Around ten years ago, I started seeing more and more about the world of saddle hunting. I thought it would just be another fad like those seen in other categories of the hunting industry...

Ten years later, I am now a dedicated saddle hunter. It took me a while to really understand its purpose, but once I did, I quickly became a believer. Saddles are not the end-all, be-all for getting up in a tree, but for those like myself who want to stay mobile, walk deep into public land, and basically have the freedom to use any tree regardless of its shape or size, a good saddle setup is hard to beat.

For those interested in saddle hunting who are hesitant due to the number of moving parts, trust me, I understand; I was in the same boat. Saddle set ups can be boiled down to 5 main pieces of equipment: the saddle, platform, sticks, lineman's rope, and a tether rope. To be in a tree and hunting those are really the only things you need. Of course with any growing hobby or sport, there is innovation when it comes to new gear. The saddle hunting community is great due to the number of American-owned, small companies that are leading the charge with lighter gear, awesome new accessories, and customer service that is second to none.

My current  personal setup has been pieced together from a lot of trial and error and figuring out what works best for me personally and what my budget allows. Most of the gear I am now running can be found here at Winter Timber Outdoors. We don't put equipment on the shelves just to fill space, we carry brands that we personally use and believe in. This year I moved over to the new Carbonlite sticks from Hunt Arsenal, along with their RZR Mag 3, I wanted to be as light as possible, yet know that I was going to be using something that could handle the abuse. Each of my sticks comes in at just 17 oz, which is crazy to think about, but with today's carbon fiber technology I never second guess their capability.

The newest piece of equipment I am most excited about is my new pack from Latitude. This company has several great offerings when it comes to transport, but their new Flyer pack checks all the boxes. Coming in at just under 3 lbs, this minimalist pack offers a lot of versatility in such a small package. The pack consists of a frame, with a simple fold down molle panel allowing you to sandwich your platform between the two. The molle panel allows you to add several different pouch options, and even store your sticks tightly with their innovative strap system.

If you are a hunter wanting to gewt into the saddle world, or a seasoned vet that wants to upgrade to the highest quality gear, come see us at Winter Timber Outdoors and let us set you up with a system that will get you deep, where the big boys live!