Sportsman's Harness

[hovermn]

I was at Cabela's in Rogers on Monday checking out their selection of ice fishin' stuff and came across a neat little device. It's called Sportsman's Harness made by Croxton Ice. As the name suggests, it's a harness you attach to your portable tow rope that uses your body to pull the sled, instead of your hands. I can see this coming in real handy, especially if we have another warm winter where driving out isn't an option and you have a long walk ahead of you.

I haven't tried it out yet, but it looks well made with decent weight webbing and padded shoulder straps. At $10, I had to pick one up to try out.

Thought I'd pass that on.

[GatorBait]

Thanks for info, anything to save the hands on long pulls is sure a good thing. $10 is nice for something that will help make things easier.

[Snag]

That sounds like a good idea. Why didn't I think of this?

[gvg_uwec]

yeah the deer drag type harnesses are great for pulling the shack out by hand, much better than just pulling on the loop and having no circulation in your jigging hand by the time you get out to your spot

[DEADhead]

the only thing I would worry about is can you disconnect it quick in an emergency? If I was pulling behind my 100 lb plus portable behind and it broke through the ice, I don't want to be dragged down to my grave. Otherwise, I think they're a great idea, and I could have used a harness several times last year on a pond I fish down in a steep hole.

[gvg_uwec]

Never thought about it that way.....hmm

[nofishfisherman]

It seems like if you are pulling a portable behind you then your portable will be the last thing that will reach a weak spot after you already walked over it. I would think that a 100 pound portable that spreads the weight over several square feet will be much less likely to go through the ice then you will be yourself since I am guessing we are all over 100 pounds and our body weight is spread out over a very small area.

So if my thinking is correct if your body weight is held by the ice then your portable will also be held so a quick release isn't really that important

[Jim Hudson]

Cool, someone is marketing this now... I have always used a deer drag harnassess for dragging out my portable. The one I have has a quick release buckle, just in case.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Deadhead- you as a person displaces less than the house does.. I have gone through and the house saved me... house almost floated like a boat on its own.

I use a deer harnes, and that works pretty good for me. Very nice idea to market this as an ice fishing thing.. I wonder how long it will be before someone markets a drag that has an inflatable vest as a part of it.. I would buy it!

[McGurk]

A million dollar idea from our own Dietz; get the patent, quick!

I used a modified portable stand safety harness (just the arms part) last year for pulling, and boy did that work smooth. Make sure to keep the pulling point up high to get up and over ruts instead of through the ridges, about the center of your back. And it keeps your hands free for beverages, too.

[hovermn]

It has a release buckle, but I'm not sure how quick it would be when your hands are numb. The tabs that you press are within a guard. With little feeling, I'm not sure how easily one could undo it. I haven't had much of a chance to play with the harness yet, but I'll post what I find out.