I generally sail with a seat harness but Ive been trying a demo mystic waist harness.The waist is certainly easier to hook in & out of & sail in the classic 7 stance.All the info in forums etc seem to be aligned to suit waist harnesses.
Anyway..now I know why noone else seems to use a buoyancy vest @#$ [}:)]
.I couldnt find anyway to tie the stupid thing down & whenever I fell in it was up around my ears & made waterstarts & everything almost impossible.I ended up coming in & switching back to the seat harness with slimline vest that I have clipped down onto it.
With the waist harness I was using a yellow zip up boating vest which was shorter but more volumous.I couldnt use my slimline ski vest as it was too long & would go down over the hook. I use a vest to aid waterstarting + its a legal requirement here although I dont know how often the MSB come around.
If it's a slimline Ski Vest - Try putting it under the Waist harness... We have to do it that way (kiting) if we want to put a vest on...
Certainly looks more slimline than the bulky vests I have!Once the gear is dry from yesterdays session Ill try the waist harness on over the slimline vest or try the other vest+ see if i can rig a strap under the hook .
Do the pryde jackets above have a hydration pack to suite.The reason i ask is i have just bought a 3lt oz trail hydration pack and when trying it on with my vest noticed what appears to be attachment points on the rear and one on the shoulder strap for the hose to attach to.I intend to try the pack as is with straps over my vest first but am a little concerned the front strap may ride up under my chin and the arm straps could cut in under my arms,has anyone had any experience with these packs?
I dont think the NP vest takes a hydration pack.
They are definitely a great thing. Wouldnt go out without mine on - makes water starts easier and if something was to go wrong you save a lot of energy with the added buoyancy
if ya chuck a spray jacket or a rash shirt over the top of ya jacket and then put ya harness on .. the elastic on bottom of jacket or rashy hold ya vest down and in close to ya body tight
I like the idea of the NP vest but I have to get the $ to buy the waist harness first 
..that might be 6months down the track..& then maybe the vest although as I already have 2 others I resent having to buy a 3rd..so i suppose the first step is to see if I can get what I have to work.Mind you Xmas is on the way isnt it?.....
I also like the sound of the camel back..its a real pain to work your way upwind ready to have some fun but then need to go back to the start to get a drink..
The other option SBoardcrazy is to buy a Neil Pryde impact vest. Its a chest harness with a higher hook than a seat harness. It gives good floatation, has a quick release system incase of getting tangled up with the harness lines. It gives support to your back and midriff.
The only real minuses are the price and the fact it doesn't have a little pocket to put your keys like the old Da Kine harnesses do.
I tried the harness over the slimline ski vest & it might be a goer but I wasn't strong enough to clip the hook system in so i might have to try & find someone to help when I'm rigging up.Though most of the time Im the only one out sailing.Also I suspect it is hard to do up because its at a funny angle due to the padding of the vest underneath which makes me wonder if it will stay done up under load..?
