Busted Rib

[wardr77]

Took a pretty bad crash about 7 weeks ago resulting in a fractured rib, its now repaired but sticks out and doesn't look particularly great. Went back out on the water the other day for the first time and realised that the waist harness may have contributed the break, the left edge of the harness spreader sits right on the lump/fracture point and is not comfortable at all. So now thinking about going to a seat, in particular the Ion B2's. Question I have is, can you still knock out the rolls and loops with a seat safely or is it quite prohibitive doing these kind of moves compared to a waist?

Thanks in advance!

[iriejohn]

Borrow a seat harness and see how it goes. 5 years ago I broke 4 ribs at Brands Hatch racing bikes and even now the ribs don't feel as good as before, they're far more sensitive to pressure. I use an Ion Echo because of previous back damage and it's low enough not to put any pressure on the lower ribs. Good luck.

[Matteo V]

Question I have is, can you still knock out the rolls and loops with a seat safely or is it quite prohibitive doing these kind of moves compared to a waist?

Yes, they are slightly different in feeling given the physics of a lower hook point. But you can do pretty much anything with a seat that you can with a waist. Will you (personally) like the difference in feeling???? Post back after a year of riding a seat and let us know.

[junebug]

Same thing happened to me about 8 years ago. I’ve been riding a Dakine Nitrous boardshorts harness for twintip since. I have found that it is harder to pull your legs up for board grabs, but I don’t think it inhibits rotations. It will take a little while to get used to the lower attachment point, but there are advantages to that, including being able to hold more kite down because you can sit against the kite rather than having to engage your abs and back.

[cleepa]

I can't really speak to rotations, etc from personal experience, but it seems like there's loads of people that can throw down just fine with shorts or a seat harness! A few years ago I had some back issues (different - herniated disk) and switched from a waist harness to the DaKine Nitrous shorts. I hated them - my hips felt a lot more restricted than with a waist harness. For wave riding I found it really annoying. That motivated me to finish making my own custom fit carbon shell harness. Works really great for me. It's not difficult to make one, but no guarantees that it would work for your broken rib. It's possible that a custom fit around it would solve your problems, or it's possible that when your torso bends and twists you might still have pressure on the problem rib. If you like making stuff, it's a fun project!

[FLandOBX]

Question I have is, can you still knock out the rolls and loops with a seat safely or is it quite prohibitive doing these kind of moves compared to a waist?

Yes, they are slightly different in feeling given the physics of a lower hook point. But you can do pretty much anything with a seat that you can with a waist.

+1. This. ^^

A seat harness won't restrict rolls, loops or any other trick. As Matteo says, some tricks will feel different. For example, it's easier to lay out a REALLY LOW darkslide with a waist harness, because the hook point is higher up on your body as you lay out. A good powered raley is easier with a waist harness for the same reason. But other tricks (e.g., a powered back roll) will be easier with a seat harness. My guess is that you'll get used to a seat harness and learn to love it (especially since it'll take some pressure off that broken rib).

[junebug]

Toeside will be more of a challenge with a seat/shorts. The lower attachment point and fact that a seat/shorts doesn’t rotate around your waist makes toeside tougher and not as much fun, IMO. I ride toeside >50% of the time foiling, and I don’t jump with my foil, so I use a waist harness for foiling.

[FLandOBX]

Toeside will be more of a challenge with a seat/shorts. The lower attachment point and fact that a seat/shorts doesn’t rotate around your waist makes toeside tougher and not as much fun, IMO.

Totally agree with this. Whether it's seat or waist, I like to wear harnesses very loose for easier rotation. But the leg straps on a seat harness definitely limit the amount of rotation the harness can achieve.

[knotwindy]

Seat harness with a rope slider? I’ve used shorts harness with busted ribs, works fine even with rotations although they do feel a bit different. But I also go back to my waist harness when I can to free up the motion of my hips & legs for waves.

[runner1]

Question I have is, can you still knock out the rolls and loops with a seat safely or is it quite prohibitive doing these kind of moves compared to a waist?

Yes, they are slightly different in feeling given the physics of a lower hook point. But you can do pretty much anything with a seat that you can with a waist.

+1. This. ^^

A seat harness won't restrict rolls, loops or any other trick. As Matteo says, some tricks will feel different. For example, it's easier to lay out a REALLY LOW darkslide with a waist harness, because the hook point is higher up on your body as you lay out. A good powered raley is easier with a waist harness for the same reason. But other tricks (e.g., a powered back roll) will be easier with a seat harness. My guess is that you'll get used to a seat harness and learn to love it (especially since it'll take some pressure off that broken rib).

I agree with most of this, but do not understand the Raley comment. Surely once you are unhooked the hook height is irrelevant for the trick? Hooking back in is easier with a waist though, and I find it easier to judge how much to trim before unhooking with a waist harness.