saddles with fall arrest suspenders

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

GrahamS

ArboristSite Lurker
Joined
Jul 24, 2012
Messages
9
Reaction score
1
Location
lake in the hills il
Im in the market for a new harness/saddle and was looking for any opinions. I would like a saddle that I could also use as a fall arrest harness with the add on suspenders. Im a municipal arborist so I dont climb a ton, but sometimes its nice to climb out of the bucket to finish the backside of a tree rather then reposition the truck and so on. Im also not a big fan of the fall arrest only harnesses that im constantly sharing with other guys at work. Ive been leaning towards a buckingham master deluxe with the suspenders but have not climbed in it so its kinda hard to judge. My current saddle is a old weaver so anything new will be an upgrade. Thanks for any insight you folks have.
 
This reply is a few months past due, but thought I'd offer up my thoughts since nobody else has. The first clmbing belt I bought was a Buckingham, and it had an H-harness incorporated in its construction (not an add-on). Some would call it a tower harness, and it came with 5 D-rings ... 2 positioning D's at the hips, 2 D's connected to the saddle, grommet style leg loops, and a single fall-arrest D in the middle of the back (which also could serve well for a rescue removal). Some may complain the shoulder straps may hinder movement, but I really like that the bulk of my gear is carried by my shoulders versus trying to tug a belt off my hips. I feel very comfortable once I get into position, secure work & rappelling lines, and sit down when I can.

Since this reply is so late, I assume you bought something by now. So, what did you end up buying?
 
The model number on my saddle/harness is consistent with the Buckingham website in regards to special orders for such assemblies. There are many options available that the number on mine cannot be found online ... but can be broken down in accordance with the Buckingham ordering codes. The harness isn't old (I think it has a 2009 mfg date), but I believe it's NOS (new old stock) left over from a batch a local industrial rigging supplier ordered. I bought the new harness and a pair of new Buckingham steel climbers with the velcro pads for about $425. After I recharge the battery in my digital camera, I'll shoot and post a few images.

What's my style of climbing? Usually with a goal of returning to the ground safely. :msp_biggrin: I'm not exactly sure what you're trying to ask. I don't view myself as a recreational climber, I am not an arborist, and I'm not doing this for profit. I had two trees (60ft to 70ft maples) I wanted to remove, and while I could've paid someone to do that for far less $$$ than I spent on climbing gear, I wanted the challenge of doing it myself. After weeks of studying a multitude of sources and talking with many guys who are in the business, I felt great pride in getting those trees down as planned, and without damage to anything else other than the trees (especially me). And since I'm not in it for profit, I took my time and spread the job across 3 weekends.

I must confess that I truly enjoyed the task, and I look forward to going up my other 5 trees (4 maples & an oak) in the fall to top them. I realize "topping" is somewhat of a dirty word among arborists, but these trees were topped back in 2006 and have flourished wonderfully since. They have pretty much doubled in size, and I want them reduced once more. Again, true arborists may not like my stance, but these are my trees and I prefer preventive maintenance versus making home repairs via insurance claims after-the-fact. We've been lucky over the last few years in regards to hurricanes around here, and I've seen many trees blown over ... especially in developments like this one where tall wood has been cleared for new homes, often leaving 100ft-plus pines standing alone and prone. At 55 years of age, this will be our last "topping" of the trees at this residence because we will retire elsewhere along the Chesapeake Bay.
 
I ended up getting the new version of the edge with the rigging plates for the bridge. For suspenders I actually am using the add on suspenders from sherrill's version of the master saddle, connected with a carribiner to the belay loop, and in the front they connect around the waist strap and I added some velcro so they dont slide around when taking the saddle off. It works out pretty well, If im going to be in the bucket all day I still just wear a fall arrest harness, but If climbing and using the bucket on the same tree, I will just wear the saddle and connect the fall arrest lanyard to the rear d ring on the suspenders.
 
All I do is climb and I have been using the buckingham empire from treestuff with the fall arrest suspenders. I love it and it really shines when you lug a big saw up the tree.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top