It's tough to get anything shipped from Japan to USA these days. No airmail - by sea only and it took three months to get here. And it's expensive.
Totally worth it. This Cross-Over Carbon Liberty Harness is by far the best I've ever used and I've used many since 1980. The construction is incredibly solid - the kerCHUNK when you latch the harness bar is like closing the door of a Bentley, and the buckles, straps, Velcro and especially the padding is all first rate. It's bulky and the dry weight is kinda noticeable but it takes on no water at all so the wet weight is no more than most others.
The concept is that it's basically a carbon-framed waist harness, with an extension below it which sort of cradles your butt and prevents the harness from riding up without any leg-straps at all. That lower section sort of hangs there looking like a filled diaper until you load it all up, and then the pull just distributes itself from mid-back to upper thigh with a feeling of complete stability. It's as powerful as a seat harness, as manageable overpowered as a waist harness, and allows the legs complete freedom because of the no straps. Doesn't ride up at all. Not at all. Hook height is adjustable to a degree but it seems to want to sit somewhere between a low waist harness and a higher-hook seat like the old XT-Seat, so for me it does everything - slalom, free ride, and foiling.
Consult with the guys at Liberty about size - height matters more than weight or girth because the larger sizes will only fit taller frames. The lower section really wants to be at the right distance from the upper. I weigh 100kg but am only 5'10" in height (wetsuit size is XXLS), and the Medium fits me perfectly - there's a TON of adjustment range on the quadruple-velcroed waist.
www.libertywinds.jp/english/products/harness/index.html
I started out with a Dakine XT seat harness for windsurfing, switched to a Dakine Reflex seat harness for foiling and which is quite small, allows me to carry a waterproof fannypack just above the harness and below my lifejacket which has a vented back. Yes it has leg straps but I do not notice them on the board.
Select to expand quoteSandman1221 said..
I started out with a Dakine XT seat harness for windsurfing, switched to a Dakine Reflex seat harness for foiling and which is quite small, allows me to carry a waterproof fannypack just above the harness and below my lifejacket which has a vented back. Yes it has leg straps but I do not notice them on the board.
I've been using those two also but the other way around - XT-Seat for foiling because of the slightly higher hook. The lack of leg straps is nice but the big difference with the Liberty is the load is much more widely distributed. I was overpowered this morning with a 4.2, and was just hooking in and hanging out with no sense of strain.
I have a liberty and really like it....my only issue I have had is I find the straps on the butt flap slip a bit and you have to retighten a couple of times per session
Select to expand quoteAwalkspoiled said..Sandman1221 said..
I started out with a Dakine XT seat harness for windsurfing, switched to a Dakine Reflex seat harness for foiling and which is quite small, allows me to carry a waterproof fannypack just above the harness and below my lifejacket which has a vented back. Yes it has leg straps but I do not notice them on the board.
I've been using those two also but the other way around - XT-Seat for foiling because of the slightly higher hook. The lack of leg straps is nice but the big difference with the Liberty is the load is much more widely distributed. I was overpowered this morning with a 4.2, and was just hooking in and hanging out with no sense of strain.
You can adjust the Reflex hook about as high as the XT if you loosen the bottom straps a lot and tighten the top straps, but then the bar is not as tight against your front compared to when it is in the lower position.
