There's no single right answer to which saddle platform you should run. There's a right answer for how you hunt, and those are two different questions.
We build two platforms — the MK and the Kunai — because the guy running and gunning public land in early October and the guy sitting a rut funnel from dark to dark aren't asking for the same thing. Here's how to figure out which side of that line you're on.
What actually matters when you're picking a platform
Four things:
- Size — how much foot room you need to stay comfortable
- Weight — what you're willing to carry, and how far
- Stability — whether you can lean into it without it shifting on you
- Your style of hunting — sit length, mobility, terrain, and honestly, boot size
That last one gets overlooked. I met a guy at a show who wears a size 17 boot. He was standing on the Kunai checking it out and it was obvious pretty quick that the platform decision was already made for him.
The MK: the minimalist option
The MK weighs 2 lbs 2 oz and measures 12" x 11". It folds flat to under an inch, which means it disappears against your pack instead of hanging off it and catching every branch on the way in.
It has our folding stability spike, so once it's set in the tree it locks in solid. You can lean each direction on it and it doesn't move.
For me, the MK is an early season platform. Three or four hour sits, running and gunning, when I don't know exactly where I'm going to end up and I want to be able to move without thinking about it. When the priority is getting in light and quiet, the MK wins.
The Kunai: maximum foot room
The Kunai has been my go-to for a while now. It's 4 lbs 10 oz and 20 inches from top to bottom versus the MK's 12 — so you're getting 8 additional inches of foot room.
That matters if you hunt like I do during the rut. All-day sits. Standing the way you would in a traditional hang-on, leaning back against the tree, shifting your feet around for hours. It also matters late season when you've got bulkier boots on and your feet need somewhere to go.
Same folding stability spike, same rock-solid lock-in on the tree, and it still folds extremely flat for a platform that size.
And 4 lbs 10 oz isn't heavy. It's more than the MK, but if I know where I'm heading and I'm going to be there all day, I don't mind carrying it.
Why neither one has a post
Most saddle platforms use a post — a piece that sticks out from the platform and attaches to the tree. It works, but it costs you two things: some stability, and a chunk of the foot room you paid for.
Both the MK and the Kunai attach without a post. That's how we get you the full footprint of the platform to actually stand on, and part of why they lock in the way they do.
Running both — and stacking them
If you end up with both platforms, there's a setup worth knowing about.
Take the MK and mount it above the Kunai and you've got a seat for those long rut sits. Set it offset a little if you want more foot room underneath. Run it straight on if you've got shorter legs. It's adjustable to whatever's comfortable for you.
They also pack together tight — under a couple inches total for both. So carrying the pair isn't the penalty you'd expect.
Check the weight rating. On any platform.
This applies whether you're looking at our stuff or anybody else's: find the weight rating, and confirm it's been tested.
That rating needs to cover you plus all your gear. Bow, pack, layers, everything.
Every Timber Ninja platform is rated to 300 lbs, and both of these have been tested at a third-party lab to ASTM standards. Both broke at over 1,400 lbs. The Kunai came in at 1,583.
We don't publish those numbers to brag. We publish them because you're standing on this thing 25 feet up a tree and trusting it with your life. Saddle hunting isn't scary. Not knowing how your platform was built is.
What changed for 2026
All of our platforms now ship with cam buckle straps. We moved away from the AmSteel SSPs as the standard because cam buckles are easier to set up, especially if you're newer to saddle hunting or newer to our gear.
If you want quieter and lighter, you can still upgrade to an SSP XL. That option didn't go away — it's just no longer what comes in the box.
The bottom line
Go MK if: you're mobile, hunting shorter sits, prioritizing weight and pack profile, and you don't need a lot of real estate under your boots.
Go Kunai if: you're sitting long, you stand like you would in a hang-on, you've got big feet or bulky boots, and comfort matters more than the last two pounds.
Go both if: you hunt the full season the way I do. MK for September and October mobility, Kunai for the rut and late season, and stack them when you want a seat.
Either way you're under five pounds and folded flat. Pick the one that matches how you actually hunt, not how you wish you hunted.
Shop the MK and Kunai platforms, or check out the rest of our mobile hunting lineup — Black Belt saddles, climbing sticks, and everything else.
Still not sure? Reach out to our customer service team. They'll get on a call and walk through your setup with you.