OR Sessions vs. Mystic Warrior harness

[ramsey]

Holy crap......You guys sold me. Hello Evan send me one of those mystic harnesses. I've got the dakine fusion too, and I need some more mobility in the lower region.

I got a mystic 5:3 suit. That thing is warm. Pretty stretchy. I still have a little trouble in the shoulders, but I think thats my problem with every suit. Lower half is as comfortable as a 3:2 suit. And the water channel things actually work.

[genek]

Thanks for the info guys. The prices are somewhat shocking. The Warrior retails for $189 (and it's just a waist harness), and the Firestarter is even more at around $229 I think. I remember when a high end harness cost $100, and the spreader bar/pad that's included with these harnesses doesn't quite cover the difference. I guess now they're using space age materials developed by NASA that cost twice as much

Seriously though Bobbyboom, what's the difference between the warrior and firestarter that drives the price up? Can a harness really be worth over $200?

[bobbyboom]

Honestly, I do feel the price of Mystic's gear is too high. I think they put a lot of work into the design and materials which obviously drive up the costs. When you see the Mystic stuff there are tons of great bells and whistles on them.

Here's a mini review of the Mystic Firestarter harness based on my dozen or so sessions on it:

My Dakine Fushion harness got ridden to death last season and is pretty much done so I needed a new harness. When I went to Live2Kite to purchase the Warrior I talked to Evan and he told me about the firestarter. To me it is a much "slimmer" design than any other harness I've ever seen, it is a bit heavy despite it being smaller (weighs as much as my fusion). I've ridden a liquid force waist harness and notice it rode up like MAD and I was constantly adjusting it pulling it down when I was riding. The Firestarter has a material and texture on the inside that holds it closer to your body and dramatically reduces sliding. Also the spreader bar strap that holds it down is heavenly (not sure if the Warrior has this, but I would pay more just for this feature alone as it is simply genius) as this strap holds the spreader bar down so that it does not ride up into your chest like other waist harnesses I've tried. The spreader bar "hook" is surprisingly small but works great for unhooked riding which I'm just starting to do.

All in all I don't know if it's worth $229 but I'm loving this harness. I'm sure you could go with something else and be just as happy. For me I wanted to try out a waist harness to see how much more mobility it gave and the difference is pretty big. Lowerback support is big for me, too and I feel the firestarter has a TON of back support built in and I've never felt sore after kiting, nor the day after using this harness which is pretty huge to me! I hope the price reflects in materials that last longer and hold up better. I will see in due time.

I don't necessairly need "the latest gear" but I'm pretty new to the sport so everything I buy is generally the "latest." I hope this helps out?

-Bobby

[genek]

Thanks a lot Bobby. That does help, although most of the things you described seem to be on the other harnesses too. The Warrior definitely has the Spreader bar Down System (the strap under it) that helps the bar from riding up, as do many of the Mystic harnesses I believe. Not sure about the material on the inside and back support, but the 06 Warrior I demoed was fairly comfortable for a waist harness, and the mobility was definitely better than my Fusion. Might get a Mystic harness and see what new moves it'll help me with. Not sure still about which one to get...the Warrior might be a safe bet (since I tried last year's) if I can't make it to the North Bay to try them on.

-Gene

[bobbyboom]

Yeah, the Warrior is solid for sure. I was very close to getting it. That was what I had already decided on until I saw the firestarter. Overall the Warrior has more "padding" and is bigger which does feel more "solid." I think the firestarter is the colsest thing I've ridden to feeling like you have full freedom, however most waist harnesses do feel more freeing anyways. All the best and I hope to see you on the water going big no matter what harness you have. Enjoy!

-Bobby