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Buckingham Mobility
November 30, 2007 Hits: 1317
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4.5 (1) |
 Image courtesy American Arborist Supplies
User reviews
Average user rating from: 1 user(s)
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| Overall rating: |
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4.5 |
| Type of Use: |
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5.0 |
| Frequency of Use: |
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5.0 |
| Durability: |
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5.0 |
| Comfort: |
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4.0 |
| Ease of Use: |
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4.0 |
| Portability: |
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5.0 |
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Buckingham Mobility - Great Saddle, Great Value
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
This saddle was my 3rd climbing saddle, purchased about 2 years after my starter saddle, a $105 Weaver (painful on the legs!) and only about 6 months after another one (French Creek) which I thought was going to be better than it was. I do have a newer high tech saddle (EKN Kolibri) that I now use most of the time, but for 2 years this Buck was recreational and work, everyday.
The Buck Mobility is a great piece, and a really smart value. At about $275, it's almost 3X the price of the Weaver, but one climb in it and I knew it felt 10X as good! It has one floating 'D' ring ('O' shape) that moves flawlessly on the wide front strap. The back pad is supple, soft and very wide.
One of the best things - it comes on and off quickly. I can slap this bugger on in about a minute, and I'm ready to go. I could do it in 30 secs if I didn't take extra steps to secure the leg straps. (More later.) And I can put it on with all my gear attached - my hand saw, 16' flipline, and line mug.
Not so with the EKN Kolibri Mutlislide. I'm lucky if I'm in that thing after 4 minutes, and I stopped trying to get put it on with a full compliment of gear attached - too hard.
This rig has a lot of stock attachment points and hardware built in, and it's also really easy to slide the main belt out, so you can thread on (or take off) to customize. I find it takes me months to sort out exactly where I want to put what on a new saddle.
The main waist belt on the Buckingham has no metal grommets where the buckle pin goes thru. I worried the belt holes were going to elongate and wear badly - this never happened. The main strapping looks like a hybrid of leather, fiber and resin. Very strong. It's also very light despite it's rugged construction.
Once in awhile this saddle will pinch my sides but it's never too bad. Usually it's cause I have to pull my shirt down or unbunch my clothes.
One of the things I discovered during the years I was using this saddle everyday is, jeans with rivets and/or very thick, pronounced belt loops accentuate side pinching. I now use old 'khaki' pants, or jeans made out of stretchy material (my favorite) instead of conventional blue jeans, and it's comfortable by far.
This is one of the most comfortable saddles made where the leg supports are really only padded straps that buckle around to the front. Newer designs tend to have leg "loops" that share load and stress in a greater number places, with more attachment points to the main, and have even wider movement range. But in this rig your legs are well cared for in those painful situations where you are stuck holding some half-assed position while trying get something done.
Once, when I was doing a job and the climbing got tricker than usual, I noticed one of the leg straps actually came unbuckled and completely loose. (Not from a mistake while putting it on.) And I still had to pull myself up and over a large limb that was jutting right into the line, like the edge of a roof. With one leg unsupported this was a major hassle.
After that I modified the way I secured the leg straps. I now use a small utility "Not for Climbing" mini-carabiner on each leg strap. I catch one of the buckle holes in the excess of the leg strap after the buckle and guide, and I secure it to something convenient. I do this on each side. So now there's no way the straps can ever slip out. I don't find this a big deal - certainly with complex gear like this, I sometimes develop certain "workarounds" to fit my personal style. So 4 for Ease of Use.
I give it a 4 for comfort because I know there are more comfortable saddles out there, like my EKN Kolibri. But this is still a great saddle, and I still alternate and use it. Before I bought this Buckingham I tried several out in the store, hanging from a line and all. But this one was the best at the time. And not nearly the most expensive. The Bashlin XS was something like $400 but not as nice in my opinion.
If you buy this one it will last years and years and you won't be sorry.
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| Overall rating: |
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4.5 |
| Type of Use: |
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5.0 |
| Frequency of Use: |
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5.0 |
| Durability: |
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5.0 |
| Comfort: |
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4.0 |
| Ease of Use: |
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4.0 |
| Portability: |
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5.0 |
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