Great story. I too was a rock climber that got into tree climbing. My fist climb was like you, with a rock climbing harness. I went up with a shoulder full of slings and a lot of carabiners. I did however have the presence of mind to leave my chocks behind- couldn't see any cracks up in the tree, except possibly myself.

It did not take me long to get tangled up in the branches with all of those nylon runners. I only had my Dad watching, which was a good thing.

So welcome to our community here. I am sure you will find us of agreeable sorts. Don't feel hesitant to ask questions. I sure wish I had a place to talk when I started out.

I agree that you should check into a New Tribe saddle. A large majority of climbers use them that converse here.

Thanks for the willingness to help. I have an alpine climbing harness which is a little more comfortable - I am seriously thinking of adding a little more padding to it and I suspect it will be fine until I convince myself to buy something new.

Most of my issue has been moving up and down - of course down can be really fast, but that isn't the goal is it...

I have static rope, ascenders, etc - and even know how to tie some of the knots - I will almost always have ground crew with me as well.

I will admit, I love the idea of having a hammock slung in the trees for sleeping at night - I suspect the Howler monkeys will be a pest though...