. It's been years since I used a 4-Dee hip crusher saddle.


Screen Shot 2022-01-11 at 10.19.33 AM.png


ONYX:

Screen Shot 2022-01-11 at 10.20.10 AM.png
 
Yep , it's about comfort at work ("Hip Crusher" , good one) ... also to try again on the four dee by buying and using the useless Spreader Snap , you can skip that step as well in my experience ...
 
I’m a big fan of the Ergovation, and the Spartan is very similar.
Buckingham makes some tough gear and a lot of work goes into their new products.
 
I was also going to recommend new tribe onyx. The spartan is a fine saddle that held up great for me for many years too. I've been intrigued by the really big leg pads that New Tribe makes, but haven't run One

4d saddles are no fun
 
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"
 
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  • #25
That sounds like sensible advice, and even the most expensive saddle isn't much money when it's making you money, and you're spending so much time in it. You could arbitrarily replace a $1k saddle every three years, and it would be less money than most pay for internet. Comfort punches above it's weight when you're using it occupationally.
 
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