Hey all,
I'm only a noob - can take off confidently in either direction but still working out the turns and have yet to take on any surf.
I had to keep my session short on the weekend due to extreme magnitude of force on my wedding vegetables (to quote Clarkson), caused by my seat harness. The pain was immense - although only when the kite was at 12 o'clock (ie walking back along the beach). But that is still 50% of my session.
I was wearing a steamer and had my harness cranked pretty tight. Are there any tricks that might help? (other than getting better, which I'm working on as quickly as I can...)
Alternatively, at what point do I know that I'm ready for a waist harness? Of course a seat harness makes sense for noobs, but if a waist harness will work I'm keen to make the transition as soon as possible. And so are my vegetables.
All advice greatly appreciated. 
dude there's something wrong with the fit of your harness if it's doing that. or maybe you just have immense, basketball sized testicles? Unless there's some form of elephantiasis or other medical condition going on here, then you simply have the wrong harness for your body shape man. I wear a seat harness all the time because it gives me better edge control when extremely powered (i'm light and i need to keep my centre of gravity as low as possible, the lower the attachment point to the kite is on my body the easier this is) and also because it doesn't hurt my back when doing lots of big airs (which i do all the time).
Saying a seat harness is for noobs is not really true man, despite what all the posers will tell you, it's simply a comfort thing. Sure if you're doing some hardass wakestyle flipflops a waist harness might give you some more ease with the body rotation, or if you're a hardcore strapless surf-rider you might appreciate the extra body rotation that you can attain, but for 99% of riders it makes no real difference except for comfort.
Cheers Neill, good feedback. Could it be that your seat harness is comfy cos you spend less time with your kite at 12 than I do ?
And whilst I'm the first one to talk up my package, if I'm indeed being honest then elephantitis is the least likely of any medical condition. So either I'm wearing it wrong or it is indeed the wrong fit.
Are there any special things to tell if its the right fit?
PS Just to clarify - the straps aren't actually digging into my bean bag, but rather just my general groin area - which is causing general groin pain - not specific bean bag pain.
Er..ahem. I know that was prolly a wee bit too specific for those of you eating a meal right now....
Hey buckwheat
You should try some of the new Waist harnesses... theres so many different kinds that give heaps of support.
I like being in the surf/windblown rollers mostly, and found it heaps better for more freedom in the legs, and more rotation for carving the sheit outa the wave. 
seat harnesses or waist harness its whatever suits you not rest of people on beach telling you what you should have, I wear a seat, ive been kiting for 5 years, because a waist hurts my back, and I havent got a waist. You must be either doing straps up to tight or harness does not fit. Try a dakine nitrous harness, cant feel youve got it on. My nuts used to hurt a bit (and feeling like youve got the biggest wedgie ever) after kiting but now I have a nitrous harness no probs.
And yes walk back upwind with kite at 10/2 oclock less upward pull.
try pushing your shoulders back and hips forward .It will improve your kiting and take the strain off your kahunas
All good advice, but at a guess I recon it's the "ole walk of shame" element here that causes the real problem, once you learn to hold ground and edge correctly you won't be walking back upwind dragging a kite behind you, I would however try the cycle shorts under your harness,make sure your fully depowered, and maybe lower your kite in the window when walking back up the beach, so the pull won't be so hard on your wheels but more on the inside of one thigh.
You won't get it at all once you've taken away the walking with your kite element I would think.
Good Luck 
I tryed about 6 different waist harness , then settled for a seat harness . What ever is comfortable man ,,,
All good advice here. I started with a seat harness 5 years ago. Tried a waist unit, hated it and have gone back to a seat. It all depends on personal preference and style. I ride with mine pretty loose these days so it can slide around a bit for toeside. Don't do it up so tight, give your congenitals room to breathe, work on posture and don't be led by fashion. Later on you might like to try a waist harness but stick with the seat for about 12 months.
They can be a bit pricey but I wear compreasion shorts when ever I go kiting. Tends to keep everything in the right spot and chaf****e is non-exsistant. Their about $50 a pair but well worth it especially in the summer months.
What seat harness do you have? there are some really crappy seat harnesses out there. IMO the Dakine seat harnesses are the best for comfort, with the spreader pad and hammerhead spreader bar.
I know that the mystic one is crap, and I think the naish one is crap too.
But still, if your leg straps are done up too tight, then no matter what brand of seat harness you have, a 1km walk of shame aint gunna be fun regardless.
You do know that you can re-tighten the leg straps again if you hold your kite just above the water, i.e. 3 o'clock
sweet guys - all good tips. I may duck down to my local shop and have a squiz at some other harnesses that might be more comfortable. Not knowing what was what when I first started, I did buy a pretty cheap harness.
Definitely eliminating the walk of shame is my first priority! I think I'm pretty close to going upwind, its falling into the drink every time I change direction thats losing me ground. Still trying to figure out the exact timing of transferring my weight, changing board direction and swinging the kite.
I had also presumed that the progression from seat to waist was normal - nice to know that it isn't necessarily the case.
Cheers everyone 
walshd I have a Cabrinha - and yeah I have been doing the tightening thing at 3, but it didn't seem to help - ie the straps were as tight as I could get them and it was still painful.
Maybe the Cabrinha will fit the girlfriend - and there's nothing like having an excuse to buy new gear!
One more thing I just remembered. If your arms are short, like mine, you might find a waist harness puts the bar out of reach when the kite is fully depowered, at least on my switchblade. A seat harness, sitting a bit lower brings the bar closer to you in all situations.
Hey Buckwheat,
Both AKS and SOS have the new range of Pat Love Harnesses. Everyone who has purchased or owned one is talking them up big time. If the harness is riding up, the Cast or Quest might be an answer due to the tight belt around the front and the power belts make it very snug. The Bar pads are awesome and prevent rib bruising from the spreader.
The Flying Object Flight Control Combo is also a good option. It is a waist harness with a half seat and leg loops. It gives you the best of both worlds by keeping the harness down and still offering the comfort of the waist style. We have both available.
Definately worth a look.
Good winds,
just use a waist harness. They are much better. They take 2 seconds to get on and frees up the waist for riding toeside and tricks. I learnt on a waist harness they arent any harder to use.
Kitehard, ta for that - will peruse your website and have a look!
walshd - I hadn't thought of that - will give it a go next time.
Big thumbs up for all the help
There's no correlation between your skill level and whether you wear or waist or seat harness-it's really just a matter of personal preference.
One thing that I prefer with a waist harness is that when pointing hard or hooked on the waves it rotates around so that it's better orientated towards the kite whilst your body is 'tweaked'.
attention all veiwers,chips will return in a moment.nice avatar buckwheat.
you younger crew will not get that.classic tv
does anyone else remember that
for the life of me I cant think of the two cops names????
A bit of help from the old timers? Grump old man steve?Or maybe Mrfloaties
I finally switched to a waist harness about a year ago - but more so than my seat harness I found the Dakine Nitrous board short harness awesome.
As you improve the kite will pull out more than up, relieving the wedgie and the chafing will stop because you will hold ground more and not have to walk.
Can't stress how much your harness is like everything else- try as many as you can and get what works for you. We are all different shapes and what fits and works for one is not necessarily right for another.
Yeah... my old seat harness would squeeze the boys sometimes.
Good remedy is to put some water in your wettie, just hold the neck open submerge. It gives you a bit more room too move. The cold water also help with keeping it all nice and tucked up (aka shrinkage)
mike
