Should you be wearing your harness like this? 

So this ended up with me just going for a sail and saying what was in my mind!!! haha.. I do go a bit off topic!! But maybe a few of you will like it.. I'll be impressed if you watch it all!! :) But would be interested you know your Harness preferences.. let me know in the comments.

Have you tried the Liberty harness? Basically a low-sitting waist harness with a horizontal pad under the butt to keep the hook from riding up but no leg straps. Plenty of power but one doesn't feel at the edge of being launched as with some very low seat harnesses. It's all I use now for fin or foil.

Love your comments about riding the fin. Foiling is nice but riding the fin is so much nicer feeling. Harness. Seat harness. On old stuff (

Thanks for the ride along! Will give that waist harness on the hips a try. Just got a seat harness and really like it in strong winds, this seems like a good idea. The in between harnesss, Simmer should start making the "Hipster" harness, Ben Proffitt Model.

I go with a quite minimalistic seat harness, converted to a sliding hook which makes it positioned higher, same level as a waist harness pulled to the hips but more comfortable and obviously doesn't ride up. I've been talking we Bernd R. about it (remember his harness from Japan?), old models are actually much better fitted with less unnecessary padding in wrong places, less weight and water absorption. I am actually waiting for one to arrive by post, will let you know how it goes.

that was such a good video ben! we need more of these myth busting ridealong with proffitt, they could be really useful!

Interesting. Will give this a try. To get round back pain when windsurfing I've taken to wearing a velcro back support. Works and added benefit is acts like spanx for wetsuits!

I have my harness on the hips since I saw Bernd Roediger wearing it that way some years ago. I would never go back. At the waist it is to much strain for my back.

I have ALWAYS used a seat harness! It's much more comfortable and you won't get back pain as easily. I have never had back pain using a seat harness ! Many who use a waist harness complain of back pain after longer sessions. With a seat harness, there is also a more efficient power transfer, from the body to the boom, and thus to the sail, and you have an easier time closing the gap between the sail and the board, which is so important for speed and performance !

I have been using the ION radium TS for a year. It tends not to creep up (with normal use).

I have a harness from TWS that solved the problem of it riding up.

Perfecto old school blasting! My anatomy (!) keeps my DaKine XT seat low down without leg loops done up

Watching this from Gruissan (France), tomorrow I start my first DEFI race ever. Sailed the entire course distance today and can confirm the waist harness is inducing some kind of cramp in the lower back muscle to the side (the side pointing forwards). Particularly when not comfortable powered. I only notice this on exceptionally long reaches. I tried wearing it over my hips, it is comfortable, but it won't stay there.

First off loves the vid; watched it until the end. We need more of this real world / authentic videos. Yes, even Profitt falls. Some of us can feel inadequate at times since a lot of windsurf videos edit out the falls and mistakes. It's just part of the process right? Even the greatest make them. Second, I've been on a seat harness ever since I started windsurfing in the 90s. I'm not sure why they fell out of favor. They're just the best for blasting with race and slalom gear. Waist harnesses are for wave riding as far as I'm concerned. In my opinion, outside of wave riding a seat harness is not only more comfortable for long runs at full speed, but they also provide more control with a lower center of gravity.

Boards like Simmer Style G6 Monster 126 or Freemove 126 are ideal for learning light wind freestyle moves. Put a 3.7 m2 sail on in a 10 mph wind and learn upwind 360 and switch stance helitack or piledrivers then gradually work up to bigger sails. Once you can do them with an 8 m2 sail with the hydrofoil attached then when you go out in a forecast of 12 mph to 14 mph average you can lift off with the foil but if the wind drops for a while you can still do the upwind 360s or pile drivers as a moderately amusing way to pass the time until the wind picks up again. Today i went for a forecast of 13 mph starting at 2 pm according to Met Office to try to get foiling. Arrived at spot - zero wind - got ready by 1.30 pm - still no wind - looking like i made a mistake - sat on beach for 10 minutes then breeze started, got on water and after another 10 minutes there was enough wind to lift off on foil - sadly only steady for 20 minutes but intermittently after that. At least there was enough wind to keep sailing and doing light wind freestyle for the whole session. I thought it was funny and hoped unbelievers on the beach were impressed by the wind turning up as if by magic. A WIN !

Good show Ben. When the wind is light and there are no waves, it’s hard to beat cruising the bay and practicing efficient sailing! Still satisfies “the need for speed”!!

I still wear my Neil Pryde Fred Haywood seat harness from the 80's. I've tried waist harnesses at times but always found the 'ride-up' to be intolerable. As well, it feels like I can lock my pelvis and legs into position and carry far more pull with the seat than the waist.

Back in the day a common set up was a much narrower waist combined with a small seat. It was light and flexible, pulled from the pelvis but allowed you to sit for blasting or lean for waves. Especially as a big rider, that made for good acceleration and planing plus jumps/waves.

I'm still not used to a waist harness... Mine is more like a bra harness after 10 minutes of sailing...

As others have commented, why not a seat harness? I have a few NP race harnesses (seat). The hook seems to be at about the same height and it will never ride up. The only usecase I see is when you have the waist but not the seat harness with you for whatever reason.

bit late to the show... but maybe you can help me mr. Proffitt. What is the difference between the monster 116 and the full slalom board?

Love it mate. Yes for me not a big set. Love this set.

Since two years I try a bit of speedsurfing, wearing a seat harness. Ergonomically, this makes a lot more sence, since the loads of the rig are on the buttocks, which consist of the two biggest muscles in the human body. Last week, in my first Défi Wind, I experienced no fatigue or pain in my back. (There were other problems though: no wind at the start on my 90 liter F2 SX and a lot of pressure on the back leg on the broad run on the way back to the 2nd mark. Breaking my mastfoot was another issue...)

Harness wave riding: Seat ( bernd roediger) vs waist Pros n cons 🎉🎉🎉🎉😊

Great Ben will try soon, just wandering, doesn’t the harness slip up tho? Cheerse

Ah, the twang round the mast 🙂 Is there a reason you don't see many people using seat harnesses these days? I always preferred them over waist harnesses. The feeling once you're locked in and fully powered up is so much more comfortable and controlled because of the lower centre of gravity. You can also apply more leverage, meaning you can take more wind because of it, IMO. Don't get me wrong once you're really firing you are generally going about as fast if not faster than the wind anyway, but I always felt the seat was the way to go, assuming you're not wave sailing.

Love this channel. What watches is everyone wearing while out on the water? Looking for stats, tow, 🤙

Great vid, I watched it all. What wind speeds was that?. Got me thinking to get the big gear back out again. I don't know why I don't.

3:09 canonball !! 😂

I use a kite hybrid waist Harness for years. So sorry that there are not many Brands produced them .

I started windsurfing in 1990 and used a seat harness exclusively until 2018/19 when I got a waist harness for 5.2m sails and smaller. It took me months to fully adjust technique. For foiling I use the waist harness, that was a no brainer. For 6m - 8.5m I still use a seat harness, but with loose leg straps to help manoeuvrability. Its a bit like your waist harness around the hips, but the leg straps and material under the bum stops the harness from slipping up. If I have used the waist harness for a number of consecutive sessions on small kit or foiling, going back to seat feels odd at 1st, but its better.

A comparison between the monster and 3xs would be very cool! I have the 106 monster and am wondering if I should switch to a proper slalom board.

Classic dismount Ben😂! Your timing was perfect 😆

In the 90s we had great seat harnesses that I find almost impossible to find good ones nowadays.

I’ve got a Ion hybrid harness (waist like harness with leg loops) really comfortable but sadly discontinued

After seeing Alex Mussolini do this I tried and have never looked back...I mainly sail waves and jump but hope more people can benefit :)❤ or should I say proffit from it :)😊

My trouble is that i dont have a waist for my waist harness to sit on...what i use is a beer gut harness...works perfectly but tends to ride up over the bump. If i use a seat harness i cant see the hook 😂

I watched till the end 🤪 And I always click like before I've even watched 5 seconds, just in case I close the tab and forget. Regarding the Defi, think of the pain. Watch your old video to remind yourself 😂🙃

At 3:06 you can see a real sender 🙃🤙 Nice Video Ben! Thank you for the tip i will try it out.

Like the bigger kit too. Was on my 7.5 twin cam and 72 wide and had a blast. Gotta say picked up some real nuggets from you in this video though…. Yeah my excuse game was a little weak and you really helped me out there. 😂

I just so some information about the XO Carbon Controll Liberty harness which looks like a lower waist harness, which actually looks like something you are trying to pursuit

Ben you are some lunatic! Do you ever stop talking 😂😂😂 Love it!!!

Thats epic ,sharing feelings when you windsurfing ,this kind of videos are giving some new blood for windsurf. And btw no pne can compare wing foil and windsurf .the only true thing is that board slide on the water and making noise . The other flying thing must got another name.......

Brave man Ben….“self“ experiments are always the best.Good luck for DELPHI

i remember when people changing back from seatharness to wasteharness. the reason was typical human mindlessness: "fashion" . magazines had mostly shots from waveriders with "cooler" wastehanesses and suddenly people got rid of seats. fashion over compfort. -.-

I used a seat harness for years , feels much batter to me, by the way when are we gonna see you at San Carlos for some real fun wave sailing ?

With what kind of device did you attach the Insta 360 to the mast 1.40

Btw i couldnt handle gusts with them arms o yours that stretched . 1cm shorter harness line any?

But Ben, you need longer harnass lines do you?

Haha love it

What fin was that? Ive got a blast 115 that could use a bigger fin.

Nice video, love this freestyle content

I want to see that spirit at the Defi.

still use one so comfortable never really got in to chest harness our chris call it a nappy dont know if you remember me and the wife we went to maui in 2000 with dave look after yourself dennis morton

Nice vlog ben 🤙🏼👍🏻

Fun video nice to see obes like this some times. I have always used a seat harness and love the support I get on my back. I can really channel the power through the rig. Admittedly I have only used a wave harness twice so not much experience to compare

I've never had a problem with the classic waist harness so have always just used that but will try out this loose waist harness setup. Also loved the bit about how to deal with chop (11:55), super helpful.

Another great video Ben. As an old school windsurfer with chronic back pain I am very much a seat harness user. But while I get that the waist harness is perfect for wave and freestyle, I don't see how it is better than the seat harness for what most of windsurfers like to do most of the time.. Go Blasting!😀

This may be better for the back

Eh Ben, you could try a seat harness without the leg straps on; you may get the same feeling. Then the harness won't be moving up and you won't have to readjust it while riding. Nice to see the spot where you live :)

Excellent video! It would be great if I could keep my waist harness lower. It tends to ride up as I go through the session and I need to wear it extra tight!

Nice

RE 2:17 good point. I find seat harness is more relaxing, takes strain off back for freeride / race sailing. Point-7 Team Black have a good design for seat harness, minimalistic and hook position can be adjusted to position high or low.

Always 👍🏻

I’d a liked you duck jibe that kit to get a bit a flow in those turns 😉.

I usually have my harness a bit higher up. It feels safer for me but I also don't really have a choice because I am really skinny so it automatically moves up. I still haven't had a proper opporunity to try out my new fin but on saturday it will change I hope

Been considering something seated a bit lower for iqfoiling. Anyone got any experience? I'm finding I have to put so much downforce it either rides up or I strain my back

ben is da best!

Try a liberty harness.

I always wore a seat harness for formula races. I couldn't imagine doing 40 km with a 10 meter sail using a waist harness in a formula race. But for regular sailing I use a waist harness because even a 2 hour session I rarely sail on one tack longer than 2 or 3 minutes. But for the Defi, why not a seat harness? There are only 3 jibes for each race so maneuverability shouldn't be an issue.

I still use a seat harness. Over the years I have tried various waist harnesses, but just find they all ride up and start to make it hard to breath. A seat harness is not as ‘cool’, but far better for me.

Are you not avoiding a seat harness at all costs?

Hi Ben, not clear what your problem with a seat harness fitted properly. The straps under your crotch stop the harness riding up I find this far more comfortable for this sort of sailing.

How about just use a seat harness? Several of the old balls pro sailers in my hood still use em.

sew into it a tanga with some clips at the front!

Firstly you should be running a seat harness, just better, then max line length 20 inch, sorted, now you will be having the time of your life

Seat harness only, 7,8 - 15-20kt & 6,6 - 20-30kt…. I ride with my butt and some of my back.

How come you never tried before ..slalom is slalom wave is wave say it musically ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WuM25U42tiQ.html Btw i couldnt handle gusts with them arms o yours that stretched . 1cm shorter harness line any?

This is our type of sailing; unfortunately we don't get many days over 25knts in Sydney so a lot time going fast on the big gear. I have been using the low end harness setup for over a year now on the big gear, it makes such a big difference taking the load out of the lower back. The fin rocks...

Ben which cam setup are you using? It's great. Thanks.

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