Seat Harness Versus Waist Harness

[SoutherlyBuster]

Why I swapped my Seat Harness for a Waist Harness

I started out kiting using a seat harness for both kitesurfing

and Landboarding. Initial literature surveys mostly pointed to

seat harnesses being better for your back, some people on the EK

reckoned the opposite.

After having some back problems I decided to give the waist harness

a go. Got my self an NP Mirage, same model as my son has, just a

bigger size. Only took me a half hour to get used to it and I was all

smiles on several fronts. The first trial was kite surfing on a

uni-directional board. I had so much more freedom of movement, as a

consequence carving the board and going toe side was so much easier.

Boosts also felt more natural. The harness felt comfortable,

no back pain. I've been using this waist harness since April this

year and no back problems.

So all this talk about keep away from waist harnesses if you have

a back problem, well for me was not the case.

In the mean time I've been using the harness for landboarding as well.

Again a pleasant experience. No problems with toe side. No need for

that slider bar like I had on the seat harness.

Leaning back hard against the kite pull on the waist harness was also easier

as I could lean out further and was much kinder to my back when loaded

up.

Would be courious to hear if other people have had a similar experience.

Joel you were right, should have swapped over to a waist harness

years ago.

Regards,

Norman

[sluggo]

Interesting Norman , i'm about to buy a new seat harness . I thought that the waist harnesses slide up your torso. Is this not so ?

[andy666]

I have both waist and seat harnesses. Both have their positives and negatives, depending on what you are using them for.

In the buggy I find the seat harness better. It is less bulky, so better for sitting in the buggy seat. Also because the kite attachment point is lower then the waist harness, it doesn't feel so much like the kite is trying to pull you over the side rail.

The areas the waist harness is better then a seat harness is anywhere that you need back support. So kitesurfing, land board or snow kiting. The waist harness allows you to lean back and it won't kill the ab's and back.

As for the waist harness riding up? I have never really found it a problem, but it does need to be done up a LOT tighter then a seat harness.

It all depends on what you want to do with the harness as to which is the better option

[Clive]

Had both, although the waist harness wasn't specifically a kite harness it was a reasonably wide one, but it didn't transfer the forces around that well, I've got a Peter Lynn seat harness now, and like it, plus the extra padding helps when you OBE.

It possibly depends on just how well each harness is designed, Good that you've found one that works for you.

[SoutherlyBuster]

Interesting Norman , i'm about to buy a new seat harness . I thought that the waist harnesses slide up your torso. Is this not so ?

No problems with the NP Mirage. I've used mine with a wet suite on, no riding up; on the land, no riding up. Zac has used his with just a tee shirt on (also NP Mirage), no riding up. We do have them done up tight.

Oh the other great advantage Zac and I found of the waist harness over the seat harness --- no more superwedgees, no more rough handling of the family jewels.

Agree that for buggies I can see a problem with the waist harness. I've been told by many people that's important to try the waist harness for fit and that's what Zac and I did, perfect fit so we bought on each. All the more reason to buy local rather than from some internet order.

My review has been purely for the standup riders.

[Mick14]

When riding the landboard on the weekend I did a very large "butt check" / slide sideways to wash-off speed when overpowered, I was glad I had a kitesurfing seat harness with heavy duty fabric as the seat, or I would have ripped the ass out of my trackies!

[SoutherlyBuster]

Well it goes without saying, when landboarding wear tough pants to expect the unexpected. Personally I would not wear trackie dacks, just not up to the rough and tumble and way too easy to chuck a moon if you go for a slide. But I know what you mean, when I started out landboarding I used a seat harness and it had plenty of grass stains on it.

[Slartibartfast]

I'm coming a little late to the party I see but I was of the understanding that seat harnesses were best for buggies because you spend so much time trying to hold down a side load. Waste harnesses, as I understand, have a tendency to pull your torso sideways. I've never flown a waist harness myself but when I first started getting into kitting I tried using a PL back-strap in the buggy. The back-strap was fine on the land but in the buggy, it was horrendous!!!!

Waist harnesses I was told are best for kite surfing and land boarding for two reasons. One is that you turn to face the kite more and can lean back against the pull in a way you can't in a buggy. The other is that it's a lot more important to have your centre of gravity below the attachment point when standing. Seat harnesses, while there fantastic at providing a secure anchor for your kite have a tendency to flip you around when you get lofted in a way that waist harnesses don't.

Of course I'm just armchair quarterbacking/navel gazing here, but in theory it makes sense.

[bob2]

Hi all

Just adding my poorly informed opinion to this matter.

If landboarding, I would go for the waist harness for the simple reason - they look better. It is not cool with all those straps messing up the line of your pants.

Also, and noting that I have no experience with a seat harness, the following comment is not based on any scientifically tested fact, but rather a concern about the potential for an extreme nut squash. I do not want to be dragged along with harness lines so close to my nut sack.

In summary:

Waist harness - cool

seat harness - not cool

Go style first. Landboarding is already the poor daggy cousin of kitesurfing - don't go making it more daggy.

Bob2

[SoutherlyBuster]

Agree Bob2, try kite surfing or landboarding with a seat harness only wearing speedos (Budgee smugglers), apart from the poor fashion statement, very tough on the family jewels.