Using Fall Protection in Tree Stands
This Week on Dynamic Discussions
On this week’s episode of Dynamic Discussions, we take safety to the recreational sport of hunting. Greg and David chat with Casey Parsons about a fall he encountered and why using fall protection while climbing is important. Casey works in the industrial field and he is used to wearing fall protection while he’s at work, so he understands the importance of fall safety and always wears a harness while he hunts, too. On one off chance encounter, Casey forgot his camera in the stand and decided to climb up to grab it without strapping in and he encountered a dangerous accident. Casey usually used a branch on the tree to stabilize himself as he climbed, but this time the branch broke and he fell 25 feet to the ground and landed on his right side. He collapsed both of his lungs and broke multiple bones.
Why Use Tree Stand Harnesses?
It’s no surprise to learn that most hunters who use tree stands don’t wear the safety harnesses that are recommended. Now there’s a million reasons why they don’t comply; the harness is uncomfortable, it can be seen too easily, the harness is too heavy, the hunter doesn’t know how to wear it, the hunter is seasoned and has never worn one before so why start now? The list goes on, but the fact remains that there are numerous fall related accidents that occur each year in the hunting world and the variety of quality fall protection equipment to choose from is minimal.
Keep the Fun in Doing What You Love
It’s normal to keep up with safety code at work because there are citations and violation repercussions, and even still there are thousands of fall related injuries a year. Keep the fun in doing what you love, hunting. Don’t risk your life when you should be having the time of your life. Nothing really springs someone into action like a fall does, but the goal here is preventative not corrective. Hunters are well used to the dangers that lurk in the woods, so the possibility of a fall from the tree stand gets overlooked. Sport hunters need to be educated on fall protection, what can be done to prevent accidents from heights, and what rescue looks like once a fall has been arrested. You lay all the groundwork for your hunting season, don’t let a fall ruin the game.
The Hunter’s Elite Harness from Malta Dynamics
The Malta Dynamics Hunter’s Elite Hunting Harness is the ideal addition to the hunter’s tree stand safety kit. At Malta Dynamics, we’re the already fall protection leaders for safety in the labor industry and we’ve decided to take our expertise to the woods.
The Hunter’s Elite Fall Protection Harness is crafted with the avid hunter in mind, and this hunting harness features Strata or Kanati camouflage pattern options from the TrueTimber collection to keep you hidden from your prey and safe from a fall.
This safety harness for hunting isn’t just your average joe kind of set up, it includes everything you need to climb up to your tree stand safely and sit silently for hours while you await your perfect target. As the best hunting safety harness on the market, the Hunter’s Elite comes complete with a suspension relief/deer drag strap, lineman’s climbing strap, tree strap, and high quality harness with a shock absorbing tether.
The Malta Dynamics engineers are avid hunters themselves and have designed this tree stand safety harness to feature all the bells and whistles any hunter would want want, like premium padding on the shoulders, legs, back, and waist to keep you quiet and comfortable for hours.
The creators of this hunting climbing harness have been in their tree stands often enough to know that even the smallest sound can ruin your haul, so they’ve silenced all the fasteners with elastic to make sure they stay silent as you move. They’ve even gotten rid of the extra noise makers on the harness by featuring climbing loops that are made from high strength polyester instead of metal to eliminate the clinking sounds that might spook your target.
The Suspension Relief Component
The Deer Drag included with the Hunter’s Elite doubles as an extremely helpful tool: 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐩.
As experts in the industrial fall protection world, the creators of the Hunter’s Elite know that suspension trauma can cause severe and sometimes lethal secondary injuries to someone once a fall has been arrested.
That’s why they made sure to include a suspension relief strap with the Hunter’s Elite, because not many people are aware of the dangers that are present after a fall.
This strap attaches to your harness with an included carabiner so, if a fall occurs, you can step into the loop and remove pressure from one leg at a time to keep the blood circulating through your limbs.
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