Best harness out right now?

[manuel]

This is all so odd. I never had to re-tighten anything on my Dakine harnesses (sliding bar only)? Also, on the water it'd be difficult to do as we would have to slide out the strap out of the buckle in order to do so. While this is somewhat do-able, placing the strap back into the buckle (needs to be lifted off to insert) would be challenging over moving waters to nearly impossible!?

[ss59]

[bericw]

No idea what is best for anyone else, but I will relate my own stupid little harness story that I used a speed seat, and then surf seats for about 30 years (yes, I started sailing before I was born), and absolutely could not understand why I would change to something else without all that hook support and leg streps to "hold the harness in place". Hahaha!! Years of repairs, endless searching for used models, a final break, then tried the best (i.e., most expensive) same-brand waist ("eight" maybe?) and was not impressed with the bar and harness moving all over no matter how tight it was. Bought an on-sale Ion waste harness on a lark; so much better for me it was crazy.

I have used an Ion Radium Team Series waste harness for the last three years. Set the webbing first day and tucked it away and haven't adjusted it since. Easy quick click in and out, and no strap mess. Harness is looser in the summer, tighter when wetsuit gets thicker. Doesn't matter, don't care. My thoughts on bar and harness stability in the seat harness I was using were shown to me, for me, absolutely wrong. The hook in the Ion cannot move up and down hardly at all in comparison to the seat harnesses, there's no need to shimmy the harness back down all the time like with what I was using, and I don't get the "bucket bends" on crashes anymore.

Given that I absolutely thought I had the best answer for me with my seat harnesses, what does it mean now that I have a totally different answer? Clearly, it is yet another demonstration that I am a moron. In the words of Rich Piana (RIP), "Don't read something and believe that <delete>. Try it out for yourself. Find out if it works, or if it doesn't. ... The more you put in, the more you get out. So stop making <delete> excuses, get out there, and do whatever the <delete> it takes to reach your <delete> goals. <Delete>!"

Thanks. Have a great day!

[rtz]

I wait till I get the harness wet before I tighten it down:

[manuel]

I think that's how mine is. Same as this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxPxODTSOTQ except that I pass the excess strap inside the most rear metal buckle hole not in the elastic loop which won't hold the strap in.

Yes, I leave the elastic belt alone, same with ion. Just tighten the bar, otherwise I feel like it gets tighter and tighter, won't rotate well, tuck back down after slogging, etc.

Without a tight sliding bar we also lose up and down pressure as the strap will twist. Honestly, I prefer to rotate my whole harness as opposed to just the bar, more positive connection.

[leto]

https://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General/Waist-harness-solution-for-riding-up?page=2#21

[rtz]

In the near future I'm going to pick up both the ProLimit Type T harness and the Point 7 just to have, use, and compare.

https://www.prolimit.com/product/type-t-harness/

https://point-7.com/waist-harness/

[leto]

Gotta love when two subpar harnesses which only differ in colors are tested side-to-side.

[rtz]

I thought they were the best harnesses out right now? What one do you suggest?

[isobars]

The last time I bought a new harness, I spent well over an hour in each of two shops comparing many WSing and kiting models. Both shops carry a huge variety of each of multiple brands. I had very knowledgeable employees advise me much of that time, because they see a wide variety of buyer shapes all day. Having been WSing since before commercial harnesses became readily available (my first one was custom built), I was surprised how much experienced advisers helped. One by one, fitment patterns emerged that led me to an obvious winner ...
for MY body,
for MY sailing style,
for how I want a harness to fit,
for MY ease of adjustment, and
for how I want it to interface with my body armor.

Notice that there are a lot of I's and MY's in there. YOUR and YOURS may ... no, WILL ... vary. If you don't have a well-stocked shop nearby, I suggest you:
• combine a mail order shop's advice with what you're learning here,
• make sure they will let you (promptly) return unused products in their original packaging for full or nearly full refunds,
• buy a few by mail,
• set up a rope in your garage or yard to see how they feel under load,
• pick a winner ... for YOU, and
• return the rest.

You'll probably be paying postage one way, but since harness prices seem to have doubled since Saturday, that's a small price to pay for better odds of finding what you want. I've done that with wetsuits, street shoes, clothes, and much more, and it has worked very well.

How, for example, do you know whether you want a fixed bar or a slider? A strictly butt, a seat/back, a convertible, a strictly waist, or even NO harness? Expect to burn a lot of money and time figuring all this out, then burn WAY more time, money, and hassle repeating this process with boards, foot straps, sails, booms, unis, fins, harness lines, wetsuits, booties, vests, helmets, shades, gloves, fin screws (no kidding), spreader bar, and more. And, oh yeah ... motor vehicles in which to haul all this $#!+. Don't expect to hit the jackpot on ANY of these items in just one or two tries. It's all just too complicated, and there is no such thing as "best". We try, we gamble tons of money and time, we sail, and if we're lucky the government doesn't ban outdoor recreation altogether until we quit by choice with a huge smile on our face.

If I ever wear my latest harness out (I'm old), I'll repeat the process next time, because harness designs evolve slowly or suddenly and completely new designs appear often. DaKine's XT Seat, for example, became unrecognizable between my previous two purchases; same name, completely different beasts. I bought a highly rated Mystic by mail order a few years ago, and it's still lying somewhere in the den because its straps slipped several inches in one reach once they got wet and I waited too long to conscientiously beg for a refund.