best safety harness?
 

Hey what's the best safety harness out there? I am really looking at the Gorilla exotech. I had an old non name harness and was so annoyed with it getting tangled up. But I am not sure if I want the vest type. Thoughts?

The exotech felt nice but I tried on a Rescue One CDS harness and thats my next hunting related purchase. A bit pricey, but when your talking about surviving a fall, I personally consider it worth the investment. Check one out.

just make sure there is a way to release the tension when ya do fall...too many guys die wearing a safety harness, just because they cant get down after they fall, and die from blood poisoning.

safety harness
 

What do you mean release the tension?

well, after ya fall, and the safety harness does its job, there needs to be a release, so you can get down...or you will suffer blood poisoning.

I don't think you die from "blood poisoning" .You can die from lack of blood circulation . I use a HSS harness . If I was to fall I would be supported by the strap around my chest and the straps around the legs . The weight of my body on the straps would eventually cut the blood flow back to the heart and eventually kill me if I couldn't free myself in time .

yeah true.

Suspension trauma death is caused by orthostatic incompetence (also called orthostatic intolerance). Orthostatic incompetence can occur any time a person is required to stand quietly for prolonged periods and may be worsened by heat and dehydration. It is most commonly encountered in military parades where soldiers must stand at attention for prolonged periods. Supervisors can prevent it by training soldiers to keep their knees slightly bent so the leg muscles are engaged in maintaining posture. What happens in orthostatic incompetence is that the legs are immobile with a worker in an upright posture. Gravity pulls blood into the lower legs, which have a very large storage capacity. Enough blood eventually accumulates so that return blood flow to the right chamber of the heart is reduced. The heart can only pump the blood available, so the heart's output begins to fall. The heart speeds up to maintain sufficient blood flow to the brain, but if the blood supply to the heart is restricted enough, beating faster is ineffective, and the body abruptly slows the heart. In most instances this solves the problem by causing the worker to faint, which typically results in slumping to the ground where the legs, the heart, and the brain are on the same level. Blood is now returned to the heart and the worker typically recovers quickly. In a harness, however, the worker can't fall into a horizontal posture, so the reduced heart rate causes the brain's blood supply to fall below the critical level. Orthostatic incompetence doesn't occur to us very often because it requires that the legs remain relaxed, straight, and below heart level. If the leg muscles are contracting in order to maintain balance and support the body, the muscles press against the leg veins. This compression, together with well-placed one-way valves, helps pump blood back to the heart. If the upper-legs are horizontal, as when we sit quietly, the vertical pumping distance is greatly reduced, so there are no problems. In suspension trauma, several unfortunate things occur that aggravate the problem. First, the worker is suspended in an upright posture with legs dangling. Second, the safety harness straps exert pressure on leg veins, compressing them and reducing blood flow back to the heart. Third, the harness keeps the worker in an upright position, regardless of loss of consciousness, which is what kills workers.

What I do to ensure I can get loose if I fall is to put my tree strap high enough above me that I will hang just above the treestand platform. Then I can climb right back in. If the stand falls, then my strap-on ladder is there as well. I have two avenues to get back on the tree this way so I can get back down.

I'm also new to the subject of safety vests/ harnesses even though I've hunted from a treestand for 25+ years.

I did lots of reading on the subject and everyone's harness/vest is the best one you can buy. I tried to search different forums to see which had the best reviews and there again it was always personal preference to which was the best.

I ordered a popular harness and it was uncomfortable because the legs straps grabbed the back of my legs no matter how I adjusted them. I would bend over and when I stood up the straps stayed low on my thighs which caused the shoulder straps to get tight. I felt like I was wearing a straight jacket so I sent it back.

Now I have ordered another brand name harness but I can't comment on it until I get it and try it on, however I did try on one one of their other vest models at Dick's Sporting Goods and it felt pretty good.

On the subject of suspension trauma I think I have that figured out too. My plan is, after the first trip up the stand I'll attach a "lifeline"
with a prussic knot to the tree and be clipped to it while in the stand. Under the prussic I'm going to attach another prusic loop that I can use to help me either climb up or down the "lifeline" in case I should fall and can't get back into the stand.

That method is used by tree climbers and rock climbers so it's a proven method. I'll just have to practice to see if it works for me.

Good luck with your quest on finding a harness.

11-20-10 Update-

I received my new Hunter Safety System Ultra Lite harness yesterday. Everything is included and ready to use.
Watched the DVD and read the instructions, everything pretty straight forward. Took only a couple minutes to get it adjusted to fit.

I can say that it's very well made and easy to put on and take off. The shoulder straps are padded and easy to adjust. Best of all it's comfortable and the legs straps do not bind on the back of my thighs like the other brand of harness I tried.
I'm very satisfied with it so far.

I don't have one (the Gorilla) yet but I plan on getting one soon, I have an issue with the ones that come with your stand coming undone while wearing it, even if I knot the straps.