Has anyone invented a rashie that prevents your harness from riding up yet?
Cheers!!
Two options:
1. Do some Lat excersizes.
2. Use a Tri-suit, then no rashes and it does not ride up but make sure you wear it under your clothing otherwise you will look like a ****.
Rich
Hi Meatpie,
Best bet is to have a look for a decent harness, correctly fitted, and fit for purpose. There are literally dozens of harnesses on the market and like the kites, they have different characteristics for different styles of riding and different purposes. not to mention to suit different body shapes!
Buying the cheapest harness is the biggest mistake. Go into a shop and try a few harnesses on, take the advice from the retailer (if they know what they are talking about) and load test the harness in the shop as much as you can (asuming they have a bar setup you can hang from). Don't rush the purchase of the harness, it's the only piece of gear which will cause you physical pain if you get it wrong.
Harnesses which are ALL Neoprene on the inside will tend to allow rotation and also upwards movement of the harness around your body. This coupled with the right design makes them freely follow the kite making toeside and blind easier, and is an almost MUST for wave riders but is a no no for many beginers.
Harnesses designed with thermoformed internal surface or a combo of thermoformed foam and Neoprene are designed to stick to you and not move much. The more foam and less neo, the more it will refuse to rotate and slide upwards.
A good retailer will offer you a couple of harnesses to try on, after discussing with you your current riding level, riding aspiration and riding style. The harnesses should reflect the style indicated by your answers to the questions of needs.
We sell 9 different models of mens harness and 6 different models of women's harness. They are all different, which is why we ask all the questions. It narrows the shortlist and saves us having you try them all on.
I hope this helps you.
DM
I think no matter which harness you go for, and however long you “try”, them in the shop by dangling off of a rig fixed into the ceiling, all waist harnesses ride-up to some degree. Shops can't simulate that aggressive upward yanking that is experienced whilst out on the water.
Some fit some people better than others of course, but unless you are blessed with a torso that is so shaped that the harness can't physically move up, I reckon it comes down to adhering to the above points- i.e learning to ride with kite lower to the water and/ or trying the looser harness approach to at least enable the harness to slide back down after it has ridden up.
Other than that, ride unhooked or switch to seat/ boardies type harness or try an impact vest 
There is no such thing as a waist harness that does not ride up. Your body shape makes no difference.
If you have a wedge-shaped torso and massive lats it will simply ride up as far as it goes and get stuck there.
The things that makes the difference are:
- technique. Don't ride around with your kite way up in the air all the time. Bring the kite down a little and the harness gets pulled down onto your hips.
- adjustment. Don't have the harness too tight. If it's too tight it will wedge more easily on your ribs. If it is a *little* looser it will slip back down more easily when you bring the kite down.
You also want a little bit of looseness in the harness so it will rotate a little for toe-side riding.
Seat harnesses give you more reach on the bar, which is good if you have short arms. It's easier to reach your board to do grabs.
The bad things about seat harnesses are:
- your hips are locked in too rigidly so you will get back pain from toe-side riding (imagine a giant spanner trying to twist your low back off).
- they can still ride up so you get sore ribs and a sore groin from the leg straps cutting in to you (and possibly crush your nuts).
- they're bulky and take more space in the gear bag and take longer to dry etc.
If you are looking for a light weight, fast drying, compact harness try a Dakine Nitrous harness. They are a board short built in seat type.
I have used both waist and seat in the past but now prefer Nitrous and have been using them for a few years now.
(and when your Nitrous shorts have seen better days, try the ION B2's- same boardie/ seat harness concept but much much harder wearing than the Dakines)
Hey thanks a lot for the answers guys, especially DM.
I am starting to ride toe-side well now and I often slide the harness around to make my stance more efficient. Where it bugs me though is after a stack or massive boost and I cant get it back down again - I will try making it looser and let you know how it goes.
I will also be in Perth soon (awwww yehhhh) so I will pop into the AKS shop - Scarborough? and have a look at some better models.
Cheers!
P.S. Im skinny as sh1t and has invisible lats, could use more pies and lat pull-downs.
