Hi I am looking for a new waist harness, but i haven't bought one in about 8 or 9 years and am a bit out of the loop.

I am currently running a DaKine T6 harness with a sliding bar. It has been really good, but starting to show its age. I like the sliding bar but its not a deal breaker.

I see mystic and Ion put out alot of harnesses but not sure what other brands are about. There doesn't appear to be as much choice as last time I look and the prices have gone up alot.

Any advice or recommnedations for a recreational blaster with a bit in the waves is very welcome.

Thanks, Tom

It's just a bit of a tough one (as is most of our gear), ion, mystic, flying objects, etc. All are great, it's just a bit of a personal preference, body type, and type of sailing.

I use the radium select by ion. Been great love the direct connection, move the harness to the side to compensate for the lack of sliding hook, works well.

Ion harnesses don't last. Mystic lasts forever.

My past 2 harnesses (one of which is the current one) have been the severne lux. It's got plenty of padding, no complaints comfort wise, stays put pretty well.

I've also heard great things about the harnesses made by Liberty which are waist harnesses, but they have a little "butt scoop" attached which holds the harness in position and gives you a bit of a seat harness feel without actually being a seat harness. The catch is they are located in Japan, so you have to order online and then hurry up and wait for it to get here. That said, going to give them a go next time round.

Liberty harness

I have only used Dakine seat harnesses (XT and Reflex) and both are in great shape after years of use in saltwater and Florida sun and heat, assume their waist harnesses are made as tough and as comfortable. Dakine used to have year-end sales from their website, up to 50% off and free shipping in US at least.

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windsurftom said..
Hi I am looking for a new waist harness, but i haven't bought one in about 8 or 9 years and am a bit out of the loop.

I am currently running a DaKine T6 harness with a sliding bar. It has been really good, but starting to show its age. I like the sliding bar but its not a deal breaker.

I see mystic and Ion put out alot of harnesses but not sure what other brands are about. There doesn't appear to be as much choice as last time I look and the prices have gone up alot.

Any advice or recommnedations for a recreational blaster with a bit in the waves is very welcome.

Thanks, Tom

I bought a ION CURVE 2022 and it is a very good harness, big upgrade with respect to my previous ION or my last DaKine , a T6. Significantly lighter than the previous ION, about 0.5 Kg and very comfortable. Comes in short and tall sizes in addition to S/M/L and you can change the back pad to change the amount of back support.Carbon buckles should not seize.

Does not rise and feels very stable. Expensive ... I was tempted to buy a Ride Engine but it is even more expensive!

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windsurftom said..
I see mystic and Ion put out alot of harnesses but not sure what other brands are about. There doesn't appear to be as much choice as last time I look and the prices have gone up alot.

Any advice or recommnedations for a recreational blaster with a bit in the waves is very welcome.

I have been using a Mystic waist harness for a few years now. It is far superior to my previous Neil Pryde harness. This is because it has four point (not two) attachments at the sides and a mechanism at the rear that tightens the whole assembly around your torso. As such, they don't ride up onto your chest like the old ones did. Just make sure that your sizing is right. I lost some weight so mine became one size too large - not as comfortable. particularly around the ribs at the side.

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windsurftom said..
Hi I am looking for a new waist harness, but i haven't bought one in about 8 or 9 years and am a bit out of the loop.

I am currently running a DaKine T6 harness with a sliding bar. It has been really good, but starting to show its age. I like the sliding bar but its not a deal breaker.

I see mystic and Ion put out alot of harnesses but not sure what other brands are about. There doesn't appear to be as much choice as last time I look and the prices have gone up alot.

Any advice or recommnedations for a recreational blaster with a bit in the waves is very welcome.

Thanks, Tom

DaKine T8 is awesome!

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duzzi said..

windsurftom said..
Hi I am looking for a new waist harness, but i haven't bought one in about 8 or 9 years and am a bit out of the loop.

I am currently running a DaKine T6 harness with a sliding bar. It has been really good, but starting to show its age. I like the sliding bar but its not a deal breaker.

I see mystic and Ion put out alot of harnesses but not sure what other brands are about. There doesn't appear to be as much choice as last time I look and the prices have gone up alot.

Any advice or recommnedations for a recreational blaster with a bit in the waves is very welcome.

Thanks, Tom

I bought a ION CURVE 2022 and it is a very good harness, big upgrade with respect to my previous ION or my last DaKine , a T6. Significantly lighter than the previous ION, about 0.5 Kg and very comfortable. Comes in short and tall sizes in addition to S/M/L and you can change the back pad to change the amount of back support.Carbon buckles should not seize.

Does not rise and feels very stable. Expensive ... I was tempted to buy a Ride Engine but it is even more expensive!

Ride Engine fabric wears quickly and the hard shell must have the perfect fit, otherwise it's really uncomfortable.

Bought a new T9 off my friend as he got the wrong size. Love the fit and feel and the padding on the spreader bar keeps the bar from sliding to much feels a bit heavy but I don't have anything to compare it to also it is a bit of a hybrid hard shell.

Dakine website has 11, yes eleven, harnesses on sale, some more 50% off.

wind.dakine.com/collections/sale

Used to have ion radium which started to tear apart in 2-3 season, and absorbed a lot of water so switched to mystic, very happy with build quality and comfort till now.

There are hardshell and soft shell ones, personally i found hardshell more comfortable but it depends on person i think, better if you can borrow from a friend to try for a session.

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Faff said..

duzzi said..

windsurftom said..
Hi I am looking for a new waist harness, but i haven't bought one in about 8 or 9 years and am a bit out of the loop.

I am currently running a DaKine T6 harness with a sliding bar. It has been really good, but starting to show its age. I like the sliding bar but its not a deal breaker.

I see mystic and Ion put out alot of harnesses but not sure what other brands are about. There doesn't appear to be as much choice as last time I look and the prices have gone up alot.

Any advice or recommnedations for a recreational blaster with a bit in the waves is very welcome.

Thanks, Tom

I bought a ION CURVE 2022 and it is a very good harness, big upgrade with respect to my previous ION or my last DaKine , a T6. Significantly lighter than the previous ION, about 0.5 Kg and very comfortable. Comes in short and tall sizes in addition to S/M/L and you can change the back pad to change the amount of back support.Carbon buckles should not seize.

Does not rise and feels very stable. Expensive ... I was tempted to buy a Ride Engine but it is even more expensive!

Ride Engine fabric wears quickly and the hard shell must have the perfect fit, otherwise it's really uncomfortable.

Yes, besides the cost I was afraid of the fit with the Ride Engine. The Ion looked like a better option: I could choose between medium and medium-tall and there is the possibility to use two different thicknesses for the back pad. Ion even sends you a measuring kit to help pick the correct size (I picked the medium using the kit). The Ion Curve is my first hard-shell and I like it. It is very comfortable.

Does anyone know what the strap around the back of the Mystic X Waist harness is for?

Thinking about cutting it off.

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Pcdefender said..
Does anyone know what the strap around the back of the Mystic X Waist harness is for?

Thinking about cutting it off.

Thats probably the kite strap, for when they fly away and someone can grab it. Some harnesses are cross over so they are Kite/Windsurf.

Thanks.

Will cut if off to reduce the weight by 100g

Still have the Windsurfing hook?

Thanks for the mystic and ion feedback.

The ion hook did break within a year and the outside fabric is looking sad for sure. I now need to stitch one side of the strap. And yes it takes on lots of water but I thought this was addressed in years following.

Will try mystic if I ever need to purchase something else. I'm back on my custom padded old Dakine T4 for now.

JMHO, waist harness choice is personal and everyone has an opinion regarding fit, durability..... Even after fitting and "testing" in the shop I have made maybe not the best choice.

I been using carbon waist harnesses for windsurfing and kiting exclusively for past 3 years. had Ride Engine Elite carbon harness and now Mystic Majestic X Len10. I'm 185cm tall 32waist and been using both in S size. Also with Mystic Stealth kite bar..
Advantage for me is no need to switch harnesses, lightness and back support is awesome (no core muscle soreness/feeling after full day of sailing), ability to use smaller/narrow harness. Also mystic kite hook is a bit wider around its tip which helps with random unhooking while windsurfing with one hand on the boom. RideEngine kite hook however is not good/risky for windsurfing b/c of its triangular shape.

PS. That line in the harness back is for log kite safety leash attachment. Nowadays less and less people are using long leashes that attach to the back and use short ones that attach to the front of the harness and offer more safety and less rope stuff hanging around you. Long ones more and more nowadays used by people who do unhooked rotational tricks which are practiced by very advanced kite surfers...

Thanks for all the replies and insight on this topic.

I took a deep dive into all the harnesses available and the are still plenty of good options. What it has boiled down to for me is the sliding hook vs fixed. Before my current sliding DaKine harness, i had a fixed and remember i found it less comfortable for my back. I think the reason for that was that I twist forward when going upwind and felt the sliding harness was much better for this.



Christoffer Rappe S-39 was a great course racer in the 90s and I always thought he had a cool style when i wached the videos (I was 12) so I copied it and still do it.

So I am getting a DaKine T9 slider. What do people who have used sliding hooks think the pros and cons of sliding vs fixed are?

Christoffer Rappe was indeed a great sailor at the time. Others used similar stances in the early era of Formula too.

Unless you are competing in course racing of Formula I doubt that you'll have too push that hard to go upwind, squeezing out every last bit of VMG, but I have not tried a sliding harness myself.

I use a waist harness with a sliding hook. It's OK but I had to tinker with it by sewing a strap on to the bottom edge each side to pass through the hook to hold it down. Before I did that the hook bar lifted uncomfortably and made it awkward to hang down on the boom in lulls. Now it's comfortable and the hook still slides somewhat.

The strap is sewn on one side and a loop on the other. The strap passes through the loop and fixes to itself with velcro.

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windsurftom said..
Thanks for all the replies and insight on this topic.

I took a deep dive into all the harnesses available and the are still plenty of good options. What it has boiled down to for me is the sliding hook vs fixed. Before my current sliding DaKine harness, i had a fixed and remember i found it less comfortable for my back. I think the reason for that was that I twist forward when going upwind and felt the sliding harness was much better for this.



Christoffer Rappe S-39 was a great course racer in the 90s and I always thought he had a cool style when i wached the videos (I was 12) so I copied it and still do it.

So I am getting a DaKine T9 slider. What do people who have used sliding hooks think the pros and cons of sliding vs fixed are?

There's always the reactor bar...

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Faff said.. There's always the reactor bar...

It doesn't move on the body, it only eliminates friction from the lines.