Anyone tried a Nitrous Seat Harness?

mdh01 · Post by **mdh01** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 8:29 am

It's time to replace my Dakine seat harness.

Looks like the waist harnesses are much more popular for kiting, and I agree they are more comfortable while on the beach, but I like the support the seat harness offers.

I'm thinking about a Dakine Nitrous Harness. Anyone have experience with them and how they compare to a standard seat harness?

Mark

Tighe · Post by **Tighe** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 10:06 am

I like mine a lot. I too like the lower hook height. The waist harnesses are nice if you have a V shaped torso and can keep them down. They always rode up on me. I've heard one of the better waist harnesses is the Mystic since it has a lower strap that cups your love handle region. Didn't do the trick for me though.

Anyway about the Nitrous. They are a bit minimal in padding department. Not uncomfortable. Over a wetsuit is fine, but sometimes in the summer I'll wear a pair of neoprene shorts under them. I like having my whole upper body unrestricted. I don't use the retention screw on the side clip so I can undo the bar when on shore.

Highly recommend the spreader bar pad as well to stabilize the spreader bar. Also a good idea to throw it in the water before tightening the straps, it'll stay tighter. (true with all harnesses)

highly recommend them

steveb · Post by **steveb** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 11:03 am

I have the mystic and nitrous. I've been nursing a back injury that just won't heal ( old fartitis) and have found changing from one system to the other depending on how the back feels has helped a great deal.
The nitrous is minimalist, not huge in the support like ,say, a fusion seat, but it's comfortable. I also always wear it on the windier days as it works beter with a life jacket. If the winds up I get out the bobber and it's not as comfortable with the waist so I wear the shorts.
I also like that they take up less room when your travelling.They fold smaller as they're not as stiff as a seat or waist harness. So flying down to Padre staying under the weight limit you could even get them in a back pack.
The only negative is the metal around the lace eyelets at the waist seem to rust, and one day I'm sure will pull out. But mine are 2 seasons old and they have not done it yet.
For a waist harness I really like the Mystic, personally I think it's a huge improvement over the dakine I used before. But like Tighe says a lot of it's body shape, the mystic stays put and is comfortable for me.

darlene · Post by **darlene** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 2:34 pm

I too have both the Nitrous & Mystic (women's versions). If you buy a Mystic, buy it small, becuase it stretches out & is now riding up more than at first. The Nitrous have more back support, but it's hard to ride toe-side & probably impossible to ride blind, plus they ride up & give you a snuggie when you jump a lot. They will wear out faster than a normal harness, there's a hole in my shorts, but that's cosmetic only & doesn't affect the performance. Like Tighe says, you need a spreader bar pad, I didn't have one at first & the harness kept coming unhooked when doing toeside transitions. When I start to get chafing or discomfort from one harness, I switch to the other. For Padre, I couldn't last long if I didn't have both.

Darlene

tyson · Post by **tyson** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 10:05 pm

personally, i tried the nitrous for awhile and i really don't like it. even when i reamed it as tight as possible, the 'belt' part of it would always flip up and just cause terrible pain. the whole thing would never stay down at my waist, it'd always ride up and cause much discomfort to my... well, yeah. waist harnesses are the way to go for me.

djmadmike · Post by **djmadmike** » Mon Nov 19, 2007 9:59 am

I have one and I love it and would recommend giving it a shot.

Steve B--are you and Nancy going to be in Padre Turkey day onward? I will be down there starting this Wed so look me up and we can try some exercises for your low back. I think your ankle is the first place I would check.

My cell is 763 458 1756.

If anyone is interested while you are in Padre, ring me up or if I am not riding, flag me down at the beach--just look for the 6'3" blond haired guy flying a Waroo or Cab. Anything I can do to help people keep riding.

Rock on and can't wait to see everyone soon! Whoooo ha.
Mike N

Michael T. Nelson MS, CSCS
PhD Student, Kinesiology, U of MN
Z Health, R,I, and T Phase certified
Russian Kettlebell Certified Instructor (RKC)
"Using Science to Get You Results Fast"
http://miketnelson.blogspot.com and http://www.mikeTnelson.com

steveb · Post by **steveb** » Mon Nov 19, 2007 11:10 am

Michael, thanks for the offer. We're decided not to go down this fall, tough decision which we keep revisiting, but so far we're being good and staying home.