The Yellow Jacket!

I got an e-mail today from New Tribe. They've come out with a new saddle that is a 1/2# lighter than the Tengu, and as packable as a hankie. Now THIS has my attention. They eliminated all padding to cut weight and increase packability. If you want all the specs, go to their site. Now, if you're like me, and you do a fair amount of bush whackin to get to the good stuff, this saddle looks to be a must have. I love my Tengu. But I'm into the minimilist way of doing things. Ask any one who's ever gone camping with me, they'll tell you. I can stuff a 120' rope, helmet & 2 sleaves in my day pack with a little room to spare. And I bet I could jam this baby in that left over space. If anyone happens to get one of the new "Yellow Jacket's" to take for a tryout, PLEASE let me know what you think. Let us know how it is compared to other NT saddles, primarily. Apples to apples & all that ya know.

Ron.

Nick has posted a review on youtube. Maybe this will help. Scott

Scott, thanks for the vid tip.

Nick, thanks for the vid.

I WANT THE YELLOW JACKET!!!!

A couple of things stood out to me from the vid. 1. I could definitely stuff this into the remaining space of my day pack. 2. The bag that comes with the YJ could be used to carry the extra 50' rope that I often like to take with me, or 3 .Put that rope in my pack and hang the saddle/bag from my pack. Either way, It's much less bulky than my Tengu. Which I love. But hey, I love the compactness of the YJ. This is just the thing for bush whacking climbs.

Nice.

Ron

Cool, this could easily become my number 1 saddle. I would like it in an olive/black color scheme.
-AJ

I think this is the video...

Looks like a nice backpack saddle, much lighter than my Nikosi....Looks like a 2nd cousin of a rock harness....I like the dual use saddle bag too......Looks like they got the price right too, unlike the expensive Nikosi.

moss, yes on the color option. Maybe call it the camo jacket or some such thing. But green/black would be even more ninja like.

I do wonder if they'll offer an XL size? I fit in a LG, but I get the XL for the extra room I need when the temp drops and the layers add. I'm not a tubbo, but I aint skinny either.

It looks like a nice saddle. It reminds me of the Petzle Sequoia saddle because of the color scheme and it is streamline. I wish they would put a rope bridge on it.

Treezybreez wrote:

It looks like a nice saddle. It reminds me of the Petzle Sequoia saddle because of the color scheme and it is streamline. I wish they would put a rope bridge on it.

Not likely to happen, the base NT harness design is so different from standard arb harnesses, doesn't lend itself to a floating anchor bridge, Nikosi harness is the NT solution for a floating anchor. To implement a rope style bridge they'd have to change the basic design and it would be like any other anchor bridge arb harness (plenty of good ones already).
-AJ

greenluck wrote:

Looks like a 2nd cousin of a rock harness

Newb question: What is the difference between this saddle and a rock climbing harness? Could one use a saddle like this for rock \wall climbing?

dohartman wrote:

Newb question: What is the difference between this saddle and a rock climbing harness? Could one use a saddle like this for rock \wall climbing?

It has much more support on the wider waist belt and leg straps, waaay more comfortable for the long hang times expected in tree climbing.

You could use it for the rock gym/wall but it's overkill and more expensive than a rock harness.
-AJ

Wearing a tree harness to rock climb or gym climb - sure but the saddle is much more bulky and restrictive. Most rock harnesses are minimal by design offering more movement to climb the wall or rock not the rope. Often times they are designed only to support you for short periods or to catch you when you fall. Often much cheaper than tree saddles.

Wearing a rock harness to climb a tree- sure, it will work but will only offer minimal support and is missing the side "d"s, which are often used by tree climbers to lanyard in as a second tie-in point. Often much more expensive than rock harnesses.

The design of the yellow jacket shows some DNA from a rock harness. It appears very similar to the Tengu minus the extra padding.

I would say either will work for either activity, but don't expect top performance or comfort if using a tree harness for rock climbing or vice versa. If it gets you up in the tree or on the wall or on the rock it's all good.

Is this just an unpadded Tengu harness with some new age diamond pattern belt and leg straps, or are there other differences?

Absolutely looks like a varience of the Tengu. And that's the beauty of it. The only thing that I wish I could do with my Tengu is to be able to stuff it into the left over space of my day pack. AND not sacrafice its comfort and support.

I want the Yellow Jacket. Light weight packability with climbing comfort. YUM.