Mark my words: "Every winger worth their salt will be in a harness by 2023"

[daswusup]

 
There's not a good enough reason not to be.....
Then we can stop bitching about handles. They only matter when you unhook.

[red_tx]

Whew, I have roughly a year to slack off.

Thanks for the tip.
-red

[WingNut Ohana]

Not going to happen! The joy of winging is the simplicity. I don't want more gear to complicate things. Also I havre arms and hands and can hold an inflated wing. 

[Wingfoil2001]

I can easily wing for 2 hours with out a harness and not come in tired, why would I need a harness?

[PonoBill]

Nobody NEEDS a harness, but for going upwind, especially overpowered, they're great. You can hold a closer reach, and save your energy for downwinding and bump riding.

[Dwight (DW)]

I can easily wing for 2 hours with out a harness and not come in tired, why would I need a harness?

Your arms are spilling power constantly. You arms are rubber bands that GIVE constantly.

A harness is locked and loaded to the maximum full time. Adding more power on every reach. Your legs control power, locked and loaded.

Guess what harness users do when over powered? yeah, we ride without using one because your arms are rubber bands spilling power.

Locked and loaded, my WAG is 15-20% more power than using arms.

[radair]

Define “worth their salt”

[daswusup]

Define “worth their salt”

I will swap out "worth their salt" with "3rd year winger".
Now I see a lot of 3rd year wingers AKA early adopters in harnesses. For me, the harness lets me focus on getting way upwind fast and easy so I can flag out and just foil all the way back. The first year or two, most are busy sorting the gear and figuring out gybes/tacks, staying upwind. It's probably a lot to do with where I ride and what I am into trying. I am foiling on inland lakes mostly. I also spent much of the year jumping as often as I could and this is considerably more tiring on arms than just cruising around. And then enter the art999. This foil is a super commuter. It has opened up riding to places easily that once seemed far away. Being harnessed for the commute is super nice. It won't be for everyone but I think most will land there eventually.

[radair]

OK, I can agree with that. I started winging in January and have been experimenting with harness set ups. I might use one only 10% of a session but it is nice to rest the arms a little and get better upwind angles. A simple waist belt harness is not overly complicated and I can see no downside to having the option to clip in. Better to be able to have a 3 or 4 hour session than be cooked in 2 hours.

[Wingfoil2001]

Ok I get it if your planning lomng distance stuff, resting the arms on long upswing legs is a bonus. But for bump riding, yes you can be fully powered getting back upwind for the next bump, but why not just use a smaller wing. Smaller wings have less drag and are more efficient plus are lighter for the downwind run. And once on the bump you don't need the power of the larger wing, eg +3mtr.

[Caribsurf]

As a windsurfer for 25 years , I have used and depended on a harness, but so far I don’t feel I need one when foiling. I installed the lines on my F-One Swing and the lines were a nuisance, hitting me in the face when pumping the wing, and a couple times they got in the way of my jibes.  I used the lines a couple times just to see how it felt, and it was easy to use, but for me at least they get in the way more than I would use them.  Wing foiled today 20 mph 2 hrs no harness, no problem...

[flkiter]

Is it worth their salt or old as salt?

[B-Walnut]

I like the boom. but... I don't plan to wing anymore by 2023 so you're right. I'll be back in my kite harness by then! 

[pafoil]

Personally I went down that route a year a half ago, it useful if you want to go overpowered. But I'm not doing it anymore.
But new HA foil and more efficient wings are removing the need of a harness for me.
My session are always 2 hours maximum and y don't do long trips.
Perhaps if new wings are designed to allow massive overpower riding I will go back to a harness. Only if jumping is my goal. 

[Sam the Surfer]

I went from the NSI minimalist to a full on kite harness with a metal hook. I’m not looking back. It’s awesome!!

Anyone interested in a slightly used NSI minimalist harness?