A few questions about New Tribe Tengu & Vi

1. What are the major differences between the two, besides the soft D's on the Tengu?

2. Are the leg pads on the Tengu the same(extended) size as the Vi?

3. If you look at the pictures of the two saddles on the NT website, you will notice the adjustable butt straps are sewn to the back pad alot closer together on the Tengu than the Vi. Is there a reason for that? Does it make any difference?

4. I will be doing alot of SRT also, is there any special considerations I should be aware of? Such as having custom work on the harness to make it netter for SRT?

Thanks for your help Fellas

I just purchased a Tengu. When I was considering a saddle, the most important thing to me was comfort and quiet. I got both with the Tengu.

The Vi has more steel on it, steel tie-in, steel side d's (although smaller than the other NT saddles) and also brass swivel clips. The Tengu has an additional gear loop on the dorsal pad, where the Vi has a smaller biner loop.

As far as leg pads - all NT saddles, except for the basic and kids, come with the extended leg pads.

Not sure about the reason for the difference in leg pad spacing, but the Vi was designed by/for a woman. Not sure if that has anything to do with it or not. After hanging in the Tengu for a while, I actually liked the way the leg pad straps sat across my butt. I've had rescue harnesses on which the straps were so far apart that you felt like you were going to fall through them - They would ride almost on your hips and side of your thighs - kinda got in the way sometimes.

As for SRT - that's how I was trained - I like the extra gear loop in the back of the Tengu for hanging gear on. Advise: Get the pear screwlink option on the Tengu. I didn't and had to upgrade - there is little room for extra biners on the delta link when rigging ascenders, prussics, and an 8, etc. Also, I always use a side pouch for ascenders etc. and the Tengu accomodates those beautifully as well.

What ever saddle you choose from NT, I'm sure you will not be disappointed. High quality stuff.

If you have further questions, call New Tribe. I did before purchasing my saddle, and they were great to talk to - very helpful and truly interested in getting me the right saddle for my purpose - fast service too.

Check out the reviews at http://www.treeclimbing.com/content/blogcategory/35/108/

Happy climbing -
Baker

Ace wrote:

1. What are the major differences between the two, besides the soft D's on the Tengu?

2. Are the leg pads on the Tengu the same(extended) size as the Vi?

3. If you look at the pictures of the two saddles on the NT website, you will notice the adjustable butt straps are sewn to the back pad alot closer together on the Tengu than the Vi. Is there a reason for that? Does it make any difference?

4. I will be doing alot of SRT also, is there any special considerations I should be aware of? Such as having custom work on the harness to make it netter for SRT?

Thanks for your help Fellas

1. What Baker said: hard, heavy parts replaced with soft attachment wherever possible. The Tengu has releases on the leg straps, the Vi is a step through leg strap. If you like the Vi you can request the the releasable leg straps.
2. Legpads are the same size
3. The leg strap retainers are close together on the Tengu to allow the larger gear loop on the back of the belt. It makes no fit difference that I can detect, I climb on both saddles.
4. Either is good to go as is for SRT. If you plan on using something like a Petzl Secur to hold up a Croll or equivalent you might want to ask them to add some attachment loops on the back of the belt.

I've been climbing on the Vi for awhile, great harness. Have been climbing on a Tengu for a week SRT and DRT, love it.
-moss

Thanks Moss - I forgot about the quick release leg straps - that's one of the biggest reasons why I chose the Tengu in the first place. But like you said, you can get them on anything if you order it that way. FYI, The leg strap buckles are a bit different than the ones pictured in the catalog. They don't look like these -


The ones that came on my harness look like these

They are of the slot and tab type, same as on technical rescue harnesses, and are very secure. They can't possibly come undone by accident. Once again, I can't tell you how pleased I am with my purchase of this harness.

Baker

Is the tie-in-point on the NT harness always this high?



I want to be able to use a ropewalker system when climbing SRT, but it requires the use of a chest roller. With the TIP being so high, it would be above the chest roller.

I've seen chest attachment work with an NT saddle. When you're standing more vertical in a rope walker system the delta is lower. If you sit back with legs raised as in the photo the delta is going to be higher. Most arborist harnesses with a floating bridge anchor end up at the same height. Also depends where you attach your lower ascender. On my Tengu I attach my SRT backup or second ascender (I use a closed hitch split tail on an inverted HMS biner, could be a Croll or Microcender)on the center legstrap D, it's quite low enough to allow a chest roller and is high enough to qualify as waist high (just barely). I think it's even lower than some caving harnesses designed for ropewalking systems. I'll post a photo.

If you went with the smallest NT saddle that was workable you would lower the delta even more. Note that the climber in the photos has a pear screwlink on the saddle which is bringing it up higher.

But, if you want something more purpose built for a rope walker, the TreeFlex or Petzl Sequoia SRT version is going to be optimal. Don't think they'll be as comfortable as a Tengu for long hang times and DRT climbing.
-moss

Where's the picture Moss?

The saddle in that pic looks to be too big on her. I have the Tengu that is sized correctly for me and the attachment point is not that high up. Since that pic is from the NT site, I guess I should assume that it is sized correctly for her. I just think it looks like when my wife wares my saddle and let me tell you that she is not the same size as me. When she wore mine, the waist belt was higher, like in the pic, and the tie in point was higher, like in the pic. The difference maybe in the saddles too, but I can say with a fair amount of certianty that the Tengu will work fine with any SRT setup you may use.

One would think the saddle in the picture fits the subject correctly, since that's Viola, from New Tribe - the person who designed the Vi saddle.

Do many tree climbers use a croll system, or is this a caver carry-over?

I've never used a chest roller or chest-anything. I understand how they work, but I don't know much about them otherwise.

Ace wrote:

Where's the picture Moss?

I was off the grid over the weekend, I'll shoot something in the next couple of days.

I also recommend calling up New Tribe and have a chat with them about Crolls, chest rollers etc. and how well or if they can work with an NT saddle
-moss

Baker wrote:

Do many tree climbers use a croll system, or is this a caver carry-over?

I've never used a chest roller or chest-anything. I understand how they work, but I don't know much about them otherwise.

Arborist climbers who use SRT to access taller trees often use some type of Frog or Ropewalker system. The Frog uses a croll or similar ascender attached at the waist and held in the up position with a light bungee around the neck or something like the Petzl Secur. The Ropewalker uses a chest roller with a chest harness. Most of the rec climbers that I know who climb SRT for tall tree access use a Texas System. There are many variations and hybrid systems between the 3 I mentioned. The Sherrill catalog/web site has illustrations of some of these systems as used in tree climbing.
-moss

Baker wrote:

One would think the saddle in the picture fits the subject correctly, since that's Viola, from New Tribe - the person who designed the Vi saddle.

Maybe she lost some weight and that is her old favorite saddle that she cant stand to part with.

I'm not touchin' that one, emr. I've never met Vi, so she has no reason to dislike me. I'm not going to give her a reason!

I get it. Vi = Viola..... duh I'm slow. I hope I didnt just give her a reason to not like me. My next saddle she will forget to stitch something important. If she is reading this, I am sorry the entire thing was just a joke.

Ace, I've been thinking more about using an NT harness with a chest ascender or roller for an SRT Ropewalker system, it doesn't seem practical when there are other harnesses more suited to this type of setup.

Sorry I haven't shot a photo of my Tengu harness SRT setup, need someone else to shoot it while I'm rigged up. It is a variation of a Texas System that has some aspects borrowed from a Frog system. I use one ascender and a self-tending split tail attached to the fabric leg strap D (rated for life support) as a back up to the main ascender. The main ascender is tethered to the my saddle delta (a pear screwlink). I use a Pantin on my right foot and also footlock the tail with my left foot to provide lift. Theoretically a Croll could be attached to the legstrap D but that is far from being a chest ascender
-moss