I have never tried a seat harness. My only other experience is with a 4 year old Naish waist harness. Though it kind of fit nicely like an old pair of extremely broken-in shoes, it was threadbare, so needed replacing. I tried a number of the major brands at local shops. Being new, they were stiff, but felt uncomfortable since they didn't fit my back and waist well.
I ordered the Ride Engine. I went all in...custom color and the Ride Engine spreader bar (as opposed to my own) and it ended up about $500. They mailed a plastic mold. You put it in the oven to soften then have someone mold it to your back as you lie face down. It's important to follow the directions carefully....lie flat and comfortably, don't arch your back one way or the other and for sure don't place it too low. I mailed it back and got my harness in 5 weeks. The mold is just a mold, it is not incorporated into the harness.
It looks really well built. I have a friend who got one a year before and his looked a little different. There seem to have been continual minor improvements. So, it looks custom for sure, but looks professionally made for sure. It is quite smaller top to bottom than my naish harness. The shell is hard....it has just a little flex. It looks and feels like it is carbon fiber or perhaps a carbon glass combo and epoxy resin (said to be with uv inhibitors). It wraps from side to side and with the stiffness....when you cinch it tight, it is really the padded bar that pulls into your belly rather than the sides pulling in. Even making it really tight, the shell doesn't noticeably change shape. This seems to be important because it fits snugly right against your back and sides. There is a very comfortable ...maybe 1 inch (2.5cm) of neoprene padding. (My friend's model had bare rubber closed neoprene...this newer version has a nylon lining on the neoprene.) The amount of padding and the tiny amount of flex are just enough to allow it to fit me well...and work the same...whether I wear a wet suit or not. (I submitted measurements that represented a compromise between the two).
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The spreader bar is flat, and has a spectra type slider rope to which you can directly attach a chicken loop. (or an optional release shackle for chicken loop or other setups).
The whole thing weighs about a third less than my other harness/bar.
It works best and feels best when you cinch it up quite tight. At first you think it is too tight but as soon as you try it both ways, it feels better the tighter it is.
Back pain. I had no pain before the Ride Engine and none since. Sorry, can't help you there.
For all practical purposes, this harness does not ride up. It stays where you put it. It feels funny and different at first but very soon (and after trying my old harness again), I really prefer the Ride Engine. I used to tighten the old harness so tight it squeezed...just to stop riding up. Then I would want it looser so it would rotate for toeside. But it always felt like a compromise. This feels snug in a perfect way. It never moves. It has enough padding and its smaller than usual size is such that it in no way inhibits your movement....even of the lumbar area....you can flex side to side and forward or lean back more. Doing that back extension in my old harness I would feel it at the top and bottom. For me all of this seems to be something I could only accomplish with a harness that is smaller (lower profile) than other harnesses, has more padding, yet the padding is on a hard shell...which exactly fits my back.
I just went out today for a long wave session in gusty winds. After I put the Ride Engine Harness on, I never touched it, adjusted it side to side or down or even thought about it again during the entire session. For that reason alone for me it was a bargain. I know some people will note the price is substantially higher than a standard factory made last year's model harness on sale. But given the really top end quality construction, custom fit, and ability to communicate with the builder/designer and the fact that it is made by a kiter in Santa Cruz, I think it is a bargain. I have spent 2 to 3 times that amount on boards and kites I rarely used and didn't like. This I use every session and I believe it will last a long time.
I modified the Ride Engine spreader bar to use with my Boardriding Maui Cloud control system bar....and don't use the slider now. I'll show that in another post.