W
Widow Shooter
Guest
First off, has my search for the ideal saddle ended? ( and I know Chip is gonna run with this like a scalded cat LOL)
Okay, Yeah, yeah, yeah....I'm going to have to eat my words on this deal, no salt. no pepper, uncooked and harsh
Luke at www.treestuff.com sent me a Treemotion sans- payment to try out.
And I "did" tell Luke I would write a review on it, honest, good OR bad. But I don't really think he was worried about a bad one.
I have been kinda bashing it here and there because I did not think any saddle is worth 500 bucks, i mean c'mon now.
I thought it was big and cyborg-ugly.
So I get it, take it outta the slick Treemotion box and think, " wow, this thing IS ugly"
Tried it on, rigged a climbing rope on my chin bar and sat in it.
Declared that it was a piece of overrated crap.
Then I decided to hail up some FB people i know who have it, James Kilpatrick, Scotty Olson, Ian Sporre and a few others. I also posted on arbtalk cuz i know a lot of UK/German climbers wear it.
The next day I took it outside, rigged a line in the backyard and actually spent an hour adjusting the many different adjusters that it has.
The more i played, the less I noticed wearing it; and this, is a good thing
so after getting it dialed in, it has proven to be by far the most versatile saddle I have ever sat in, climbed in or worked in.
The amount you can customize it to your body is amazing, no more of this "one-style fits all", this is easily configured to anybody's body and climbing style.
Even though it looks high in the back, you never notice that, if you look at the accompanying pics, you will see that the back pad covers a lot of my back pocket, my Sequoias don't, they ride higher by design, and I notice this after hanging in them, I have to readjust and pull it back down out of my lower ribs.
That is another thing, I have a HUGE ribcage for my 5' 8" most saddles dig my lower ribs while hanging. The TM does not.
It rides so low in front and the waist belt is contoured on the sides to not even touch the lower ribs, even while hanging. You can wear it REAL low, and I like that
And this saddle stays put once you adjust it, even with a saw hanging off it.
Just for kicks, I climbed in it for an hour, then came out, switched to my beloved little Sequoia...was not feeling the love at all. LOL
It is not even in the same league for comfort while hanging, range of motion or adjustability.
the way you can clip into the D's on the rope bridge is amazing for comfort, but the Sequoias let you do this too.
One big plus is the red ring under the green D rings that you normally lanyard into, really seem to do the intended job of dispersing pressure to a larger area while lanyarded in. They do work as intended.
the quick changing and adjusting of the rope bridge is a big plus too, a quick Dbl fishermans and you are good to go
The added feature of customizing where and how many gear loops you can have is a sick feature! If I keep, I'm looking forward to setting this up.
It means no more fumbling to find shit, it is right where you put it, very intuitive. Having spots for caritools everywhere and even on the leg loops is CRAZY, like a fox that is.
Overall I would give it a 5* out of 5* on all counts, this coming from a guy who said he HATED the ugly beasties.
I still think it is ugly, but in a sexy Star-Wars kinda' way.
Treemagineers really did do their homework in designing this, and I believe it was trial and error, but I think they have it nailed -tight now.
There is a reason why the top TCC guys in the world wear them, it is the most innovative climbing tool out there.
The outer skin is a thick , industrial grade synthetic leather/vinyl type stuff, it used Austria-Alpin buckles , which my Treeflex had and I love, and the hardware is all DMM, so you know it's top drawer.
Petzl and DMM are tops in climbing hardware IMO. the back pad can come out along with the leg pads since they are Velcro-ed on if you need to wash it.
So in short, it is worth every penny if you are a serious climber.
James K. told me that even if he had to replace it every year he would do it, his is 3 years old and is approaching retirement, and he said that it has made him MAD money, and in the end that is the bottom line right?
He also said he uses the same saddle for work, comps and play, so you know it is pretty durable.
Could it be my go-to saddle now?
HELL YES! (it's okay Greg, my Petal tat is safe my helmets, ascenders, and fave biners will still always be Petzl. LOL)
This is MY unbiased review, I'm sure like everything, some people will love it, some will hate it. It boils down to how it lets you climb, your climbing style, type of work you do, etc.
Here are a few pics showing the amount of stuff you could get on it, i don't climb with near that amount, but hey, I could have gotten more on there easily !
Okay, Yeah, yeah, yeah....I'm going to have to eat my words on this deal, no salt. no pepper, uncooked and harsh
Luke at www.treestuff.com sent me a Treemotion sans- payment to try out.
And I "did" tell Luke I would write a review on it, honest, good OR bad. But I don't really think he was worried about a bad one.
I have been kinda bashing it here and there because I did not think any saddle is worth 500 bucks, i mean c'mon now.
I thought it was big and cyborg-ugly.
So I get it, take it outta the slick Treemotion box and think, " wow, this thing IS ugly"
Tried it on, rigged a climbing rope on my chin bar and sat in it.
Declared that it was a piece of overrated crap.
Then I decided to hail up some FB people i know who have it, James Kilpatrick, Scotty Olson, Ian Sporre and a few others. I also posted on arbtalk cuz i know a lot of UK/German climbers wear it.
The next day I took it outside, rigged a line in the backyard and actually spent an hour adjusting the many different adjusters that it has.
The more i played, the less I noticed wearing it; and this, is a good thing
so after getting it dialed in, it has proven to be by far the most versatile saddle I have ever sat in, climbed in or worked in.
The amount you can customize it to your body is amazing, no more of this "one-style fits all", this is easily configured to anybody's body and climbing style.
Even though it looks high in the back, you never notice that, if you look at the accompanying pics, you will see that the back pad covers a lot of my back pocket, my Sequoias don't, they ride higher by design, and I notice this after hanging in them, I have to readjust and pull it back down out of my lower ribs.
That is another thing, I have a HUGE ribcage for my 5' 8" most saddles dig my lower ribs while hanging. The TM does not.
It rides so low in front and the waist belt is contoured on the sides to not even touch the lower ribs, even while hanging. You can wear it REAL low, and I like that
And this saddle stays put once you adjust it, even with a saw hanging off it.
Just for kicks, I climbed in it for an hour, then came out, switched to my beloved little Sequoia...was not feeling the love at all. LOL
It is not even in the same league for comfort while hanging, range of motion or adjustability.
the way you can clip into the D's on the rope bridge is amazing for comfort, but the Sequoias let you do this too.
One big plus is the red ring under the green D rings that you normally lanyard into, really seem to do the intended job of dispersing pressure to a larger area while lanyarded in. They do work as intended.
the quick changing and adjusting of the rope bridge is a big plus too, a quick Dbl fishermans and you are good to go
The added feature of customizing where and how many gear loops you can have is a sick feature! If I keep, I'm looking forward to setting this up.
It means no more fumbling to find shit, it is right where you put it, very intuitive. Having spots for caritools everywhere and even on the leg loops is CRAZY, like a fox that is.
Overall I would give it a 5* out of 5* on all counts, this coming from a guy who said he HATED the ugly beasties.
I still think it is ugly, but in a sexy Star-Wars kinda' way.
Treemagineers really did do their homework in designing this, and I believe it was trial and error, but I think they have it nailed -tight now.
There is a reason why the top TCC guys in the world wear them, it is the most innovative climbing tool out there.
The outer skin is a thick , industrial grade synthetic leather/vinyl type stuff, it used Austria-Alpin buckles , which my Treeflex had and I love, and the hardware is all DMM, so you know it's top drawer.
Petzl and DMM are tops in climbing hardware IMO. the back pad can come out along with the leg pads since they are Velcro-ed on if you need to wash it.
So in short, it is worth every penny if you are a serious climber.
James K. told me that even if he had to replace it every year he would do it, his is 3 years old and is approaching retirement, and he said that it has made him MAD money, and in the end that is the bottom line right?
He also said he uses the same saddle for work, comps and play, so you know it is pretty durable.
Could it be my go-to saddle now?
HELL YES! (it's okay Greg, my Petal tat is safe my helmets, ascenders, and fave biners will still always be Petzl. LOL)
This is MY unbiased review, I'm sure like everything, some people will love it, some will hate it. It boils down to how it lets you climb, your climbing style, type of work you do, etc.
Here are a few pics showing the amount of stuff you could get on it, i don't climb with near that amount, but hey, I could have gotten more on there easily !