Anybody's safety harness save their bacon?

[fairchaser]

I am thinking about buying into the hype about how you must have the latest harness. I use a linesman type belt/rope and attach at the ground. I know about all the reasons why these are a bad idea supposedly. I am fairly athletic and use a climber with a rail. So I want to hear stories about how these new harness saved your life. BTW, I have fallen out of a tree and broken an arm because of a defective restraint system that I trusted. So I know what can happen. Never trust anything completely when you are thirty feet off the ground.

Let's hear your story.

 

[tn gunman]

I use to wear the belt rope type years ago but they were such a hassle so I eventuly gave up on them or any type of harness, I paid for it too 14 years back in Nov of 1999 I was hunting the opening weekend of Muzzleloader and not wearing any type of harness. I was 19 at the time, 10 foot tall and bullet proof a safety harness was just a hassle and got in the way, anyway the old school wooden stand that I was hunting out of decided to break loose from the tree I fell 22 feet landing on my feet ,I basically shattered both ankles. I had to belly crawl every bit of a half mile to get help, it put my college carer and my ability to walk on hold for the better part of a year. I sill limp a little on cold and rainy days it gets a little worse as I get older, so now when I am going to be hunting from a tree stand the first thing I reach for is my harness. Lesson learned, I now use the newer vest type harness that clamps around your legs with the slow letdown system now sure how well it works never had use it, never even come close to falling again. But any type of fall restraint device is better than what I had that morning.

 

[deerhunter10]

yes I have the hss and it saved my life or at least kept me from getting seriously hurt. I was hunting this bottom and the tree that worked you had to get high so you could also see a shelf up above you. I was probably 25-30 feet up in a older climber and I had them tied together and the bottom slid down a little I don't even know how it just slipped and the rope or knot came loose and I fell but my harness held me enough to get back on the top part. enough that my dad could come and bring me the bottom. I was really shakin up after and that's why I always wear one hunting just isn't worth your life.

 

[stik]

twice I have fallen asleep and woke up swinging

 

[fairchaser]

twice I have fallen asleep and woke up swinging

That's hilarious Stik. I guess that's the best way to swing. I think you should invest in a rail on your stand. That way you will only hit your head.

 

[fishboy1]

Twice.

Leaned out to shoot behind my tree at a hog and my foot slipped.
When my harness stopped my fall, I was basically head down below horizontal balanced across the top bar of my climber.
If my harness hadn't stopped me, I would have done a head plant into the ground from about 20+ feet up.
I now shimmy my attachment point higher up the tree so if I ever slip, there wont be as much travel before the harness catches me.

Second time, I had a genius idea of climbing a tree with a big bole/knot on the side. Got the top part of the climber over ok. Some how wound up hanging from my harness with one foot tangled in the bottom of my climber and the whole shebang cockeyed and trying to fall off the tree. Pulled a groin muscle getting the bottom part of the climber back on the tree and spend the rest of the hunt cringing every time I moved. Climbing down was fun too.

I won't leave the ground without a safety harness and I thank god the friend who got me into hunting hammered safety into my little noggin.