Best harness for long sessions?
Sun, 03/18/2012 - 21:58
I'm looking for opinions on the best harness for long sessions (4-5 mostly continuous hours on the water).
I love my Mystic waist harness, it's pretty rad. However, for snow kiting & longer sessions I want something that pulls from a little lower (seat harness?) for those longer "park & ride" cruising sessions. And of course just to experiment with more gear.....
I was thinking seat harness (never ever tried one before) but then I figured its best to ask the pros on masskiting because they all go sponsors and stuff, so they must know whats up.
I saw the Dakine Nitrous HD, which could be a really really cool waist harness alternative, but could also be a really really dumb gimmick.
http://www.dakine.com/p/kite/harnesses/nitrous-hd
Anyone tried lots of different harness and got an opinion for those longer free ride sessions?
Tue, 03/20/2012 - 17:52
#1
Hey Man,
I think a lot of
Hey Man,
I think a lot of this is personal preference and body type. Every harness is a bit different so its worth trying them on yourself to see what fits your style and body type best.
The mystic Shadow is extremely comfortable to ride in. All waist harnesses will ride up the longer you are riding specially if you are jumping a lot. You may find though that you can take a mid session break park the kite and pull it down and tighten back up. Not a perfect solution but what many of us end up doing.
I would def try a seat harness before buying. They wont ride up but they can certainly make other parts of your body uncomfortable...
I have never tried the dakine boardshort harness. I have seen people with them. My general thought is they are more of a gimic but that is 100% SPECULATION...
Also for snow kiting you can look into jackets that you can wear your harness under them and they just have a whole to poke the hook through. That way you can crank the harness down on your body and it wont slip up as easy.
So after that all I can say is go out there and find a store that has a lot of selection or start bumming harnesses from your buddies!
FYI if you are going to hatteras you might wait and go to reel or KHK. Not because they have best prices or anything but because they will have every kind of harness and you will be able to try them on and probably hang from a rope set up...
Tue, 03/20/2012 - 18:18
#3
ahahaha well that makes
ahahaha well that makes sense. What size harness do you ride. I think I have an older dakine seat harness. About on par with Jean's diaper. Probably too big but if its not you can just have the thing
Tue, 03/20/2012 - 19:57
#4
Alright, that's it! You
Alright, that's it! You accuse me wearing a diaper, I'm going to keep the harness that is yours that's been floating in the sand at the bottom of my trunk since tug hill..lol!
Wed, 03/21/2012 - 08:43
#5
it wouldnt fit you anyway
it wouldnt fit you anyway
Wed, 03/21/2012 - 10:49
#6
Its customary for the elder
Its customary for the elder statesman in the group to wear the adult diapers!!! Lmao
Tue, 03/20/2012 - 20:01
#7
medium
I have a 31 waist. Even if I don't a seat harm on the water, I know I want to have one on standby for snow kiting. Yeah, on the list is definitely a new jacket for next season (need one anyways) with a spreader bar pass through zipper. No one can see if my diaper is full when I'm wearing snow pants 
See you at the Hatty Hat!
Thu, 03/22/2012 - 14:59
#8
Love the Dakine Nitrous
Hey Chris,
I have the Dakine Nitrous shorts/harness, model 2010 and I love it!
I didn't like the cut and look of the 2011, so I bought the 2010 model, size 34, to wear with my drysuit. I like it so much that I just bought the 2012 in a smaller size, to wear on top of thinner layer (wetsuit, shorty...).
The very first harness I bought last year was a Dakine Fusion seat harness, which I returned promptly when I suddenly understood what people meant when they talked about "wearing a diaper". So I bought the 2011 Mystic Warrior III waist harness, which I like a lot, but found to be too constraining on the chest/breathing, when riding up on lots of layers in the winter.
I guess a waist harness offers more movement freedom for freestyle riding and tricks than a seat or shorts harness, but I'm not quite there yet. The seat harness definitely makes for a more relaxed (comfortable?) ride.
You're welcome to try my Nitrous in a few weeks at the Hat (staying in Avon).
Thu, 03/22/2012 - 15:20
#9
awesome
that would be great. Glad to hear you like it. I definitely want a second harness, just to have options available. I thought if I was going to wear a seat harness, Dakine would be the brand. I've got 4 kites, 3 boards, 2 wetsuits, countless gloves/boots, I'm thinking.... Why don't I have an "extra" harness!
Some days when the weather is nice and wind is light, I don't want to kite aggressive. Just sit back and relax and free-ride into the sunset. I don' think the waist harness excels at this, so yeah, we'll talk soon in person, thanks!
I've also been on a research kick to find the best straps/bindings for me. I deeply believe I can rip through the intermediate kiting stage if I can get my personal ideal connection with the board. I think a bad board connection is slowing my learning. I just ordered the Liquid Force Joint straps/bindings, not really sure what to call them, its a hybrid, I have high expectations on that too!
I'm in the Frisco house w/ Jean. so glad we can say "a few weeks" now!
Tue, 03/20/2012 - 21:21
#10
Snow
Some guy developed a zip in piece of material with a hole in it for the harness hook. No need for a new jacket.
Wed, 03/21/2012 - 06:21
#11
ah yeah
good point. I guess you could add a small zipper to pretty much any jacket without too much trouble and a little creativity, uh ah uh,and a sewing machine. still need new jacket though (lost a lot of weight)
Wed, 03/21/2012 - 20:11
#12
I have always had a seat
I have always had a seat harness and I love it, have only ridden once with a waist harness and I hated it!! One of the bad things is your spreader bar is lower than your center of balance, so in my case if I do a dead man hanging I land just like that cause I can't get back up:)
Wed, 03/21/2012 - 21:34
#13
don't be humble
just tell us the truth: you were going for a double back flip and only made it 1+1/2
Fri, 03/30/2012 - 14:25
#14
liquid force boardshort harness
I have the liquid force boardshort harness. Mine is from 2008 i think but i love it. It's simple but super comfortable. Ii's nice becuase you can wear it over a wetsuit and it fits really snug, doesn't really feel bulky. It is kind of a pain for the winter cause it has to go under snowpants then your pants dont fit right so i use a waist harness for the snow but i prefer my boardshort harness for the water.
Fri, 03/30/2012 - 18:31
#15
cl
Noticed this on Cl today
http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/spo/2931072086.html
Sat, 03/31/2012 - 12:52
#16
haha a very specific item for craigslist
I guess they have everything on there now. I would totally grab it if it were a 31" and used
Wed, 04/04/2012 - 15:18
#17
Fusion
Good, very Comfortable Harness. I use it for both water and snow. Little bulky to pack on trips, but do able. I can flatten it out and fit it in my boardbag with the kite bar.
pulls from your hips so super easy on the back.
Runs small 33-34 waste is def a large
that is exactly the issue, getting to try a lot of harnesses on!
I am going to Hatterass and want to swing by the REAL store just because it will ben the largest amount of gear I have seen in one place.
I have the Mystic Shadow with the new clicker bar, it's pretty sick, and doesn't ride up much. But yeah, I guess its a matter of trying a seat harness on and hanging from a rope in the store. Actually what I'll probably do is borrow Dunoyer's next chance I get, I'm in his house at the Hat.
I think my real problem is that I have a gear addiction and want to have one of everything! haha