Tree stand safety

[The Back 40]

48 minutes ago, crappyice said:

2 thoughts:

I've had my safety harness for years well beyond the 5 years recommended. In my mind the strap are the same as a seatbelt in cars and those never get replaced after 5 years so...as long as they survive my pre-season inspection (no fraying, no ripping sounds when pulling on every seem) I am confident I'm good. 

How do you wash your harness? My wife gets pissed when her washer/dryer gets banged up by the buckles!!! Wasn't sure if this goes in the scent elimination thread!?!?

The 5 year "rule" was based off of the older standards the safety manufactures had for industrial safety harnesses. without a doubt there was a bit of CYA involved. Now they recommend inspecting your harness and replace as necessary. The useful life of any safety equipment is really based on the frequency and severity of use. If you are not beating your harness and only use it during the season and don't leave it out in the weather all year, they should last quite a while. 

UV is one of the most damaging things for synthetic products like your harness, ropes, slings and straps. you should take them down after the hunting season, inspect, wash and properly store them (cool & dry) until the following season and reinspect before you put them back up. All safety equipment should be inspected before each use. you never know when you could damage it.

As for cleaning. They recommend using a mild, fragrant free soap. after washing you should hang and let it air dry out of the sunlight. If you are machine washing you can use a mesh bag to help keep the webbing from getting tangled and banging around. my wife calls it a "delicates" bag but mine come with the harness. you shouldn't put a harness in the drier with heat, polyester has a pretty low melting point and using heat to dry it can damage the webbing.

I typically hand wash all of my harnesses. I fill a tub with warm water and use the cheap hotel shampoo. Our harnesses get pretty dirty so I wash rinse and repeat until the water is clean. I hang them in front of a fan and they are dry by morning.

[BowmanMike]

I am trying to decide when to replace my saddle...this is the fourth season for it now...maybe next year? I don't let it sitting in the sun or the truck and am not to rough on it in general...but I do have the itch to try a different one anyway...