This past Saturday I got up into the woods and finally had a chance to try out The Fly rope from New England ropes. I sent the line up over a couple of limbs in a nice beech tree, tied off the other end on a smaller tree next to the beech, and proceeded to begin my climb using ascenders. I got up to the point where the rope crossed over the first limb, thinking I would be able to hop onto a smaller limb below to rest. Unfortunately it looked different from up there than from the ground and i was unable to reach the smaller limb. So, I just hung out there for a few minutes and enjoyed the view. Then I noticed that my saddle (a basic New Tribe) was squeezing the lower part of my chest (right at the bottom of my rib cage). It was uncomfortable as all heck. I've noticed this on my last few climbs, but chalked it up to a poor effort when putting it on. I never used to get any discomfort with the saddle. I try to put it on as low as possible around my hips, but it always slides up and squeezes the lower half of my chest. Worse, I started to feel weird after those few minutes of hanging there, and I started thinking about muscle compaction, artery compression, etc. I felt a bit of lightheadedness, some tingling of the extremities, etc. It could have been all in my head, I don't know. Whatever it was, it got me scared. So, I scooted back down to ground level. I don't know if it was just me on this particular day, or my saddle, or what, but I don't want to feel that way again. A scary proposition when you are 35 feet off the ground. Any suggestions for saddle adjustments? Anyone else ever get that feeling? I don't know if I've lost weight, gained weight, etc., because my saddle used to feel just fine. But lately, I can't seem to get into the groove with it. Maybe I just haven't climbed in a while and my body wasn't used to the pressure points and body positioning? I have a medium saddle _base_d on New Tribe's fitting guide, but maybe a smaller belt would help (?). Any thoughts from you guys would be appreciated.

A couple of areas come to mind. First, how low do you leg pads hang when you are up in the tree? You want them just above your knees so that as much of your leg as possible is supported by the pad and the leg strap. If the waist part slides up that much, you'll need to have the bottom of the leg pads hanging well below your knees when you're standing on the ground.
You mentioned that your saddle is initially low on your hips. That is good. Depending on your waist shape, you may need to start with the saddle a touch higher if you can get the waist belt tighter. You want to REALLY crank the waist belt as tight as you can before you tie in!
In terms of the belt size (S vs. M), how much overlap is there in the waist belt loops of your saddle (where you put the delta through)? Also, how old is your saddle (wondering if it is breaking down after a ton of use)?

Not that this will do you much immediate good, but I had the same complaint when using the NT Basic saddle. The problem disappeared when I switched to the Working saddle, which has a wider (and I think thicker) belt. Also, I highly recommend their wider tear-shaped leg pads when ordering a new saddle.

regards,
-Knothead

Did New Tribe let you exchange your basic saddle for the work saddle and pay the difference, or did you have to buy a work saddle outright?

No. I just figgured I needed a "guest saddle", so I bought a 2nd one.

-Knothead

I did the same thing - bought a basic saddle first, then a work saddle. I do find the work saddle much more comfey also - both the wide waist belt and leg straps. Plus I don't know how I ever got by without side-D's... And it's nice to have an extra saddle for guests.