I'm looking to get some advice on harnesses, and also if anyone knows of a good Kite shop / expert in or close to Manchester, England, UK.

I have a 2m rhombus firebee which I have flown for a while and has been a lot of fun.

I am looking at getting a harness that I can use for it but that will also be suitable if I get a bigger kite.

Any ideas or suggestions welcome.

thanks

Alex

Any decent harness will be just fine for any size kite. Personally, I recommend the Ozone Access harness, and you can choose if you'd like it with or without spreader bar.

Harnesses are really the type of thing you want to try before you buy because the certain styles fit different body types better than others. I prefer the dakine fusion seat harness because I'm railish (buff for sure but railish ) and a seat harness won't ride up and crush my ribs.

If you can try them on under load all the better (attach the spreader bar and attach a rope to that and the other end to a column or tree and lean back and see how it feels like that and if it rides up because it won't feel / fit the same under load as it does just on you.

Would I be able to adapt my rock-climbing harness to suit??

What's the general consensus on the control bar too, obviously I've only flown with handle in each hand so far. Any advice on what to do for that?

Others have used climbing harnesses and they may chime in. I don't know how to make the conversion.

Bars are required for depowerable kites. A bar can be used for fixed bridled kites but handles are strongly recommended.

I thought about my rock harness as well. After looking at it I think it is worth it to by a harness specific to kiting for a few reasons.

If you use your rock harness you are exposing it to wear and tear that is not the same as rock climbing. This may lead to having to replace it sooner. Abrasion from sand, dirt, and whatever else you run into. But then again I am kind of picking about what is saving my life while I am hanging 100 feet in the air.

If you use your rock harness you are going to have to rig some sort of system to hook into the kite. This would most likely be with a carabiner or some similar configuration. This is not conducive to getting in and out of the kite quickly if you are flying a fixed bridal. May work okay for a depower though.

Just my thoughts.....it will work...just with a few more headaches.

I ride the Ozone Acess XC harness, no spreader bar. I put a nice locking carabiner as my attachment point. I just clip into the chicken loop and I'm good to go. No need for a donkey D*&#/chickenfinger. I only suggest this to people who have releasable Chicken loops, but as I don't unhook to do tricks it's a great setup for me.

you would prefer a seat harness for long rides/ free rides, and a waist harness for elements requiring unhooking and hooking in. however, individual preferences change with time - i've seen riders of different experience level changing from one type to the other and back. one more thing to consider, seat harness would normally give less work to your back, so is better to any back pains. and once again if you can try a harness before purchase, this is the best. in our shop/ rental we have Naish harnesses, and usually riders try several models choosing the one fitting the best. its a little bit like choosing clothes that fits you...

Sound advice, thanks, anyone any idea of a Kite specific shop near Manchester UK (England) that they could reccommend.

thanks again

http://www.powerkiteshop.com is about 94 miles from Manchester.

http://www.kiteitright.com is about 17 miles from Manchester.

Frightening number of Mystic Harness dealers are 3+ hours from you.... :o

Posting a query on www.kitecrowd.com (UK based) or dropping an email to any of the following:

• British Kitesurfing Association - www.britishkitesurfingassociation.co.uk
  
• Power Kite Sports Federation www.pksf.co.uk
  
• British Power Kite Sports Association www.bpka.co.uk (Formerly the British Buggy Club)
  

Should help you locate others.

ATB,
Sam

Great, thanks very much.

Its kind of cute to see you say "Frightening number of Mystic Harness dealers are 3+ hours from you"

That's a long way in England, probably 'round the corner' in the states. I imagine kiteright.com might be the one to go to, 17 miles is doable for a kite, 94 miles is probably excessive!

thanks again

Nah... 3 hours is a haul.... even though I have trekked silly/stupid distances to do things with questionable value/rewards.

It was just strange that when I was using the dealer locator on the Mystic site that all their dealers were so far from you.... even the inland ones. It's like someone at Mystic threw a dart at a map and said "Nope... we will avoid that area with our last dying breath....call back all our falcons....and throw another pheasant on the spit."

ATB,
Sam