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February 5 2001 by Danny G 

Hi, I recently bought a quad trac 5 meter kite and decided that I needed some sort of harness because my hands got tired too quickly when flying. I searched a little on the net, but didn't find anything about a quad line harness. So I began thinking about what a harness for a quad line would have to be like and made one. I attached a piece of nylon cord right below the top (main) line on both handles. I connected the other ends of these cords to a carabiner on my climbing harness at a length that allowed me to have lots of manueverability with the brakes. I tried it out yesterday and it seemed to work great. I flew it for over an hour in some 10-15 mph winds and my hands weren't at all tired. Anyway, I'm wondering if you know how other quad line harnesses are alike or different from this, so I have some ideas of what I could improve or do different.

Thanks for your time,
Dan

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February 6 2001 by doomwheels

Hi Dan,
there are a few different harnesses currently out on the market. most are a hip type harness used for buggying and kitesurfing. these place the lifting point about at your bellybutton and work best for most kite traction sports.
another style is a chest harness which i still use for kite skating as it places the lifting point higher in the center of the chest. this works well for skating as it allows me to use my upper body to adjust to gusts and keep my weight on the ground. however, chest harnesses can be tiring to the back and are not best suited for skiing or surfing. all a matter of preference.
you should be able to find information at any kite store that sells power kites.

> I attached a piece of nylon cord right below the top (main) line on both handles.

although you have basically the right idea in mind, i'm afraid that your system lacks a bit in safety.
it sounds like you have 2 lines (one coming from either handle) attached to a static clip. instead, try running a line from the top line attachment link of the right handle to the same attachment link of the left handle (a larkshead knot on one side and a secure knot on the other). this sends the force of the kite down the lines directly to the harness instead of through the handles. make the length of the line just long enough to allow comfortable control of the kite. use this single line between the handles to slip in and out of any standard harness hook.

> I connected the other ends of these cords to a carabiner on my climbing harness.

this is the part that worries me. although it is necessary to hook into a harness for most traction kiting, the ability to disconnect from the kite is of utmost importance. there may be 20 situations per day of flying that you will need to disconnect the kite from the harness and any one of those situations may be the the one that busts your head if you are locked in. whatever set up you use, make sure that hooking in and out is fast and easy.

i took just a quick look on the web for harnesses, but didn't find much. quadrifoil sells a q-harness. try this:
http://www.ks4u.com

BC

I use a homemade harness with my 6.2 meter kite, SAFETY!!! After being dragged over 200 yards on my face and ass and almost ending up in a freeway I redesigned my harness. Just use wrist straps to hold the handles, and attach a line to a carbine on either a loop 'round your waist or a rock climbing harness, and attach the other ends to the BOTTOM of the handles. If things go wrong, just let go of the handles, and BAM both brakes on full, the kite deflates and is on the gound with a few flutters! This setup has worked well for kite skating and kite buggying. Crash and Learn indeed !