Color code:

Good

So-So

Bad

Unknown

Advance / Impress

Jérôme Daoust

Jérôme: Ball buster. Ouch!

Jérôme: Easiest harness to get into, I have tried. Auto-slip into proper position.

Jérôme: 75% grade. Limited upright back angle but acceptable.

Jérôme: No

Jérôme: Front fairing (removable) with optional (zippered) mini-cockpit. Can use front ballast volume for extra storage.

Apco / Finesse Plus Cygnus Airbag

Deniz Erenler

Deniz: Staps are A PAIN. You have to fight with the lines while turning for backward inflation (launch). Difficult to look up

Deniz: Spectacular comfort + headrest.

Shoulder straps keep falling aside.

AVA sport / Cruiser

Jérôme Daoust + Jeroen van der Pol +

Jaromir Lahulek (dealer)

Jérôme: True leg straps.

Jérôme: Easy to get into.

Jeroen: Ultra comfortable with great back support.

Jérôme: Medium comfort, see extra info.

Jérôme: There is a system but it relies on riser tension.

Jaromir: there is a bungee cord functioning as retractor.

Jaromir: 17 cm.

Jaromir: Yes, I can remove the AustriAlpin steel carabiners it comes with.

Jérôme: Easy, but no supplied carabiners.

Jérôme: Long but small volume.

Jaromir: I fit all my stuff including tree kit. On left shoulder there is connecting hole for wires or water from storage compartment

Jérôme: Under the seat.

Jaromir: More options: On the back (decreases storage),On side (out of balance).

Jérôme: See extra info.

Jeroen: Could be lighter though. Bumps into your legs on the ground.

Jaromir: Cruiser is a more comfortable version of Integral.

AVA Sport / Tangra Cygnus

Bruce McGuigan

Not great.  Rode up.

Perfect.  The thigh attached leg straps made getting into it easy.  No wiggling required.

100% grade. Perfect.  Easy to adjust.  Sliding shoulder straps made changing angle easy.  Shoulder straps did flop around a bit, I made a chest strap for it.

Bruce: Yes, but it hung up twice and couldn't be fixed in flight. Doesn't work without riser tension.

Bruce: 17 cm + airbag.

Bruce: I guess you could.

Bruce: Huge storage volume.

Bruce: Mine had a front mount.  Side mount is available.

Spectacular storage.  The zippered rear airbag could even be used  as a glider stuff bag.

Excellent build quality. Fantastic protection.

NOT a weight-shifty harness but my favorite harness so far for its comfort, ease to get into, quality of contraction and storage.

AVA sport / Tangra Integral

Monica Mattos + Patrick Hudelot +

Bruce McGuigan

Monica: Amazing leg straps that are attached to the seat, improves weight shifting.

Monica: Really easy to seat, almost inevitable.

Monica: Really comfortable, good back support.

Angled seat board that makes you fit inside the harness

Patrick: Has a build it speed bar retractor.

Bruce: Speed bar retractor doesn't work without riser tension.

Patrick: 17 cm

Patrick: Storage is big. I can put easily my backpack, a camel bag, the radio + some clothes

Patrick: Parachute is located on the rear, almost under the seat.

AVA sport also supplies other manufacturers.

Patrick: You have one pocket on each side of the harness.

Model

Reviewer

Ground handling comfort. True legs strap please!

Easy entry after launch without using a footrest.

Comfortable cupping position in flight: Reclined seat board + Full back support.

Built-in speedbar retractor. Must not rely on riser tension (walking).

17+ cm back protection.

Can use quick-links instead of carabiners.

Big rear storage container

Reserve location

Weight. No reserve, footrest or speedbar.

But with back pro-tection and carabiners.

Extra comment.

Airwave / Ram Race

Jérôme Daoust

Excellent leg straps. But edge of long seat board can hit back of legs.

Requires ass squiggling to be 75% comfortable (matches most harness comfort). Seems to be getting easier with time. Pushing seat forward with hand then makes it very comfortable. Need to re-seat after using speedbar.

100% grade. Very comfortable when properly seated.

No

15 cm

Difficult to swap

I wish it was larger

Under the seat

Aerodynamic rear fairing. Made by AVA sport for Airwave? Back support straps slip open in flight. Lots of accelerator line travel. Full Review.

Charly / Tube

Peter Condick + Augusto Espinosa +

Geir Dyvik (dealer)

Geir: The harness comes with 3 different leg strap options. I tried the first option (true leg straps): No squeezed balls, guaranteed!

Peter: Getting into it after take off is very easy.

Augusto: Can slide in nicely.

Peter: I find it comfy, if I pack it carefully.

Augusto: OK for short flights but after 2+ hours my back was aching and I felt exhausted.

Geir: Very good comfort in flight for my body.

Peter: No stirrup or anything fancy to retract the speed bar

Geir: Designed by Charly, but produced by AVA sport.

Critter / Anarchy

Dennis

Not true leg straps.

Hard to get into + Need to get re-seated after a maneuver.

Gin Gliders / Genie 3

Jérôme Daoust

Jérôme: No true leg straps.

Jérôme: Yes

Jérôme: Yes

Jérôme: Under the seat.

Scotty Farnsworth likes his.

Gin Gliders / Gingo

JC Brown + Klaus Wagner + Susan Kent + Karl Wales

Klaus: Leg straps were great.

Susan: I have to wiggle butt to get into it.

JC: Very comfortable

Klaus: Great back support, weight shift was not bad.

Karl: Yes, does not rely on riser tension.

Klaus: build quality looks excellent, I like the reserved mounted underneath the seat and there is ample storage space.

High Adventure / ?

Ki2Fly

Anon

Ball buster.

No

Side protection. New for 2005.

Kortel Design / Karma

Harri Seppi

Model

Reviewer

Ground handling comfort. True legs strap please!

Easy entry after launch without using a footrest.

Comfortable cupping position in flight: Reclined seat board + Full back support.

Built-in speedbar retractor. Must not rely on riser tension (walking).

17+ cm back protection.

Can use quick-links instead of carabiners.

Big rear storage container

Reserve location

Weight. No reserve, footrest or speedbar.

But with back pro-tection and carabiners.

Extra comment.

Mac Para / XCL

Hugh Miller

Hugh: Good. True leg straps and I had no comfort or ball busting issues

Hugh: OK. I easily get about 90% of the way in, but rely on the stirrup to get myself fully in.

Hugh: Reclined seat board + Full back support. Great. More adjustments then you could shake a stick at and no problems with comfort on long flights.

Hugh: Yes, excellent system, on elastic cords to run along stirrup and easy to find in flight.

Hugh: 16 cm

Hugh: I guess you could. It comes supplied with fitted carabiners.

Hugh: OK, but not great. I can fit all my kit for a day on the hill in here, but you'd be struggling to fit more in.

Hugh: Under seat.

Hugh: Very sensitive and responsive to weight shift.

Sky Paragliders / Revel

Bruce McGuigan

Bruce: Good for round handling.

Bruce: Relative easy if the seat board angle is adjusted properly.

Bruce: 90% grade. Very adjustable harness and very easy to adjust in flight.  Sliding should straps for easy position change

Bruce: Yes.  Works well and the harness is delivered with a speed bar. Works great without riser tension

Bruce: 17 cm

Bruce: I guess you could.

Bruce: Storage good (easy to get pack and extra stuff in there).

Bruce: Reserve location is under seat, left or right side handle (flap system, very quick to deploy).

Bruce: Weight shift is good, and the chest strap opens wide if you want to make it very weight shifty.  Build quality is good.  The cowl support has Velcro and a hinge, making it easy to pack up the harness.  Storage is good. I am involved with Sky, for what its worth.

Skyline / Phase

Bernhard Greindl + Øyvind Osdal

Øyvind: Great.

Bernhard: Very good to get seated.

Bernhard: Very comfortable.

Skyline / Core

Bernhard Greindl

Very good to get seated.

Very comfortable.

Sol / CX

Bruce McGuigan + Svein Harris Bjørneseth

Bruce: Regular leg straps (attached to seat board). IF using a helmet with long rear pointy shape: Cowl hits you in the head while reverse ground handling.

Bruce: Not easy for me.  Needed the stirrup.

Svein: Entry after launch is elegant. You do not need a stirrup if you can move the ass just a little.

Bruce: 100%. Very comfortable Very adjustable harness, but very difficult to adjust in flight.

Bruce: No

Svein: 14 cm.

Bruce: I've seen quick-links used on it.

Bruce: OK storage (storage is never great on these kinds of harnesses).

Bruce: Under seat configuration for reserve (pocket with compressed foam to aid extraction).

Bruce: OK storage. Nice to be able to add a canoe for that serious racer look.  Good service from Sol (custom colors and configuration). Great ballast container. Very weight-shifty.  Can open the chest strap really wide.

Sol / Slider

Georges Abitbol

Georges: True leg straps.

Georges: easy to sit in without stirrup

Georges: Very confortable, quite weightshifty (low hangpoints).

Georges: No

Georges: 14 cm back protector plus, if you want, a zipped airbag and side protectors.

Georges: Storage is average (enough for Nova bag + accessories).

Georges: in a drawer under seat.

Georges: Delivered with a stirrup. Bulky and a little heavy.

Model

Reviewer

Ground handling comfort. True legs strap please!

Easy entry after launch without using a footrest.

Comfortable cupping position in flight: Reclined seat board + Full back support.

Built-in speedbar retractor. Must not rely on riser tension (walking).

17+ cm back protection.

Can use quick-links instead of carabiners.

Big rear storage container

Reserve location

Weight. No reserve, footrest or speedbar.

But with back pro-tection and carabiners.

Extra comment.

Sup'Air / Alti XC

Alan Hume

Ground handling is fine.

The seat angle can be adjusted so it scoops you up with no hands on launch

Comfortable with lots of in air adjustment possible.

Alan: Yes

Jérôme: Does it work without riser tension?

Protection is Cygnus airbag. Careful not to put your foot into the Cygnus hole while feeling for speed bar.

Seat plate rotates forwards so standing up on approach is easy. Great for walking: Very light and packs down small. Negative: The reserve pouch gapes a bit.

Sup'Air / Cocoon

Paul Pelle +

Philippe Renaudin (dealer)

Paul: Ok, but tightened leg straps for easy entry after launch reduces ground handling comfort (still good).

Philippe: True leg straps.

Paul: OK, with tightened straps near the knee), but you still can use help from hands or footrest.

Paul: OK, you can sit upright (but high CG creates instability), or completely supine (with correct footrest settings).

Paul: There is a bungee going through 2 little weak rings on the speedbar (not the best). Instead, I attached a bungee between the speedbar and the straps below the main carabiners, which works fine.

Paul: 12 cm

Paul: you could use any, but there's not too much space in the main strap rings

Paul: Big enough for the stuff and water, but situated in the upper part of the harness, so adding mass there can rotate the pilot backwards.

Paul: Under the seat, but you can't switch the handle to other side.

Paul: 5.7 kg (12.5 lb)

Paul: I have the 2003 version (similar to current). Aerodynamic shape if you lean horizontally with fully stretched legs. Weight-shift is good (not the best). No space for ballast (bad solution is the high+rear container). Not enough back protection (12 cm) but it's an XC or comp harness. You can ignore the shoulder-not-to-fall strap and the t-bar if you want

Sup'Air / Evo XC

Jérôme Daoust + Mark Harrah + Philippe Renaudin (dealer)

Mark: Comfortable + edge of seat.

Jérôme: Webbing is only 1.125" wide + no padding (same as on Profeel XC 2).

Mark: Easy, not much squiggling needed, you slide in.

Jérôme: Excellent (same as Profeel XC 2). Able to slide in without squiggling. Even if leg straps loose if front seat strap is raised with adjuster straps.

Web: Seat plate angle adjustment with trim buckles

Mark: Extremely comfortable.

Jérôme: Excellent. Able to separately adjust middle and lower (lumbar) back  through separate straps, then top with shoulder strap.

Philippe: Yes, same as the Profeel XC (Picture).

Mark: Works well.

Jérôme: Works, but internal bungee length is only about 15" (shorter than Profeel XC 2).

Jérôme: 17 cm. Does not have the external plastic sheet like the Profeel XC 2.

Jérôme: Easy.

Jérôme: Too small. Very tight fit for rucksack alone.

Mark: Can put thin-fabric rucksack + flight suit.

Web + Jérôme: Under seat. Left or right handle.

Mark: Bought mine around April 2005. I'm 6'1" and have a Large, which fits like a glove.

Jérôme: Extra info.

Sup'Air / Profeel XC 2 - 2005

Jérôme Daoust + Philippe Renaudin (dealer)

Philippe: True leg straps.

Jérôme: Webbing is only 1.125" wide + no padding (same as on Evo XC).

Jérôme: Excellent (same as Evo XC). Able to slide in without squiggling. Even if leg straps loose if front seat strap is raised with adjuster straps.

Jérôme: Excellent. Able to separately adjust middle and lower (lumbar) back  through separate straps, then top with shoulder strap.

Philippe: Yes. Picture. Works without riser tension.

Jérôme: Works. Internal bungee length is about 24".

Jérôme: 17 cm. Options: Twintex (plastic) anti-penetration plate, side protectors.

Jérôme: Easy.

Jérôme: Easy to insert my thick + big Nova rucksack (made by AVA Sport and similar to a Sky Paragliders / Porter).

Jérôme: Under seat. Left or right handle with separate internal reserve pockets. Flap covers whole reserve ( against dirt + abrasion). 2 shoulder-to-container straps.

Web: New for 2005: A more rigid back and a new reserve container.

Jérôme: Extra info.

Nova/Tattoo speed range has no spare travel margin as 1^st side grommet would prevent further extension.

Sup'Air Radicale

Bruce McGuigan

Rides up.  Hard to weight shift.

Very easy to get into (Split seat, legs attached to harness at thigh).

50% grade. Not great for big guys.  One size does not fit all.  About 1/2 an hour was all I could stand.

No

Speed system needed pullies, so I put them on.

A good hike and fly harness if it fits you.

Model

Reviewer

Ground handling comfort. True legs strap please!

Easy entry after launch without using a footrest.

Comfortable cupping position in flight: Reclined seat board + Full back support.

Built-in speedbar retractor. Must not rely on riser tension (walking).

17+ cm back protection.

Can use quick-links instead of carabiners.

Big rear storage container

Reserve location

Weight. No reserve, footrest or speedbar.

But with back pro-tection and carabiners.

Extra comment.

Swing / Connect

Jeroen van der Pol

Not too much of a bother when ground handling.

Very easy to get into.

Excellent comfort with good back support.

Also a "light version" with the same functionality.

Wills Wing / Works

James Bradley

James: The leg straps are GREAT, almost horizontal. No "equipment" trouble.

James: I just rock back and scooch a little, no footstrap, no need to touch the risers.

James: Extremely weight-shifty in stock trim, built for a large booty. I narrowed my seat board. I find the harness comfortable though I would like a support behind my head to rest my neck on long flights.

James: Yes. Some elastic in the side sleeves of the harness, with little pulleys, that is supposed to pull the bar back in. I found it was twisting and adding friction, and I didn't see that I needed it (because of the second system) so I took those pulleys out of the loop.

James: A problem is the shoulder straps going to thin webbing too soon in the front, cutting my shoulders when I straighten after bending over while standing. I am taller than the design height for large, which is a factor. This problem will go away in the next iteration of the harness.

Side mounted reserve, comes out very easily with one hand but does not fall out easily if you snag your handle and pull the pin on launch. Excellent speed bar retainer.

Gradient / Compact

Jiri Stipek (dealer)

No separate legs strap.

Happy

Happy

Made by Woody Valley, also sold as the Genie 2 (added apron and waist strap).

Woody Valley / Peak

Brian Steele + Andrew Craig

Brian: Very mild ball grabbing tendency as the leg straps are well padded.

Brian: It's easy to get into and has a longish, snug seat plate.

Brian: Gin / Genie comfort but with a rake adjustment and about 4 kg less.

Andrew: It has a system. It does not depend on riser tension.

Brian: Airbag + high density foam. A similar product is the Swing Connect Light. A friend has fitted a stirrup to his peak, but be careful not to obstruct the reserve deployment area - run the stirrup inside the rake adjustment webbing.