Hi all,

Just had my first kite sesssion on Sunday with my new Beamer III 4m, man what a hoot. Never had so much fun in years and I'm now totally hooked. Find myself looking at tree tops thinking mmmmmm wind.

Anyway, I'm thinking of investing in a harness but am unsure of what to get, seat/waist/vest. Can anyone tell me what would be best for jumps/scudding or recommend a make.

Thanks

PS Awsome forum loads of great advice for a noob like me.

Welcome to the forum! I hear you on the "Hey did that branch just move?" syndrome. If jumping is what you're after, I personally wouldn't use a harness. Kite jumping really seems to be a semi-controlled activity where even experienced jumpers can get into trouble fast. Being hooked to your kite, even with a QR, probably isn't a good idea at least at this point. Also, a 4m is a little small for jumping. From what I have picked up here, most jumpers usually go for at least a 5m. I would invest in a good helmet and set of pads first. Don't go out alone, and make sure your spotter has a cell phone. As for the scudding part, I have an evo seat harness that I can scud with (though if I'm on my butt I do get a pretty good wedgie after a while.) I got the harness to use with my buggy. The type of harness you choose will depend on your eventual goal in traction kiting. ATB riders tend to prefer waist harnesses, while buggy guys usually use seat harnesses. Hope some of this helps.

While your Beamer is a fantastic kite for traction and static flying, it is designed with reduced lift. It can lift you in certain situations but won't provide great float back down as furb said. Also furb is right about 5m being a good place to start with a kite that you want to jump (and land) with. A 6-7m kite will let you jump in slightly less wind and float you down even better while still being nimble enough to maneuver through the pendulum jump motions.

Hey Welcome

Yeah you will never look at the world the same way. In our county we have a giant paper mill sitting in the middle of the marshes visible for miles around with belching steam coming from towering stacks. To others it's either an eyesore or a source of income; to me, it's a giant wind indicator!

Harness type is a personal preference. On a waist harness, the hook sits at about your belly button, and on a seat harness the hook sits at about your belt line. To some extent it could depend on your body shape. If your belly is round, a waist-only harness may ride up. If you are sitting in a buggy, your belly (mine anyway) will bunch up and a waist harness may ride up. Leg straps help keep it down. Waist harnesses are more common on land boards or kiteboards. Dakine and Mystic are popular brands.

As Heliboy says, be easy on the jumping and don't for for a lot of air. With a 4m, the trip down can be faster than the trip up. Hook in only when you know what the kite will do at all times.
Be safe and have fun.

Cheers, some good advice. I think I'm probably going to go the ATB route so a waist harness is probably the way forward. As far as helmets and pads go I have a bike helmet (no pads at the moment) is this ok for kiting or do I need a specific kite type?

A good bike helmet is fine; that's what I wear. Some go with full face but that can be ho here in the South.

When thinking about a harness and your beamer you will need a way to hook the beamer to your harness.

Handles -vs- control bars are different when you plan to use them with a harness, as you may know the control bar hooks via a chicken loop. The beamer you have uses handles, in which case you will need to make some customizations to your handles by way of a "strop line".

A Strop line connects to the back of the handles (at the top) where the power lines come through the handles, normally a couple of inches of line comes out the back of the handle and has a knot tied in it. The strop line will connect these two small pieces of line. The length of the strop line will depend on the users preferences. Longer will allow more input for turning however too long and you may not be able to reach the handles.

Normally this strop line is connected via a block (pulley) which is in turn connected to a quick release shackle, which is connected to the harness.

Do a search on this forum for "Strop line" and "wichard shackle" and you will find all sorts of useful resources of how users on this forum have connected 4 line handles to a harness.

Hope this helps

Check out the below thread for some good ideas about a strop and quick release shackle

http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=8353&pa...

Mystic make a nice seat / waist harness. If you can't try before you buy this may be a good choice ?

I made little quick releases for my strop line because I like to flop in and out of my spreader at will. See the DIY god thread on here.

Odds are I will be late pulling it ( or any safety ) but it feels good knowing I can pull the pin and end the kitemare at some point if I'm caught up in one.

I LOVE your Avatar !!!!!!!! It reminds me a bit of out Haida native art here in Canada. Only more stylized and more beautiful !!!

Have fun and be safe !

First Jumping it stupid. Only very advanced kiters should be doing it, it an easy way to get broken legs/ankles

Quote:

Kite jumping really seems to be a semi-controlled activity where even experienced jumpers can get into trouble fast

that pretty much sums it up.

Also putting a strap on your handles is defeating your primary safety. I have gone through some of the threads on this. If you are going to attempt to do this make sure you use a safety release on it. Second make sure that the safety will release under pressure, at least your full body weight. If it dosent its usless.
If you do go with some kinda of strap setup or with any setup with a safety, practice using it alot. You want it to be second nature. You dont want to be "late pulling it" because you havent practiced it.

Personal experence with harness's is the waist will ride up, especially static flying where the kite is over you head alot. A seat is a little more restrictive but dosent ride up. It also lets you use you weight a bit more to hold the kite down.

Whatever you choose, learn you release systems inside out

you shouldn't be thinking of strapping in until you have good control of your kite static in a variety of winds.

I did my first jumps without a harness, and still jump a bit better without a harness. waist harnesses are better for freestyle and when the skills come together, seat harnesses are better for starting out and some folks keep on riding on seat harnesses, which seem better for cruising / getting skills. and as others have said, it's all personal preference, really: I'm fine in an old climbing harness for the time being, others hate them. A decent seat harness with a solid spreader bar would be sweet, but I'm skint.

I guess jumping is a personal choice, an acceptance of risk in return for a fine little adrenalin buzz.

The thing to do is minimize the risks as much as possible, ie good winds, nice soft sandy beach, prior skills and there is nothing quite so good as having someone else to fly with! The risks are super high in the first few hours.... you take care and fly safe...

Thanks to all who have replied, but a special mention for Brent_P as I was not even aware of needing a strop line (a highly informative post that was).

I wont be getting the harness for a couple of months anyway as it's a birthday present off wor lass, so hopefully I will be able to control the kite better by then and feel more confident in higher winds. I've only been in 8-10mph winds so far and that was powerful enough for the moment. It may seem like I'm rushing it with questions about harnesses and jumping (let's be honest though it's the scary buzz that's appealing:o) but all I'm really after is info so I can make an informed decision about what route to go before I start chucking cash around, for now I'm just enjoying the tug'o'war match with the kite.

As far as harnesses go, I know someone with an ATB they don't use so I'm going to beg/borrow/steal it at some point and the harness will be used for that. I'm thinking a waist harness in the £60 - £70 range is that enough or should I be spending more to ensure quality?

Caesar,

There are lots of good harnesses out there, choose a brand that is well known ie dakine, liquid force, mystic etc. Keep in mind that the spreader bar and harness for windsurfing is not the same as a kite harness even though they look the same/similar.

If you have a local kite shop go try a few on and see what feels right for you. As was said above, when flying static the kite sits overhead/high in the wind window so there may be a tenancy to ride up on your torso. Whereas with a board sport the kite is lower in the wind window most of the time so there is more lateral pull.

Good Luck!

I looked through that strop line post. There was not one safety system that was proven to work under full load. I would think twice about using this setup, or look for some kind of inproved setup that can release under load.

http://kiteboarderz.piczo.com/projects?cr=6&linkvar=0000...

Funny, Mine all release under load ?

This is essentially the same release as many factory ones I have used .

Try one BEFORE you knock it ! :ticking:

The wichard 2673 setup shown by Acampbell is the industry standard for "release under load". Kiters all over the world recommend it based on years of use, and use it because of its dependable release.

Quick release thread

Bladerunner is that pictures of your buggy's and gear? If it is your gear, you got some mad buggy fabrication skillz!!!




BeamerBobby you need to read up ^ I already posted that link :P

No ,

This is a link that Nick , NPWfever posted a long time ago.
Some pretty creative ideas on it !!

Quote:

Originally posted by Brent_P BeamerBobby you need to read up ^ I already posted that link :P

Since I was referring to a particular picture in a particular thread, I wanted the link in my post. It wasn't an oversight, just trying to leave no doubt what I was talking about.

Ive had the 2673 on one of my setups, and under my just body weight would not release, i also read reports of this happening. I no longer use this setup. I have north bars with the iorn heart and even then i check them now and then. Your body weight should be the minimum test weight, keep in mind that kiting can cause loads much greater then this.
Blades setup may be similer in function to the iorn heart, but if running through a block, does all that fit through apon release?
Also the release looks to be a bit on the small side. How easy is it to grab it?

I thought that Wichard was designed to release under load ? I have never had a need for one so never paid much attention.

I don't use a block. I'm not fond of captive systems but don't think it's my business to tell anyone not to use one. Typically those that use a captive system are better fliers than I am ! I would never presume I know more !!

When I started flying larger fixed bridles I found a personal need to hook in. I can fly for as long as I please this way. Within about 10 min on the 9m in good wind and I'm done.
I made my little Q.R.'s with a sort of mushroom shape sleeve. It's nice because it's not prone to grab lines unwantedly. So far I am pleased. I haven't had a single false release and always a clean release when I've tested it. I have always professed that this release was just and " idea ". A way that I felt a bit more comfortable hooking in under big power. Pushing out isn't always an option with a 9m Blade on Blades .

Hooking in is inherintly unsafe :shocked2:. Power kiting is unsafe