Hooking in

[Admin]

It is interesting to see more riders hooking in now.  The F-one kites have harness line attachment points between the handles but it would be easy to use the unused handles for attachment on other wings as well.  This might be nice to check out.  Add that to the list .

[Admin]

Interesting for both the strut and the harness.

[eastbound]

hmmmmm....this could bump "free wing" out of contention

[VB_Foil]

I ended up ordering a harness and line for my F-One Swings.  I'm not sure that I will use it, but I did have this piece of info that may prove helpful to others.  When speaking to Dave @ Windance out in Hood River, he sold me a several year old harness at a discount that is designed for kite surfing.  The harness connection point / hook slides from the center to the front hip freely to allow harnessed riding with the kite off to your front hip or behind you when riding in a fixed stance. 

I believe this may be beneficial in two situations when winging with a harness:

- For hooking-in in situations where you don't want to (or not able to) switch stance on a long upwind ride.  In my limited experience, when in this situation, my leading shoulder, which holds the rear strut handle, was dealing with a bit of strain.

- A fixed anchor point on your belly will rule out prone paddling.  If riding in the surf and you wipe out, it would be nice feature to slide the anchor point to the side so that it is out of the way and allow climbing onto the board without worry for damaging the board etc. Or for situations where the wind dies or needing to paddle into a wind window where prone paddling is required.

I know nothing about kiting harnesses, so we'll see if these thoughts end up holding any salt.

[Wetstuff]

' Make some good points, VB...  Particularly that last paragraph. (been six years ago - but I don't remember it being an issue with kites, even with big 'ole long directionals in the early 2000s) A regular user sent me a pick of his DIY he uses with a WASP.  Says he's able to hold a long tack with just his rear hand.  This is v.1, it should be pretty easy to use.


Jim

[PonoBill]

I brought my harness today, but decided to hold off while I tested the new wing leash. Good thing, on a port tack the leash ran right across my face, and when I jibed it tried to wrap around my neck. So on to version 2. I'm probably going to tun up either bumping up against the spit at the event center or bobbing next to the log boom at the dam--strangled by a leash or a harness.

[Wetstuff]

Using VB's lead... I had the choice of a $25 fixed hook ...but, I picked a $35 sliding hook, a Dakine Maniac Spreader Bar, from Mackiteboarding.com in Michigan.  It seems a bit heavy at 22oz/600gr but I can always pull out the hook. (maybe I can pull the hook and use the pad for a back brace...) Once I have a belt done - I am hoping to expect to be able to both adjust myself and the wing independently. 

Interesting about the guy on the Zeeko - he's using his front hand.  My guy says he uses his downwind hand to adjust the wing...   There's a lot to learn.

Jim

[flkiter]

I put the maniac hook onto my Axis waist leash, works flawless.

[Wetstuff]

I was going to pull the hook from my pre-made and do it like FLK but will fiddle with it as it for the moment.  Hopefully, I'll be able to test it tomorrow.   I simply used a cam buckle as a stop.  The webbing tail is headed in the wrong direction, but the setup seems to hold my weight using a fencepost as the wing.  We'll see...

Jim