I bought an Ion apex harness in March this year and have had so many problems I no longer use it. The hook snapped, the buckles are corroded and won't tighten and I accidentally unhook on occasion as the hook isn't raked back enough. Anyone else having these issues? I for one will never buy another harness by ion and would advise anyone not to.

I have a Riot Curv 9 harness and no joke the straps came undone as I was riding along in stormy weather. The whole kite, bar and harness just flew over the dunes and I had to spend an hour digging around in bushes to find it again. I was not impressed in the slightest

The hook snapped? That's pretty extreme - do you have any photos? Did you get it replaced under warranty?

I've had Ion harnesses including the Apex for the last five years or so, haven't had any major issues. Never had any corrosion on the buckles - do you rinse the harness in freshwater?

I was just looking over my 2014ish ion apex in detail. It's had ~5 seasons of lots of use, and shows no signs of corrosion, nor have i ever had any accidental unhooks...which was a real issue with my previous griffin harness. I did just buy a new ride engine - saw a great deal on a 2018 - but I know my ion apex has lots more service in it. I would most definitely buy ion again

I bought an Ion apex in 2011 and in 2016 the metal buckle broke during a jump and later (after the self-rescue back to shore) I saw that it had been corroded. I used the harness quite a lot during the 5 years and apart from the corroded buckle it was still in fairly good condition.

Photo of broken hook, it was replaced by warranty. I wash all my gear in fresh water. I've got no beef with any kite company, I just want gear that works..

I've got an ion wave harness bought for $150 on sale old stock lasted 6 seasons could probably get a couple more out of it but will replace this year. Pretty unlucky mate most harnesses are pretty solid these days I had a dakine harness before my ion and that was good for 6 seasons to, I kept it as a back up harness.

I have the same harness, have been using it since last season with no issues.
All buckles will end up corroding its the weak point of all harnesses.
I have heard the hook snapping before, I think there was another post on here about it?

I have the same harness, snapped the hook after 3 months and corrosion on all metal hinges after maybe 3 sessions (not seasons!). Really disappointed. Hook has just been replaced under warranty and is meant to be a better build. The harness is more comfy than others I've had but I'll stay clear in the future

Yep. Bent the hook which lead to an accidental unhooking. Unfortunately my safety snapped and the whole thing took off across the beach towards the trees. But luckily stopped on the sand.
My two left side straps are both half worn where they sit in the buckles. And these buckles are corroded, weirdly the other side looks good.
The harness was bought in February so is only 9 months old including a winter of occasional use only.
My service from my local shop was excellent. He's replaced the hook with a new beefed up version and given me 4 new buckles to fit. My straps however were knocked back by ion. Apparently its my fault for not washing my harness in fresh water.
Ive only been kiting 18 years and never had this problem before. I'll not touch ion again.

What a surprise. Ion issues a recall on their apex harness hooks. Finally admit to making a dangerous, substandard product.

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dp2012 said..
What a surprise. Ion issues a recall on their apex harness hooks. Finally admit to making a dangerous, substandard product.

Do you have the link to the article?
The "Harness Recall" link on the bottom of their website takes me to their privacy statement.

@BPBPerth here is the link: www.ion-products.com/special-pages/footer-content/harness-recall/

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zlatko said..
@BPBPerth here is the link: www.ion-products.com/special-pages/footer-content/harness-recall/

Awesome, thank you.

Very interesting guys, I had a snapped hook this week, on my ion Radar seat harness, You can see from the top shaft it looks like it's been rusting a while, and I will confess I'm not the best one for rinsing every time, will do in future!! But harness aprox 1 year old, so I will go back to where I purchased it, but all these comments make me think I should try a different brand, shame as the radar is very comfortable, I probably stressed it boosting as I'm not the lightest.
my welding friend said that as the bend is so near the weld, heating up the metal would create a possible weak spot in that location, and that's where the bend is.
I tried to replace the hook but two of the captive nuts have come away so now it needs the whole spreader bar assembly.
We do put our gear through some pretty rough treatment and I will give this part to the dealer who can give feedback to ion so hopefully can address any future weak spots.

Just reading the recall notice, it looks like ion are doing the right thing, so I will stick with the radar with the new hook.

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tuney said..

my welding friend said that as the bend is so near the weld, heating up the metal would create a possible weak spot in that location, and that's where the bend is.

Complete opposite, welding actually anneals (softens) the metal in the Heat Affected Zone.
Stainless Steel work hardens, every time you load it up it bends slightly & gets harder & harder to the point where it will snap.
Cold bending while manufacturing will also harden the hook & the tighter the bend the worse it is.

Good that they are re-calling them anyway.

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tuney said..
Very interesting guys, I had a snapped hook this week, on my ion Radar seat harness, You can see from the top shaft it looks like it's been rusting a while, and I will confess I'm not the best one for rinsing every time, will do in future!! But harness aprox 1 year old, so I will go back to where I purchased it, but all these comments make me think I should try a different brand, shame as the radar is very comfortable, I probably stressed it boosting as I'm not the lightest.
my welding friend said that as the bend is so near the weld, heating up the metal would create a possible weak spot in that location, and that's where the bend is.
I tried to replace the hook but two of the captive nuts have come away so now it needs the whole spreader bar assembly.
We do put our gear through some pretty rough treatment and I will give this part to the dealer who can give feedback to ion so hopefully can address any future weak spots.

Hey Tuney you need to slow down a touch you going too hard.....

Now that they fixed the hooks they could focus on the buckles... two in a month snapping during a jump and today I saw another guy that snapped the buckle too.

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AitorLopez said..
Now that they fixed the hooks they could focus on the buckles... two in a month snapping during a jump and today I saw another guy that snapped the buckle too.

Yup, thanks for posting Aitor. As you said, this too happened to my Ion Select harness this week. The buckle sheared off completely on a very lightly load jump (I weigh approx 70kgs).

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tuney said..
Very interesting guys, I had a snapped hook this week, on my ion Radar seat harness, You can see from the top shaft it looks like it's been rusting a while, and I will confess I'm not the best one for rinsing every time, will do in future!! But harness aprox 1 year old, so I will go back to where I purchased it, but all these comments make me think I should try a different brand, shame as the radar is very comfortable, I probably stressed it boosting as I'm not the lightest.
my welding friend said that as the bend is so near the weld, heating up the metal would create a possible weak spot in that location, and that's where the bend is.
I tried to replace the hook but two of the captive nuts have come away so now it needs the whole spreader bar assembly.
We do put our gear through some pretty rough treatment and I will give this part to the dealer who can give feedback to ion so hopefully can address any future weak spots.

The spreader bar pad on my Ion Radar was so uncomfortable that I only used it once, then fitted a Jbar one I already had. I gave the Ion spreader and pad to a mate who had a Ion waist harness with the same. The clinching buckle system on his broke after 6 months. I bought a pair of NP Trakers which are a mile ahead in design and quality.