Power Kite Forum

Quick Harness Question

Midgaar - 31-7-2011 at 09:18 PM

How do you stop the spreader bar on a waist harness from going up into your gut/chest when the kite flies over head? Is this something I'm doing wrong or a cheap harness thing?

Kamikuza - 31-7-2011 at 09:43 PM

Depends on the harness ... usually, tightening the straps more is the only option.

My Fusion claims to have the straps laid out so it won't do that, as you can tighten the lower straps more ... seems to work, but the seat goes sperlunking. Win some, lose some :lol:

ragden - 1-8-2011 at 05:24 AM

Depends on the harness really.
What are you riding (IE: water, buggy, landboard)?
What kind of harness is it (seat or waist)?

greasehopper - 1-8-2011 at 05:48 AM

Good question, I'm trackin' on this one with keen interest.

My silly little Rad Sail harness fits but the spreader writhes about like an unhappy anaconda. Too loose and it's pummeling me liver, too tight and it's gnawing on me hipbones, anything in between just tries to wears a hole in me food blister.

ragden - 1-8-2011 at 05:56 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by greasehopper
...
My silly little Rad Sail harness fits but the spreader writhes about like an unhappy anaconda. Too loose and it's pummeling me liver, too tight and it's gnawing on me hipbones, anything in between just tries to wears a hole in me food blister.

Greasehopper-
Good morning. I took a moment to look up the radsail harness and it looks like its a seat harness. The straps around the legs seem to lack any kind of padding, but I suppose thats really secondary to your concern (the bar riding up on you). It looks like there is a strap along the bottom of the attachment that you can thread throug the bottom of the bar, is that something you have attached?

As this is a seat harness, there may not be all that much you can do to keep the bar down, except to keep the kite low. Bear in mind, when the kite is up high, its going to try to raise that bar up. Easiest solution is to keep the kite down low while riding, if possible. You could try adding some kind of strap around the bar to your leg straps, to try to keep it from riding up as much, but I'm not really sure how effective that would be.

If you are using this while kitesurfing, the only real solution is to make sure you are leaning back, with a straight back, and keeping the kite low wnough to pull the bar back down to its normal position. I use a waist harness and actually wear it a little lose. It does ride up with the kite is up high, but I expect that. It also slides back down when I put the kite down low... When leaned back and cruising, the kite pulls the harness back into position...

Hope this helps. :)

PHREERIDER - 1-8-2011 at 07:17 AM

harness could be too large. some have bar straps to help keep the bar from rotating

on land the kite will be higher in the window than it would on water. but it happens on both.

the harness should be snug. straps should be adjusted BEFORE putting it on. and yes tight is the word that comes to mind.

to buckle, blow all air out, suck in you gut and cinch from that point. even a seat harness should have snug fit.

leg strap or seat should be adjusted so the bar is right at or just above the hip points.

again considerable compression should be the theme. after loaded, by the kite, the harness my stretch or slip and may require the need to be re tightened. i like to lay on my back, kite at 12 and depowered, move it, tighten it to get it better positioned. other wise you may need to drop the unit rest harness and start over. sometimes the straps slip and just have poor grip.

if the bar is rotating while the harness is stable , a better or different bar size /pad system my be in order. if their is harness/ bar movement WITHOUT the kite load its too loose. abs being rock hard will certainly make it better. your core should be like tree trunk, if its not keep doing it ... it will be soon.

good posture, good bar position , arm length accommodation when the harness changes all that turns to #@%$#! and you're tired in 10min.

like ragden stated about the keeping the kite low, USUALLY this is on a run, and leaning back, this is the point when you cinch down the the bar strap .. so when the kite goes back up the lower part of the harness is solid and cinched.

if you have alot of idle time standing around with the kite at 12?.. its gonna rotate some and ride up. move around some, walk up wind with the kite low at the edge of the window this is also a good "slack" point to adjust things while leaning over.

Bladerunner - 1-8-2011 at 08:15 AM

Harnesses are a pretty personal item. You can buy a pad for the bar so it hurts less. I say save up and try a different type?

It sounds like your spreader bar may be too long if you can't crank it Uber tight around your waist. A super tight fit is the best solution.

My 1st harness solved this problem in it's own way. It is a waist harness and the whole thing would slide up.

Looking_Up - 2-8-2011 at 02:01 PM

Dakine fusion is the most comfy harness I have found
It is a seat but I usually don't use the leg straps
I have never noticed the bar riding up but on occasion when I am done riding I can tighten it some more but when I go to put it back on I can't get into it

bigkahuna - 2-8-2011 at 02:20 PM

Repeat after me, "SEAT HARNESS". We had chest harnesses in the old days of windsurfing and they were a pain. When I started kitesurfing 11 years ago someone talked me into a chest harness, argh, I hated it. I've been using a seat harness ever since. It's not only more comfortable than a chest harness, it won't chaff your chest or restrict your breathing (when it slides up), and it puts the pivot point for where the kite pulls closer to your COG (center of gravity). Down side is that the hook is lower so may not work as well for unhooked tricks (I don't know, I don't do unhooked tricks) and some seat harnesses look like adult diapers (not all though). I just picked up a Dakine Storm seat harness for $100 new on eBay and love it. It's the best harness I've ever owned.

Kamikuza - 2-8-2011 at 07:13 PM

Ocean Rodeo Session harness - hybrid :)
Dakine does another harness that is a seat harness but doesn't have legs straps, unlike the Fusion ...

greasehopper - 2-8-2011 at 08:16 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by ragden


Hope this helps. :)


Thanks guys, lots of solid beta and clearly a case of simply needing to step up to the counter.

I picked up the RadSail rig to see if I would be comfortable and safe working with a hook on a buggy with FB and a strop line. Turns out it worked so well for that purpose, I forgot about it's limitations when I started working with de-power gear and lifty FB profiles. I'm thinking I need to look at gear again. Dakine seems to be the recurring favorite among the various diciplines.

As I'm a bit under 6'2" now, still tip the scales at a petite 240 pounds and have a relatively long inseam , any suggestions for buggy cruising with the quiver below ? I seldom intentionally "jump" or freestyle but OBE's are a bit more common than I'ld like because of the irregular terrain I'm working in... (desert scrub and sand trails at bad angles to the wind. However, I do find the violent acceleration and floaty sensation just before IMPACT entertaining in some sick, twisted thrill-ride sort of way so buckle and hardware placement around boney spots is a bit more important to me than one might normally consider when picking out gear.

Any thoughts on HQ harnesses ?

Btw, sorry to hijack the thread, my apologies.

indigo_wolf - 2-8-2011 at 10:04 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by bigkahuna
and some seat harnesses look like adult diapers (not all though).


I don't have a problem with the adult diaper syndrome (oh who am I kidding.... yes, I do). My question is why do so many of the seats seem to use so much neoprene in the seat area. Might be fine in the water, but seems like there would be a lot of.... errr...umm... chestnut roasting on land in the summer.

Since, no one has mentioned it, I'll ask. I thought the spreader bars with the articulated/pivoting hooks were designed to keep the spreader bar from digging into your gut. I expect for freestyle/jumping a fixed hook is still preferred, but how about just for cruising in the buggy?

Quote:
Originally posted by greasehopper
However, I do find the violent acceleration and floaty sensation just before IMPACT entertaining in some sick, twisted thrill-ride sort of way so buckle and hardware placement around boney spots is a bit more important to me than one might normally consider when picking out gear.

Any thoughts on HQ harnesses ?

Btw, sorry to hijack the thread, my apologies.


Are you worried about OBEing and actually landing on the spreader bar? If so, the Ozone Base Harness is a hybrid harness (waist with leg straps) that uses a webbing loop to capture the chicken loops) which would rule out the whole impaling on the spreader bar issue. Both the Ozone Access Base and SB harnesses are very low profile so a to keep them from becoming an uncomfortable hindrance should you have to shoehorn yourself into a snug buggy seat.

The Ocean Rodeo Session (I/II) harness is another hybrid. While both come with a fixed spreader bar, most of the buckles are sandwiched behind zippered panels).

Currently OR has their Session I harness on clearance on their website store. It is $110 shipped to your door (assuming only in N.A.) It's still spendy, but $70+ dollars cheaper than the listed priced about 3-6 months ago. The Session I is being discontinued, so once it's gone, it's gone.

ATB,
Sam

arkay - 2-8-2011 at 10:33 PM

... and a spreader bar pad helps with the bar cutting into you. It lets you tighten the bar against you so it's secure but keep it further away from your body. not all harnesses will work with a pad though. and at the end of the day if you have a belly or the kite is above you it's going to pull up...

As blade said, harnesses are very personal. what works for on person, might not for another. unfortunately it's trial and error. I've found the old HQ harness and the PL harness to be pretty comfortable on land and the dakine fusion seat and mystic warrior work well for me on water; for what it's worth.

WIllardTheGrey - 3-8-2011 at 12:58 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by indigo_wolf
I don't have a problem with the adult diaper syndrome (oh who am I kidding.... yes, I do). My question is why do so many of the seats seem to use so much neoprene in the seat area. Might be fine in the water, but seems like there would be a lot of.... errr...umm... chestnut roasting on land in the summer.


The Mystic Warrior waist/seat has a thin ripstop seat but still looks like a diaper.

greasehopper - 3-8-2011 at 06:23 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by indigo_wolf

Quote:
Originally posted by greasehopper
However, I do find the violent acceleration and floaty sensation just before IMPACT entertaining in some sick, twisted thrill-ride sort of way so buckle and hardware placement around boney spots is a bit more important to me than one might normally consider when picking out gear.



Are you worried about OBEing and actually landing on the spreader bar?
ATB,
Sam


Well, not exactly... I've impressed the old hammy, hip bone and BUT-TOX with climbing rig buckle imprints a few times. Some of the harnesses I've looked at would line up rather nicely to deliver a nasty mark if twisted about by a violent extraction. Just a bit over-cautious I suppose...

Okay, I'll say it. At my "advanced age", if I'm gonna gimp about for any appreciable length of time, the wound better come with a lasting "battle trophy" for my trouble. Otherwise, it's just not worth the risk.

Thanks for the ideas and input guys, some great food for thought. Time to digest now. out...;)

WELDNGOD - 3-8-2011 at 06:41 PM

ozone access base harness

nocando - 3-8-2011 at 07:17 PM

Hey Ken have an Ozone Acess harness that I dont use if you want to give it a try let me know soon and I will send it to you

glenn