Need to replace my harness. No shop nearby so have to buy sight unseen.
Anyone have direct experience with both the dakine race and reflex seat harnesses?
The reflex claims to have adjustable hook height. Will I be able to get the hook as low as with the race?
I sail slalom and formula. I THINK I prefer a low hook but I've been fascinated with pro sailors switching to waist.
Never have tried waist harness and am skeptical.
Am curious if the reflex will let me experiment with hook height. Are the waist harnesses comfortable only for short race heats or can I use one for sailing all day with big sail.
Also, does the spreader bar slide around? I prefer it to be fixed.
Thanks for any insights.
I talked to some slalom pro's about waist vs. seat. For them it was all about control, as they could easier correct mistakes with a waist. So a seat might sometimes be "GPS top speed faster", but around a course the waist would win on minimizing mistakes.
I think the Reflex is a light weight version, not unlike the XT-Seat which I have used for years. The 4 straps on each side mean a fixed bar (no sliding) & allow quite a bit of vertical adjustment. But note that the Reflex has no wide velcro strap under the bar and bugger all padding around the back. The wide strap on the XT gives a bit of padding between you & the bar & I like it personally. I can have my bar almost as high as a waist harness but with hip support so it does not pull on my spine. Some people love waist harnesses, they must be the ones with incredibly strong core/back muscles. I think the high bar is better for FW but my XT SEat is almost as high anyway. Of course the bars usually rust & break near the weld after a while. The Reflex is certainly light. Don't know about the Race.
I have used a race the last 2 summers and must say its fantastic, not much of it very small but the fit is great a real solid feel and the hook low like im used too mainly speed and slalom but in bump and jump is still great. got mime from hiteck in maui a while back. have no issues hooking in and out but i run old school low boom setup.
I have a Race XL new never used, grey and Fluro orange colour, still has all the tags on it. $120.
Thanks for all the input... I'm gonna go with the race - but I'm size L so no go on Aus4's offer
