Hey everybody I'm new to the forum and kinda new to " professional" tree work. So here's the deal, I used work on a farm then I was a hunting guide for an outfitter for a few years and now I'm a tree climber. The way I got into this business is kinda odd. I sell a lot of firewood through the winter and a guy I sell to had some white oaks he was wanting cut so I was over there with my wife doin that a couple months ago and a bucket truck was workin across the road. One of the trees he wanted removed needed to be pulled so I shimmied about 40 feet up this tree with that had no branches to get a rope around it to pull it over and next thing I know that crew foreman come over and was like " hey we need a climber you want a job"? Im not on a bucket, they put me on a manual crew with a few other climbers. So there ya have it. I've since discovered theres easier ways to get a rope in a tree. Iol. Anyways i still have a lot to learn but I guess I'm doin pretty good. I love the work I do and I learn somethin new every day. Took me a couple days to gettin used to climbing with spikes but I love em now. Sure beats bear huggin your way up the tree. Anyway what I'm needing advice on is a saddle. They give me one to use and I think it's a weaver. I'll post a pic of one that looks similar. The only difference in the pic I'm gonna post is that mine has a butt strap. My boss said I don't wanna get one that has a floating bridge, he said you move around to much with them that they ain't as solid. I dont know nothin about em, I've only ever used this one they give me. So what's a good saddle to get without spending an arm and a leg. I clear power line right of ways. Sometimes I just gotta go up and do a side trim. But there's times I'm hanging a lot too. Here's the pic of the one like im using except mine has the butt strap. I work 10 hour shifts and all I do is climb so I wanna be as comfortable and maneuverable as possible. Thanks
