Ok, I searched the forum for harness topics and didn't get much. ( I didn't want to just start a new thread if a good one had already been hashed out).

I have decided (thanks bladerunner) that I need to get a harness and pracitce flying hooked in and save up for lessons and my first depower kite.

I want a harness that would work good with both kitesurfing and landboarding. Right now I just have two airfoils. But I want to get a harness in preparation for my depower kite purchase ( which at this point looks like it will be a waroo, based upon local kitesurfer advice).

So from what little I have found it looks like simple personal prefference plays a BIG roll in what harness to get.

This leads me to my question. What harness do you use and like best and why? What do you do with it? How long have you had it? What others have you tried?

I've got a dakine pyro which I love. The only problem is after a session(this is probably the case with all waist harness) you are all drenched in sweat where the harness was around your waist... eew. lol.

seat , keeps it stable and doesn't ride up

although i've used a waist harness that seemed fine

had an impact vest harness, too bulky and restrictive and it keep riding up.

any where from $100-250

i use it for land and water and harness up to 5-6 hours complete comfort.

get a GOOD fitting one, when you try it on get on a hanger line for a hang hook and spin. keep it on for a good 10min. off and on the hanger line make sure it is comfortable with shock load.

I think it depends on the seat harness I just felt like i was wearing a diaper... lol.

I have a Dakine impact vest harness. I like it on snow and water but it's too hot for summer.
I had a Dakine Nexus waist harness. I liked it but it ran up.
Now I have the Mystic Seat waist harness. I like it fine!
I have never heard a peron who had a Mystic harness who didn't like it !

I love my Ozone XC harness with the D ring, but that's intended for land use only. It's so light weight that you don't even notice your wearing a harness. I love the way it pulls right on the leg straps and the waist section is only used to keep it on you and in place. The advantage of the D ring is that it rotates, where on the other model, the entire spreader bar will rotate and dig into your stomach when the kite is at zenith. One downside to the D ring is that you constantly have to deploy the chicken loop safety and reset it to unhook or hook in to fly. Gets kinda annoying when switching between kites, especially when the chicken loop is hard to reset. This is one of the reasons I love the Megatron CL on my new flow. I also have an 08 Mystic Force seat harness that I use. I find that it's a very comfortable harness when I don't mind the extra weight. I actually feel more secure using it because it is a fairly large harness and you know it's there. It also has more attachment points for leashes and other things. The only downside is that the spreader bar does want to rotate and dig into my stomach as the kite gets closer to zenith. This could be fixed theoretically with a pivoting hammerhead spreader bar. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think those come standard with the Ocean Rodeo session harness. That harness is actually worth mentioning because it is a waist harness with leg straps to prevent it from riding up. I've never tried one, but I would like to. If more of the pull is directly on the leg straps that would be a little more comfortable than on your waist. Just my .02. Also I think there are several threads on this already, I feel like I have written all of this before...

Thanks guys! Keep em comin!! Sorry If there was a thread about this. I used the search engine and typed in Harness for a year in all categories and couldn't find much. Maybe one post here and there. :dunno:

What harness do you use and like best and why?
I've got a Dakine Fusion seat harness, and a Dakine Tabu waist harness.
The Fusion's alright but it's a little bulky. I only use it in lakes because my life vest is too long for my waist harness. I feel like my range of motion's a little restricted, but I can still jump ok.
The Tabu is ok, but it's an older model and tends to ride up after a while. What I like about the Tabu is that I have more freedom of movement compared to the Fusion. What's cool about waist harnesses is that when you ride toeside they'll slide sideways a little bit to where you can twist your body away from the kite more to really ride toeside comfortably.

What do you do with it?
Fusion: Kiteboard on lakes, and use it as a buggy seat pad (i have an older buggy seat also I buggy with fixed bridles unhooked).
Tabu: Kiteboard on water at the coast, use it when kitelandboarding with a depower kite.

How long have you had it?
Fusion: Since Feb 2008
Tabu: Since Fall 2007

What others have you tried?
None so far. These have worked fine. I'm tempted by the OR Session 2, and some of the Mystic harnesses.

As far as a specific make&model recommendation, if I was to get a new harness it'd probably be an Ocean Rodeo Session II. It's got removable leg straps so you can use it as a seat or waist harness. I say 'probably' because I haven't tried one on yet.

Here's a link to OR's page about it:
http://www.oceanrodeo.com/kiting/session_2_hybrid_harness


The best thing for you to do would be to try a few different models on at your local and decide from there.

Something I liked about my Mystic is that it can be used with or without the seat option. Not having had a seat option before and not being able to " try before I buy " it looked like a good idea ? Also the seat is of light material so not a problem when sitting.

Quote:

Originally posted by Bladerunner Something I liked about my Mystic is that it can be used with or without the seat option. Not having had a seat option before and not being able to " try before I buy " it looked like a good idea ? Also the seat is of light material so not a problem when sitting.

Friend of mine has the same harness and he ended up cutting off the leg straps cuz he liked it better as a waist harness just goes to show that it is definitely a versatile harness!

I have a Mystic Warrior in the Waist / Seat Configuration. The great thing about it is that you can fold in the seat and use it as a waist, or, what i do most of the time, use the seat. I like that it wont ride up, and it gives you the pull from more the center of your body. Its very often rated as the top harness. It's kinda expensive, though. I landboard and kiteboard, but also used it in a buggy. All works good.

I have a Dakine Fusion Seat. It has been my first harness for Kiteboarding. It is a bit on the bulky side, however it has been comfortable thru a 2 hr session.
Down the road im looking into a Dakine Renegade waist. Tryed one on at the shop and was very comfortable.

Ok, Ok, after some more searching I found one. There is probably more. Sorry. Threads about harnesses that is

http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=7505&pa...

And another one . . . DANG, I thought I was a better looker than that! Sorry . . . .
http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=9552&pa...

I like the 2009 Liquid Force Luxury Harness. Its light, its comfortable, and looks nice.

I'm trying to figure out what size I need . . . Where does the harness sit? hips? Waist?

What part should I measure to know size? Should I measure around my belly button? Above? Lower?

I wear a 36 in jeans, but I wear those around my hips. My belly is bigger than that. :frog: Married life has taken its toll.

Ha, I knew there were more threads! Good to see that I have consistency in my posts!

I use to ride with a Dakine Tabu 07 (Waist) model. I am a small so i went with the advice on the Dakine Site with a 6in spreader bar and Pad. I could only ride for 2 hrs before i had lots of pain and digging into my ribs. Rode like that for about 1 yr. I recently purchased the Dakine Tabu Kingpin version same size but it had a much much larger spreader bar and pad. Problem solved. Complete Comfort. and I don't really have an issue every now and then riding up. It's not a nuisance for me. it only moves a little. I sometimes here people have it ride right up under neath there arm pits. SUCK IT IN LADIES and tighten them straps. Another thing i did notice is that if your torso is like a "V" it doesn't ride up as much.....does that make sense? I tried a seat harness. its not for me. My Balance is a little off from being used to having the spreader bar a little higher like on a waist harness. :wink2:
This is all just from personal preference. you need to find what works for you.

So no good for fatties then dgkid
Dakine Fusion but I'm not digging the leg straps - thinking I'll get a Mystic something to try a waist harness ...

i used a Dakine Speed Harness for the longest time, than switched to a Dakine Fusion than destroyed it over a 2 year period. Now temp. using a Peter Lynn Harness until the Pro comes out.

however my suggestion is if you want a harness that does all (waist / seat), either the OR or Mystic

if you want Mystic i suggest you contact Angus @ Coastal ... he will hook you up.

I like the Libre delux for land and dakine fusion for water. Try a few if you can and see what you like/ don't like about the different ones

DaKine XT seat have had them since 1999.

Bump Mystic Warrior and A Campbell as a source.

Waist/seat is very versatile. Leave the leg straps off (or tucked under) in the buggy or strapped for board time. Quite comfortable and it distributes the loads well. The seat portion is lightweight but it is a hot harness in the summertime. The expense is relative as this is a bomb-proof harness.

I've got a dakine fusion that i use in the water. it is bulky but is comfy. i don't use this on land because it bulky, so i end up om my HQ harnes which is much lighter weight.. too light for water use. the fusion you also cant use in a buggy since its designed to be worn in s standing like stance

Another bump for the Mystic Warrior Waist/Seat, Very comfy over 5+ hours in the buggy also on the MTB but have only used that for a couple of hours. One nice safety feature is that it comes with a hook knife built in, for those true life or death days. Haven't used that yet and hope I never will.