I thought these 'body armour' harnesses were new but apparently they have been around for a while
. Not to worry! Im all primed for this road test report now so here it is anyhow?
Living up to my forum tag very aptly I trialled this little no. as brutally as possible on the hook in the store. Up, down, sideways, swinging, bouncing & even 1/2 inverted. It felt good. Good enough even to purchase - once the sphincter got over the price tag.
Full water trial this am at Pt. Walter and I am impressed. A bit bulky on shore but it all but disappears once its wet. It wasnt an overpowered day but it was hell gusty and there was very little pressure on my back at all even with the inconsistent, fairly violent at times, tugging. Side panels felt tight all the time but didnt bite-in under load or cramp one side when the load went sideways.
The belt/bar system allows the spreader to slide from side to side quite a distance. This 'feature' supposedly allows the body to maintain a more balanced consistent central stance ; make toe-side type riding moves simpler and fast surf turns easier & more controllable?? I'm not convinced of this feature? yet. It feels kinda wierd having a loaded up spreader sliding sideways across your gut but this may just take a bit of getting used to before the advantages can be realised? The standard Dakine spreader bar supplied with the vest harness is even smaller than the surefire bar I used so this bar movement from one side of your waist to the other would be even greater in its off-the-shelf design.
(The theory sounds reasonable but I wouldn't mind some replies from experienced kiters on the practice of this sliding spreader). I figured that if I dont like the 'gut slider' option after giving it a fair trial it's a simple mod to permanently fix the spreader centrally on the belt anyhow.
Floatation was good. I was able to lay back in the water without effort or kite assistance. I didnt try any huge airs or kiteloops in the gusts today
but I didnt notice any riding up at all, which surprised me having come out of a seat harness. I did do a few vertical boosts on the beach at the end of the session as a bit of a test with the same positive result. It pulled up a bit when loaded, obviously, but not once needed to be man-handled back down to normal fitted position.
I also chose not to orchestrate any high impact slam-dunk water tests just yet but for the sake of this road test I did try a few head-on & side-on body slams into a tree in the carpark
Cant say I didnt feel it but I bounced off unhurt. (reckon I had the two power-walking passer-bys wondering whether I needed a padded vest or a padded cell
). The padding looks & feels good. Im sure when the inevitable happens next it will provide sufficient pain insulation for me to appreciate it being there.
And as for the price. It is a lot-o-bucks but if you compare it to the cost of a good waist or seat harness combined with the cost of a good impact vest its gotta be really good value. Perhaps even the cheaper WTG? And, in my experience, impact vests and harnesses just dont get along well together at all - constant hassle for space.
Overall - Im pretty stoked. It feels comfy & safe & I do like to float.
IMHO - well worth a good look if your committed to using an impact vest.
Disclaimer :
I am not a shop. I paid full shop price & this is not a paid promo.
I am not sponsored by anyone - but I am open to offers on that one
.
AND its strictly an IMO & a 'for-what-its-worth' comment.
Im not an experienced expert whose trialled a hundred brands & styles. Im just a simple puppet (desperately trying to get some control of the strings) who would have liked to read all of that from someone else before forking out the bucks myself. Please feel free to correct me on anything that might be wrong (hey Id like to know too!)
I reckon it would be great if we got regular independent 'road tests' on the forum. And why not? We spend all day on the beach talking gear why not here where we can all listen in? I for 1 would read them all.
Got any new stuff I want to know about ??
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"He who enjoys most - WINS"
