Not been on for a while. Purchased 2.5,4.0 and 5.5 NS3 last year to use for boarding on short lines in small areas as the area I planned on using last year in Spain had been ploughed up to stop camper vans parking. Well this year it was flat and hard packed but decided to stick with the short lines. Had a bit of good fortune picked up a old flexi buggy for a song and the board is now gathering dust. Only problem is this year the weather has been unbelievably good which means hardly any wind. Had a few good Lavante winds coming from the med and some mad blustery ponente.
The other day it was Ponente luffs of 5 mph gusts of 10-15mph the 5.5 was pulling my arms from sockets during the gusts and then nothing i packed it away set up 2.5 but not enough wind to keep going. I think it would have been the same with the 4 my arms would have give out on the gusts. Thinking of getting a harness as I think I cold have handled the 4 or even the 5.5 in the gusts. I am thinking the bar kit from Born kites and a buggy harness. I am not that experienced and was interested in your views for best harness set ups for the NASA,s I fly no lines up to 5m. Also I read with interest the posts on the 10m and 12.5m as a low wind power engine.

Welcome to the NS3 fan club. Glad you're on board. Sounds like you should also be a member of the Janky Wind Club!

I recently rigged up a 7m line bar for my NS3s. Not withstanding that in this photo I have the little nylon sleeves flipped and attached to the bar pigtails (should be attached to the lines - thanks ssayre!) this set up works well for what you are describing:


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As for harnesses, there are certainly a lot of good ones out there. For standing dry-land use it is hard to go wrong with the Ozone SB:

Ozone SB

As for using the jumbo package (i.e., 10.0 and 12.5m NS3s) in this application I would say that it is certainly possible but it comes with some frustrations and limitations. As you seem to be in a janky wind locale (as I am) I will warn you that these jumbos will backstall and fly backwards as the winds start to die down, crumple to the ground in the lulls, and pull you like a mother in the gusts. This is a lot of ripstop to have in the air on a FB set up (short lines no less) when the winds double or triple in strength. On the shorter line setups you just don't have a lot of wind window to play with and you are basically stuck in full throttle at the wind's mercy. Fun if you've got plenty of space and no obstacles; a whole other story if you don't (read soccer goal post collision in my buggy and snow bank encounter on my skates).

All of this discussion sort of pulls together in this video: Short lines (7m), 10.0 NS3, Ozone SB harness, short line bar, and standing (albeit on skates not a board). Bonus snowbank footage in the back!

Welcome to the short line nasa star club scifibuff! Great advice from Steve. I would go with a ozone sb if you can find one or any minimal seat harness will do for buggy. The ozone harness will move slightly around to the direction of pull which is nice with these since they sit deep in the window. If you don't have a bar that you can make or modify, I would just get the 3 line bar from born-kite.

As for the 10m and 12.5m sizes, I'll have to continue to live through Steve's (windstruck) adventurers.

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

Welcome to the short line nasa star club scifibuff! Great advice from Steve. I would go with a ozone sb if you can find one or any minimal seat harness will do for buggy. The ozone harness will move slightly around to the direction of pull which is nice with these since they sit deep in the window. If you don't have a bar that you can make or modify, I would just get the 3 line bar from born-kite. As for the 10m and 12.5m sizes, I'll have to continue to live through Steve's (windstruck) adventurers.

Sean (Ssayre) brings up an excellent point about the harness, viz, that it slides around. That feature is WONDERFUL for both snow kiting and kite skating so it would certainly also be good when standing on a board. There are a few manufacturers that have some sliding hook setups for waist harnesses to get at this attribute. I actually purposely wear something nylon or polyester (no, not a leisure suit) just below the harness to encourage this sliding around the waist. Just sort of lines everything up. If I have one beef with this harness it is that it's leg loops can slide down your thighs, particularly when walking. One thing that helps this is to make sure you synch up the elastic strap that comes off the back down to the leg loops. I noticed that this problem was addressed with Ozone's Connect Pro harness, but that harness costs $100 more. As in most walks of life, I suspect money buys wonderful things.

Spencer (Soliver), self appointed president of the Janky Wind Club, recently purchased a 10m NS3 for buggying and has good things to say about it. I agree with Spencer in his calling the 7m NS3 the honey of the lineup.

Of those that post regularly on PKF, Sean seems to have logged absolutely the most hours with a setup as you describe. If I were to head in that direction I'd certainly be following his lead.

Thanks for all your replies and advice. I was looking at this harness.

http://www.powerkiteshop.com/peter_lynn_base_buggy_harness.h...

I have a bar I could use for the born kit so I think I am sorted on that front. I think rather than bigger kites I might go for trying the kites I have got on longer lines. I could go to 10m lines this might give me a little more control and power to keep going when the wind drops. I have a 3metre impulse but I like the stars so much I have not used it with the buggy at all.
The problem only occurs when the wind comes from the land when from sea clean and steady but of course when you get out you can guess what direction it comes from.

ive been thru 6 harnesses trying to find one i'll be happy with...the search continues...that one looks pretty light duty
longer line will get you more consistent power and the wind will be cleaner up there
there will always be a better and cleaner wind onshore than the ones going offshore

Quote: Originally posted by abkayak

ive been thru 6 harnesses trying to find one i'll be happy with...the search continues...that one looks pretty light duty longer line will get you more consistent power and the wind will be cleaner up there there will always be a better and cleaner wind onshore than the ones going offshore

ditto, I can't say i've loved either harness I've tried so far. I went out yesterday in lightish winds and wore my harness in the event I would need to get up and relaunch instead of using hotwire. I hated it. I'm getting to the point that I only want the hot wire in buggy.

you need to cut out the hotwire thing you'll lose your physic

i lost that a long time ago. In all honesty, I was much more fit when I used all fixed bridle and not hooked in. maybe i need to go back to my kiting roots

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

i lost that a long time ago. In all honesty, I was much more fit when I used all fixed bridle and not hooked in. maybe i need to go back to my kiting roots

thats my point...half the reason i do this is for the chics
and i like to get beat up...in a good way

That does it. I'm going to scrape and claw enough expendable dough to rebuild my once nice fixed bridle quiver. It's been bothering me for awhile.

sean- in all seriousness look at the flexi rages- I have almost (still working on it) replaced my fb for rages- I only use them in the bug but they are great kites in the bug and do well in janky winds if moving and are really well behaved. Not racing kites but then I am not a racer. For standing I still like my arcs, but all your longboard vids have me thinking about a no line single skin (there I said it even though I have flown old nasa wings and hated them)

Scott you can fly Peak with short/no lines pretty well too. It doesn't have to be a NPW.

Demo. On just bridles and maybe 3m of line? I'm thinking parking lot carving looks awesome fun but needs to be "inexpensive' kite because pavement will chew it up when I crash

Quote: Originally posted by flyguy0101

Demo. On just bridles and maybe 3m of line? I'm thinking parking lot carving looks awesome fun but needs to be "inexpensive' kite because pavement will chew it up when I crash

that's true. The pavement is harder on the kites and I tend to cringe when I scrape my peak across the pavement. but I don't hit the pavement that often and can usually launch from grass so I don't hesitate to use a peak for longboard. However, there is more to it. The nasa stars will turn on a dime one handed and the bridles are shorter than on the peak. In other words, my nasa stars are more useful in confined areas such as roads bordered by power lines on the downwind side. I really like both types of kites for "streetkite" with each having their own advantage/disadvantages. The 2.5 and 4 nasa stars are so maneuverable that they are a blast to fly when you have a nice breeze.

I prefer the 6m peak flown on 3m lines and handles in lightish gusty winds. It's a blast to fly kite as you would a fixed bridle kite but with the added benefit of changing angle of attack on the fly. It smooths things out remarkably. A little more finesse and skill is needed with the peak on handles or conventional depower bar set up compared to the stars but will manage the gusts nicer and has a graceful quality that's hard to explain. I'd like to get my hands on a 4m peak for streetkite eventually

Unfortunately I'm sidelined with a broken board and another board that I don't particularly prefer for use with kite. Been busy but will be getting another bamboo/fiberglass 36" longboard soon. The flex of the bamboo and the strength of the fiberglass is a good combo for a Clydesdale rider