Indiana hunter's death puts tree stand safety in spotlight
11-20-2013, 04:17 AM
#11
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: VA, USA
Posts: 3,116
Thank you for the reminder. I probably saw this on the instructional video when I first bought my harness and thought that would slow me down and hence never made it into my routine. The youtube video was excellent and I am now going to include this in my ascending and descending routine with climber.
11-20-2013, 01:54 PM
#12
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: North Idaho
Posts: 1,071
Thank you for the reminder. I probably saw this on the instructional video when I first bought my harness and thought that would slow me down and hence never made it into my routine. The youtube video was excellent and I am now going to include this in my ascending and descending routine with climber.
11-21-2013, 05:13 AM
#13
Typical Buck
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Southern Indiana
Posts: 763
I do not use a harness. Years of climbing up and down ladders while working on Construction jobs has taught me a thing or two about safety without the use of a harness. Accidents can happen to anyone, even those who wear a harness.
The last thing you need is for a harness to SOMEHOW get tangled around your neck as you fall. If it happens, you're most likely dead.
We all have our personal choices, and I can guarantee you that a lot of us do not wear a harness. It does not matter how "safe" you think you are, accidents happen to the best of us.
The last thing you need is for a harness to SOMEHOW get tangled around your neck as you fall. If it happens, you're most likely dead.
We all have our personal choices, and I can guarantee you that a lot of us do not wear a harness. It does not matter how "safe" you think you are, accidents happen to the best of us.
11-21-2013, 03:56 PM
#15
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,834
My brother just fell while descending this past Monday PM!!! He was hunting public property over by Rend Lake, Il and was leaving. He began to climb down with his climber and did not attach his tether line on his way down. The floor of the climber slipped away and he fell about 10ft over backwards. He has the floor and seat line long for he lifts himself up and down, not sit and lift.
He landed on his neck/back/shoulder with his knees slamming into his chest. he is 6'6" and 280#. He came down hard!!! When he woke up/realized what happened, he had difficulty breathing and was dizzy. He was able to get out and contact the others and they came and helped get his stuff and checked him out. He has 4 cracked ribs, stressed left knee tendions, flipped over with his feet in the stirrups, stressed/pulled left rotator cuff and slight concussion. Was pretty sore. Back in stand on Wednesday!!!!
He landed on his neck/back/shoulder with his knees slamming into his chest. he is 6'6" and 280#. He came down hard!!! When he woke up/realized what happened, he had difficulty breathing and was dizzy. He was able to get out and contact the others and they came and helped get his stuff and checked him out. He has 4 cracked ribs, stressed left knee tendions, flipped over with his feet in the stirrups, stressed/pulled left rotator cuff and slight concussion. Was pretty sore. Back in stand on Wednesday!!!!
11-22-2013, 08:14 AM
#16
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: VA, USA
Posts: 3,116
I do not use a harness. Years of climbing up and down ladders while working on Construction jobs has taught me a thing or two about safety without the use of a harness. Accidents can happen to anyone, even those who wear a harness.
The last thing you need is for a harness to SOMEHOW get tangled around your neck as you fall. If it happens, you're most likely dead.
We all have our personal choices, and I can guarantee you that a lot of us do not wear a harness. It does not matter how "safe" you think you are, accidents happen to the best of us.
The last thing you need is for a harness to SOMEHOW get tangled around your neck as you fall. If it happens, you're most likely dead.
We all have our personal choices, and I can guarantee you that a lot of us do not wear a harness. It does not matter how "safe" you think you are, accidents happen to the best of us.
11-22-2013, 09:20 AM
#17
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: North Idaho
Posts: 1,071
My brother just fell while descending this past Monday PM!!! He was hunting public property over by Rend Lake, Il and was leaving. He began to climb down with his climber and did not attach his tether line on his way down. The floor of the climber slipped away and he fell about 10ft over backwards. He has the floor and seat line long for he lifts himself up and down, not sit and lift.
He landed on his neck/back/shoulder with his knees slamming into his chest. he is 6'6" and 280#. He came down hard!!! When he woke up/realized what happened, he had difficulty breathing and was dizzy. He was able to get out and contact the others and they came and helped get his stuff and checked him out. He has 4 cracked ribs, stressed left knee tendions, flipped over with his feet in the stirrups, stressed/pulled left rotator cuff and slight concussion. Was pretty sore. Back in stand on Wednesday!!!!
He landed on his neck/back/shoulder with his knees slamming into his chest. he is 6'6" and 280#. He came down hard!!! When he woke up/realized what happened, he had difficulty breathing and was dizzy. He was able to get out and contact the others and they came and helped get his stuff and checked him out. He has 4 cracked ribs, stressed left knee tendions, flipped over with his feet in the stirrups, stressed/pulled left rotator cuff and slight concussion. Was pretty sore. Back in stand on Wednesday!!!!
11-23-2013, 06:38 PM
#18
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,834
Fact!! i just spoke to him about 10 minutes ago and he says that he feels like he fell out of a tree!!!! His chest hurts, his right calf is really sore as is his shoulder. Nothing bruised so far, no problems breathing. Just sore. He shortened his tether between the platforms to 5 ft and will just have to go with that. He said if nothing else, he will tie off to his seat part of the climber from the "V" part towards the tree and then back into the body area. We'll see. Lesson learned, tha hard way.
11-24-2013, 04:03 AM
#19
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: On an Island in Vermont
Posts: 22,593
Not to be rude but it sounds like you need to read the instruction manual/dvd provided with your climbing stand. You can climb up and climb down with a climber and stay attached to the tree. Most safety harnesses have a tree strap that wraps around the tree and you then hook your harness tether to the tree strap. You simply move the tree strap up or down the tree as you move and you stay attached from the time you start your climb, till the time you climb back down. This method has been described in every instruction manual of every climber I've ever owned from Summit, Lone Wolf, and API.
Here is a short youtube video on this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sMr-nMHxPk
In addition to this, every tree stand safety harness I have used in the last several years has the tree strap that allows you to maintain connection to the tree included. The harnesses I have used include: Seat O The Pants, Muddy Safeguard(current harness), HSS, and the harnesses included with new treestands. These include harnesses from API, Summit, and Lone Wolf.
Here is a short youtube video on this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sMr-nMHxPk
In addition to this, every tree stand safety harness I have used in the last several years has the tree strap that allows you to maintain connection to the tree included. The harnesses I have used include: Seat O The Pants, Muddy Safeguard(current harness), HSS, and the harnesses included with new treestands. These include harnesses from API, Summit, and Lone Wolf.
Last edited by Champlain Islander; 11-24-2013 at 04:11 AM.
11-24-2013, 04:45 AM
#20
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: VA, USA
Posts: 3,116
Something else worth mentioning here. You need a plan if you ever do fall. How are you going to get back into the stand or to the ground? If your tether is attached and adjusted correctly you should be able to get back into your stand.
However, what if you have a complete stand failure? You need to figure out a way to get down and relieve the possibility of suspension trauma. I will not get into the effects of suspension trauma here, but I think it is very real and the reason "suspension relief" straps are included with most stands and harnesses today.
I carry the Summit Tree Descender with me. Other options could include a couple screw in tree steps or one of the automatic tree descenders such as Down Safe or the Livewire sytems. I will say that a couple screw in steps would be the most cost effective way to go. However I found them a little heavier and more noisy than the rope system the the Summit Tree Descender offers.
http://www.summitstands.com/treestan...tree-descender
However, what if you have a complete stand failure? You need to figure out a way to get down and relieve the possibility of suspension trauma. I will not get into the effects of suspension trauma here, but I think it is very real and the reason "suspension relief" straps are included with most stands and harnesses today.
I carry the Summit Tree Descender with me. Other options could include a couple screw in tree steps or one of the automatic tree descenders such as Down Safe or the Livewire sytems. I will say that a couple screw in steps would be the most cost effective way to go. However I found them a little heavier and more noisy than the rope system the the Summit Tree Descender offers.
http://www.summitstands.com/treestan...tree-descender