Muddy Safeguard Size L
119$ to my door. 2 days and it was here.
OK, got it on. First impressions (and its to be noted I am a hard sell)-
1. Very very light:way:, I immediately like this harness alot better than the bulky HSS model I rarely used before due to its faults. This one will easily be worn under or over clothes. HSS was pretty much an over only vest IMO.
2. A small amount of work for initial adjustmet. Once its set this should not be a problem.
3. It appears that at a touch over 6 ft and roughly 175 lbs I can't quite get the shoulder straps fully snug....though close and it should be tight once I have NOvember gear on. Very close to snug just a bout an inch to little adjustment. Not a deal breaker, but if I was any shorter through the torso I'd be required to go down to the next size for sure
4.The next thing that I will have to figure out how to improve is the strapping the goes under the crotch area. I cant get that 100% snug either, but very close(edit....You do NOT want this snug here anyway...cut the circulation off quickly even when 95% snug). Also, when I walk they rub making some noise when snug. The easy solution is to just loosen on the way in and snug them up once into the tree I guess. Nit- picking here for sure. Again, not that big of deal.
5. The attachments on the vest are rubber coated which is nice, but the carabiner that hooks you to the tree is not...a potential noise maker, but I can't confirm that yet.
All in all I believe this vest will enable me to improve my time strapped to the tree. Something I admittedly needed to improve on. With a 3 and 5 y/o at home to think about it makes sense to be safer where possible. I still contend that its not going to be the in the treestand time that gets ya, but that most accidents will result from the up and down transition. Regardless, this will make you a safer hunter.
This system comes with a linemans belt which I plan to use as conditions allow (certainly for putting stand sets that I put up in advance, something that I do rarely).
Above all else, I will continue to use my #1 defense when climbing trees which is absolute certainty of where I am placing my hands and feet and always having two points of contact. Take your time is the bottom line. Take each step as it could be your last. This approach has always served me well.
I will give the in the tree report tomorrow after I get back from tonights hunt. This of course is the ultimate test. So far I'm impressed.