Safety Harness

[Hossienda]

Hey Guys,

I have a question regarding the safety harnesses. I have a safety vest from Cabela's that I wear when I am in the stand that also goes around the legs. I am wondering, since from what I hear the majority of falls occur when climbing up and down from the stand, what do others do? I have to unlatch the vest from the strap attached to the tree to get up and down, so I have no safety net. Is there something I am missing or just not understanding??

-Hossienda

[bigbucks]

I think you're doing about all you can, at least in most cases. With a climbing stand you're in the stand the whole time, so it's very difficult to fall from those. I think they do make climbing belts, but they'd only work on at tree without limbs it seems like. Make sure you pull your gun or bow up on a rope or have a sling on your gun that you put over your head, with the action open.

My brother-in-law fell or nearly fell from permanents of mine twice in one weekend while we were bow hunting. I nearly fell from one myself, all climbing up or down. All you have to do is have your hold slip at the wrong time. The one he actually did fall from we were at my gun stand to repair it. We noticed after climbing up the tree that one of the steps was loose. I climbed down to get on my tractor & then he climbed down to repair the steps & one end of the loose one came loose. Fortunately it was only the second or third step from the bottom & his hand was on it, but he went to the ground & banged his heel hard enough on a rock that it was sore for a week or better.

[NELS-BELLS]

I have researched this recently due to the fact that I fell about 18' while climbing down from a stand that I had just finished setting up, back on Labor Day wknd. After shattering my wrist and having pins screwed into the bones until it healed, I am happy to say that I will finally be able to go bow hunting this weekend for the 1st time since it happened.

I picked up a Summit climbing stand and it came with a DVD and a full body harness. For climbing stands where there are no branches you can attach yourself to a rope with a slip knot around the tree which you slide up the trunk of the tree as you go. Otherwise if you have a stand that is already up, you can attach a strong rope above the stand and also tie it around the base of the trunk. It should be fairly tight. Then you attach your safety harness to this rope with a 2' piece of rope tied with a 6 loop type slip knot that you slide up and down the main rope with your hand as you go up or down, but if you fall it grips and will not slide. I hope you are able to understand what I'm am talking about. Unfortunately it doesn't do you any good if you are just setting your stand up or taking it down.

later,

Nels

[Pistolero]

I know that there is a climbing strap that works on a tree with branches, I saw it at the bowhunter class that I took last spring in Coon Rapids. I'll do some checking this weekend and see if I can find out where to get the climbing strap. The instructor in the class, had fallen from his stand (6') several years ago and shattered his ankle, after that he found a couple of ways to stay secured to the tree while climbing. One method is the one mentioned by NELS-BELLS. I'll keep you posted on what I find.

[irvingdog]

What you are looking for is what is called a "lineman-style" harness.

Remember the ESPN lumberjack challenge, when the guys climb the pole with a harness and boot-climbers? Well, that style of harness allows you to climb in a reasonably safe manner. It tethers at the hips, and the strap that goes around the tree is long, and loose. I use one every time I climb. Wether on steps, rails or what have you, I climb lineman style. It won't assure you won't fall, but it gives a huge measure of security and stability. Once up on the stand, a second strap is hung higher in the tree, and I tether on from the back of the harness. This is the position you hunt from. Kind of like your vest. The problem is, I have yet to see a vest style harness on the market that allows lineman style tethering. As nice as the vests are, I won't wear one until that is available.

There are many good types of harnesses that have lineman style capability. just make sure the one you buy says it has that feature.

Good luck.

[Pistolero]

What I saw was a "Y" type lanyard. The instructor built his own. Here is a link that shows the "Y" type lanyard (bottom of the page)and how it works.

http://www.aplussafety.net/products/lanyards.cfm

[irvingdog]

A properly hung harness system won't need a "shock absorber" because there is no fall from the stand. When I step off of my stand, I swing to the side, but do not fall. I leave only enough play in my teather to sit and stand. No more. Any more means falling. Not only will that create shock, but you have to figure out how to climb back into the stand...........

[Pistolero]

Sorry about the confusion but I was referring to the "Y" feature, not the shock absorbing feature. The link that I gave was the closest thing that I could find to show the "Y" feature that I was talking about. The "Y" feature allows you to get around branches or other obstacles and still be tied off at all times. I have all the part to make my own, it's just that I have not done it yet. I've been putting up my stand and climbing into it without a lanyard. Ya, I know, I should be playing it safe instead.

[irvingdog]

Ahhhhhhh. Makes sense now. I just didn't think bungee jumping and deer hunting should be mixed.

[Canuck]

I use the same thing that irvingdog was talking about and find it extremely helpful in setting up stands. This way you can have both hands free to work with and it seems these stands get heavier every year.

A small example so that others don't fall victim to what I did about 20 yrs ago. I put my stand at the bottom of the tree and climbed up with just the rope in my hands. Well, I was in an old oak tree and sure enough this one limb was dead and when I put weight on it it gave way with me crashing down on my tree stand. I bent the 3/8" metal teeth that bites into the tree on my leg bone (ouch).

Hint, do NOT leave your stand, bow or arrows right under the tree to pull up. Had an ex-fellow worker that fell out of his tree stand last year (NO harness)and the only reason he lived was he carried his cell phone with him, otherwise he would have bled to death. He spend about 8 months in the hospital and is just now getting around. He is a good lesson as to why one must wear one. They are cheap insurance.