BayAreaKiteboarding.com

Anyone have any experiences to share about Engine Harnesses?
https://shop.ride-engine.com/

I am looking to buy a new harness and these guys are local and seem to be doing a great job. Plus the gear is not much more $$$ than from the major brands.

I'd be interested to hear about
- quality of fit
- reliability
- using their carbon fiber spreader bar + hook vs. spreader bars from other manufacturers
- weight

Thanks, bay area kiteboarding hive mind.
DW

I've had my Engine harness for about 3-4 months, 20+ sessions so far and I’m stoked on the harness, would never switch back. Not sure if you are aware of the process, but it’s not like an impersonal online order. It’s a custom just for you thing. And don’t try to demo your friends, it won’t fit.

To get that custom fit the Engine mascot Birdlet Curtis will mail a plastic mold that you heat up in the kiln. It’s kinda frightening to put hot plastic on your back, but it feels really good and it relaxing while you wait for it to cool and harden. Then you courier the mold back to Santa Cruz and the elves go to work. At this point you can have it painted if you are lucky enough to know/be an artist, my buddy Drew Brophy painted mine. I have a wave slider bar from Dynabar, so a few weeks later when the harness was ready I went to Santa Cruz to pick up the harness and Coleman made a custom flap to hold the Dynabar in place, while I waited. The flaps work perfect. I pulled up the edge of the flap to try to show how this works: The buckles I took off my old da kine harness, be careful to remember to buckle both sides of the slider each session, the fit is so snug I don’t notice when they are unbuckled: The result is the fit is really really good. I tried to take a pic to show the subtle curves in lower back section on the harness, kinda hard to see in a pic, but the whole lower back section of the harness is a mold of my lower back, covered with some soft neoprene: So yea, I highly recommend getting one, I'd let you try mine, but due to the custom fit on this one you have to jump in and find out for yourself.

Like a tattoo or good Ed Hardy tee-shirt it looks like that thing fits like a glove