Safety harness question.
 

Asked this in the gear forum and no reply so i'll try here.Haven't hunter from a stand but 3-4 times in 20yrs.I'm pretty sure it is best to wear your harness under your coat,correct?

I don't think it matters...I do...a lot of the new ones come in camo....

However you wear it (I wear mine over) it's most important that the safety vest to tree tether is adjusted correctly. SHORT. So short in fact that if you happen to slip you can still get back onto your stand or, at worse, the ladder. People have been saved from hitting the ground but still perished from suspension asphyxiation when not being able to get their body weight off the straps across their femoral arteries.
That prevents the considerable blood volume of the legs from retuning to the heart causing death in about a half hour.
In addition to the harness, one should use a safety line when ascending and descending as that's when most falls occur.

PS been visiting a friend convalescing in a nursing home since he fell while installing a stand in mid September. He's looking forward to Nov 10, the next time his doc will determine if he can go home.

Also recommend keeping your cell phone somewhere you can access it while wearing your harness so you can call for assistance if you do fall and can't pull yourself up.

Does anyone practice?
 

For any newbie, especially, I'd recommend some practice time on the stand before hunting. Get a partner and get it up the tree a mere four feet.
Learn just how much agility and balance you have. Learn how to operate the stand on a tree. Learn what has to be checked for tightness. Is your stand good for a twenty or twenty five foot climb up a tree. Is it good with you up the tree.

Most hunters fall because they are not tethered or tied to the tree.
If you're tied to the tree, you can't fall. But if you fall and are in safety harness, as Cossack noted, you don't have a lot of time. You either have to get on the ground or back in the stand/remaining stand. And for the latter, you better not be a couch potato. After a fall you need lower and upper body strength. It's not going to be like sitting in the TV couch again. I've strengthened my lower body by hiking every week and lifted small weights for the upper body weekly. Once I got to a certain age, it became a year round task for me, to get ready for hunting.

The problem isn't the safety harness. The problem is the newbie or old timer not ready for eventualities to happen with a tree stand. And without practice, many are not ready for serious events

I bought the Mountaineer Rescue 1 Harness.It weighs a couple pounds with the rope in it but it works. You can lower your self 30 ft. to the ground if need be. You can test it at home by leaning back from a standing position with the harness tied off and lowering yourself to the ground by pulling the release. Then you just repack
the harness the way their DVD says and you are ready to go again.
Worth the money to me.

I take fall arrest classes for my work.

Best advice i can tell you is to wear it correctly with the leg straps snug as in the event of a fall the forces applied will yank them into your groin, if not used you risk falling out of your harness

chest strap should be across your chest centers over your nipples and snug but not super tight

lanyard should be hooked to your harness and be between your shoulder blades.

other end of your lanyard should be anchored a high as possible to limit the distance you can fall before your system begins to work.

if you dont have a way to get down in the event of a fall, look into getting some trauma straps for your legs to allow your legs not to pool with blood, after 15 minutes of hanging your odds of surviving are greatly reduced.

let people know where your at and keep a cell phone handy in the event of a fall

if you do fall and hang more than several minutes if you are able to get down dont take off your harness right away, can allow the unoxygenated blood to overwhelm your heart.

would recommend you also seeking medical help as you can suffer internal damage from the forces of falling.

harnesses and lanyards are generally 1 use only items. I would recommend cutting the straps to avoid being able to use it again and trash it.

I always tie a 50' climbing rope to the tree where my harness is an use it to lift my bow. I can always tie a loop to put my foot in and then decide to go up or down. I always keep this along with an extra carabiner in my pocket as well.
http://www.petzl.com/en/outdoor/mult...cenders/tibloc