Power Kite Forum

Harnesses with static flying....

5m1FF - 23-8-2007 at 04:35 PM

Anyone use them?

Sthrasher38 - 23-8-2007 at 05:36 PM

I am going to try soon.:borg:

beachrights - 23-8-2007 at 05:52 PM

You have to with the larger kites to keep the sessions going!

BigSiler - 23-8-2007 at 06:51 PM

Handles I fly un hooked.
I'll wear it ,and use it to give my hands a rest, but I un hook when I get back to flying.. This gives me much more time out there flying.

But I fly better un hooked

KYTE SLINGER - 23-8-2007 at 07:05 PM

Yup! just like Siler handles "chest harness" unhooked except when I need to regain and head back up wind and to rest before boosting air

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/247743541007241328...



bar system waist harness hooked for de-power system
some times unhooked for spin tricks

Sthrasher38 - 23-8-2007 at 07:58 PM

give me a site to look at chest harnesses please.

Pablo - 23-8-2007 at 08:47 PM

Always hooked in. Static or not. The amount of power I'm pushing I'd need arms like Popeye to hold on for more than 10min. When I do manage to get out I'll sometimes ride for 3-4hrs stopping only for food and water.

Yesterday was a 4hr non stop session kitesurfing, 16m Scorpion in 20-26mph winds.

Bladerunner - 24-8-2007 at 08:01 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Pablo
Always hooked in. Static or not. The amount of power I'm pushing I'd need arms like Popeye to hold on for more than 10min. When I do manage to get out I'll sometimes ride for 3-4hrs stopping only for food and water.

Yesterday was a 4hr non stop session kitesurfing, 16m Scorpion in 20-26mph winds.


Pab's,

Has that been the Nexan Lands ? How are they working out ? I've had Vanier to myself the last 3 days :wow:

I wear my harness when static flying although I don't spend a lot of time doing that these days. I switch up between hooked in and not But can fly / scud for hours compared to minutes without one. When riding, I'm unhooked when trying new things or if I need to work the kite a lot to keep it flying. Mostly hooked in though. Depower, hooked in always.

Pablo - 24-8-2007 at 01:40 PM

The 3-4hr session was on the water at Squamish, I've had a couple good rides up on the Nexen lands as well, but now there's some large containers in the way. The rotors coming off of them are deadly, last time out I got tea-bagged by my 3m Brooza. Sorta scarry when it goes from the kite barely flying to lifting a 250lb guy straight up in the air flying static.

I've got to see what they end up doing with the lands, I've heard rumors of removing the poles and planting grass, turning it into a park, also heard it might get developed. Lots of land up there though, even the school has a couple decent sized feilds with ok winds, not super clean but clean enough to ride. The school also has a nice 3-4ft drop from one feild to the other, so the potential is there for some fun. Squish wind is scarry strong though, don't think I'd ever need bigger than a 5m foil up there.

Then there's the kitecat up in squish, I'm sure Alex would let you rent it off him for a reasonable rate, best way to get a tour of the spit under your own power. If you can buggy you can ride that thing.

Bladerunner - 24-8-2007 at 02:43 PM

:cool2:

SecondWind - 24-8-2007 at 06:29 PM

For static, I like handles with no harness. It usually involves a quick lunch time session or a stop at a new field. I always have a least one kite in the truck :yes:

powerzone - 3-9-2007 at 07:03 AM

i'm lazy... so i'm hooked in all the time.

5m1FF - 6-9-2007 at 09:08 AM

Awesome; I manage about an hour with my 6.5m blade - in medium winds (12-15mph). But thats cause i went for the "kite-as-much-as-possible-to-get-arms-like-Popeye" approach.

I'll get a harness i think!

GulfSandEater - 10-9-2007 at 02:25 PM

I tried a pendulum jump with the Blade IV 4.9m this weekend while wearing my climbing harness setup. It seemed as though I got better results without the harness. I got 1 to 1.5 m height unhooked; struggled to get 0.5 m hooked in.

I wondered if it was because the pulling/lifting force of the kite when unhooked is along the length of your body (with arms outstretched above your head) giving a longer pendulum and a direct transfer of the force to your body. When hooked in to a seat harness with a strop, holding onto the handles to redirect put me in more of a "hunched over" posture with the controls in front of my chest (see my avatar). As I got air, it felt like my body wanted to swing a little to hang from the harness point at my waist.

Does that make sense? Is this one of the reasons surfers and boarders use chest harnesses?

But I'm new to jumping too...maybe I just wasn't flying the kite properly. :puzzled:

Pablo - 10-9-2007 at 06:19 PM

Could have something to do with letting your arms stretch out in the last second of the setup when unhooked allowing you to load up the kite just a hare more they yanking in to pop, while hooked in you basically get lifted when the kite wants to.

5m1FF - 12-9-2007 at 03:52 AM

Sounds logical,

I just got a DaKine Tabu yesterday; and as always when you get no gear ..... no wind. But i'll let ya know how i find it.

5m1FF - 14-9-2007 at 10:52 AM

Its going back, cause the shape of it doesnt agree with me, and its ruining my back :( GUTTED!

SecondWind - 14-9-2007 at 11:23 AM

How so 5m1FF? I have a Tabu and I really like it...

5m1FF - 14-9-2007 at 12:20 PM

i dont know really dude, i saw my physio earlier (not that i have a physio due to my lengthy list of x-treme sports injuries, haha). And he said its to do with the back plate being the wrong shape for my ripcage/muscle structure, and its pushing on my inter-vertibral discs.

So basically its just the wrong shape for me. Its such a nice harness though, the build quality looks lush, and the way it flys is so nice! I'm gutted!

Samuel_j - 14-9-2007 at 02:12 PM

i use a scrub chest harness works a dream!

Pablo - 14-9-2007 at 04:20 PM

I've had back problems as well, the Pro limit seat harness just works for me, feels awkward when not hooked in, but once it's under load it settles into my back nicely.

Helps that the local shop has a line stuck to one wall with a bar and loop on it, so you can hook in and see what it feels like under load.

5m1FF - 16-9-2007 at 10:40 AM

Now thats a clever bit of thinking. I've changed over to a seat now, so gona see how that treats me. The wind todays #@%$#!; so here and there im not going to bother, but we'll see how the seat does me.

I'm going to suggest a person hanger for my local shop!

Pablo - 16-9-2007 at 03:59 PM

Basically just an old bar with a depower loop stuck to it anchored to the roof, line's long enough to swing the bar to one side and hang on the wall when not in use, swing it out the other way and you're in the middle of the room with the line on a 45 deg angle, pretty close to where it normally would be when flying. It's so much easier to judge how gear will fit when you can lean way back on it under load before buying. I tried on probably 10-12 harnesses before I found the one I liked.

5m1FF - 17-9-2007 at 03:04 AM

Awesome, my local show has a vaulted ceiling with exposed gurders so thats ideal!

DAKITEZ - 19-11-2007 at 02:19 AM

Can someone provide a link on where to find a chest harness ? I want to try one, because I know my arms got tired way to quick. Thank you

5m1FF - 19-11-2007 at 03:39 PM

Erm, www.powerkiteshop.com. Thats good, but UK based.

Pdxnebula - 4-12-2007 at 10:26 PM

whats a Good basic, easy to use, comfortable, well made, cheap harness(if there is such a thing)??? Love to know what its like to "NOT" feel overpowered in higher winds & holding the handles like ViseGrips... I get wiped out in regular winds with the "Bus"ter in about 5min.

Pablo - 4-12-2007 at 11:31 PM

Harnesses are a funny thing, first off, buggys work well with seat harnesses, same with static, ATB or Kitesurf work well with a waist harness. Reason being is with the buggy or static, you'll spend a bit more time with the kite overhead, ATB and surf you're usually leaning back hard on the harness so it's more of a forward pull.

But back to the point, Most harnesses will fit different people in different ways. Me and a buddy went to the local shop and each tried on about 10-12 harnesses, I hated the one he got, he hated the one I got, but we both swear by the ones we picked. Our store has a bar and lines stuck to a rope fixed to the roof, so you can put on the harness and lean back on it to see what it'll feel like under load. the ones I liked when standing there weren't that great when under load. When I found the right one I didn't really look at price, With the amount of time spent in the thing it's better to get one that works than to save $50.

Having said that, if there's no local shop, see if you can hook up with a local kiter and try theirs out. I went with the Pro-limit seat harness and love it. a year later and it's still going strong.

DAKITEZ - 4-12-2007 at 11:36 PM

did you go to a kite shop or a climbing shop ? also I'm a butt scudder at the moment so a seat harness wouldn't be the best for me I don't think.

Sthrasher38 - 5-12-2007 at 05:27 PM

With all those kites comming you will be a jumper soon.:borg:

DAKITEZ - 5-12-2007 at 05:52 PM

lets hope so.

Sthrasher38 - 5-12-2007 at 05:54 PM

Did you get the e mail I sent you?

DAKITEZ - 5-12-2007 at 06:08 PM

got it I will get back to you right quick. I'm looking for a pic I want to send you. .... kites don't leave china till the 14th.

Sthrasher38 - 5-12-2007 at 06:30 PM

Dude that was sick!!!:tumble: I think thats the baddest bug made! At least it is the coolest one I have ever seen.

Pablo - 5-12-2007 at 07:28 PM

I went to the local kitesurf/windsurf shop to get my harness.

Another option some people like is the climbing harness, The harness is a bit cheaper, but you've got to go with a pulley block and a quick release.

DAKITEZ - 5-12-2007 at 07:41 PM

check here to see the bug sthrasher is talking about. I agree the baddest buggy I've seen. http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=4833

DAKITEZ - 6-12-2007 at 10:00 AM

good news this morning kites are on the way. They should be here just in time for my trip to the beach next weekend.:singing::singing::singing:

DAKITEZ - 6-12-2007 at 01:07 PM

I've been looking at the climbing harnesses. Please correct me if I'm wrong if I get a climbing harness then I also need to get a pulley system.

Sthrasher38 - 6-12-2007 at 03:19 PM

I dont think so.

DAKITEZ - 6-12-2007 at 08:55 PM

all the climbing harnesses I have seen online don't have any kind of pulley. am i looking at the wrong stuff?

Sthrasher38 - 7-12-2007 at 03:14 PM

Can someone please help with that Question? I don't have the answers. Thanks.:borg:

DAKITEZ - 7-12-2007 at 03:50 PM

I thought a traction freak would know everything :smilegrin:

Sthrasher38 - 7-12-2007 at 04:52 PM

C'mon now I am a traction freak because I have alot of Questions and And love to create new posts. And I reply to almost everything. I am still pretty new to kiting I have been flying for only two years.So I am far from giving profesional advise. But here we go why do you need a pulley system? I belive pullys are used for de-power kites or crossovers for stability. I could be wrong I dont know to much about harnesses but I dont know what use it would be being straped into a pully or how that would even work. Maybe on a bar but not handles. Again I am not sure. But I am curious to see what is said.:borg:

Pablo - 7-12-2007 at 05:41 PM

Climbing harnesses will only have a loop to anchor stuff to, kite harnesses have a hook or roller to put the strop on. So what you do is make yourself a completely captive system.

You need a good quality pulley, ideally one that will swing apart to allow easy instalation on a strop, a shackle of some sort and a quick release. I like the Wichardt quick releases. The pulley will keep from eating a strop. I can burn one an hour without the pulley, with a pulley I get a strop to last close to a month. The shackle goes between the QR and the pulley, then the QR acts as a safety if you need to ditch the kite in a hurry. A completely captive system is a major asset when you start jumping big, no chance of the strop falling off the pulley/hook,

Sthrasher38 - 7-12-2007 at 06:20 PM

Thats what i'm talking about!! Kite traction know it all!! See dlish I told you Pablo would hook us up. Thanks Pablo you are always quick to help on this forum. Thanks for your time and your expert advise!:thumbup:

GulfSandEater - 7-12-2007 at 11:54 PM

Hey all,

There was some discussion about this on another thread a while back. You can check out http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=3935#pid239...

There are a couple pics posted there with climbing harness setups.

Also, if you search for Wichard on the PKF you can find a few discussions about the quick release, pulleys, carabiners, and the like.

I haven't had much time to fly recently, but my climbing harness setup has worked well for me for the past few months while flying static. Now if I could just find some time to get that Rockville bug out for a test drive!!!