hmm... unless you know what you want, you cannot really "measure". If you are a small-clothing fit, you will be small-harness fit.

The best solution:
1. walk into windsurf shop.
2. try on various seat-harnesses.
3. purchase the one that is most comfortable (note: dont buy it if it doesn't fit)
4. go sailing.


... I thought there might be a "profit" in there, but it didn't turn out that way.

There are lots of brands and styles of harness and the best one is the one which suits your shape. Fit, especially back support is really important.
Go into a windsurf shop and try them all on and buy the one which fits best regardless of price.

windysmile said..

can somebody help me chose a seat harness for windsurfing.
Hurt my rib on the last year rides because I was hanging too
lateral over the water. Was forced to ride the rest of the time
with a borrowed sit harness. Do not know wear to measure on the body
to get the right size. I am XS in cloths, 4-6 size,
but the chart I found for sit harness suggests to buy XL harness. I am confused
Will appreciate some help.

Thank you all for your advise, yes I am a girl. Will check in the shops,
the problems is they rarely have XS size, but I see how important is to fit
so I will risk it, doing on the iland without a harness and buying one there.
I thought of bying online, but it seems not a good idea
seeing your replies. Thanks once more

I tend to agree about trying one in the shop. Theyre like wetties.... they need to fit perfectly (though harnesses have a lot more adjustment), and like wetsuits I imagine each brand's S, M, L, XL etc are all very different.

You could buy it online at a cheaper price once you know what you want, but I personally prefer being perochial regardless of where the item was manufactured... support your local sailing shop!

I spose youve been keeping an eye out for another chick and asking to try hers, or what about asking a boy if you can try his on? Im sure they wouldnt mind.

Are you talking US clothing sizes? ...4-6 is tiny and could no way equate to even a medium let alone an XL.

You probably need one ASAP right? If you do buy online then I imagine these stores are quite used to offering sizing advice, and no doubt would accept returns/swaps as long as it hasnt been used.

I love my seat harness... never been a fan of waist harness that ride up... not to mention a sh1t tan.

Mine's in the back of the wagon, but I'll go down and checkout what brand/model it is, coz its super comfortable, and let you know what size it is compared to my fat 35"waist . Hopefully that will give you an idea, but....

going in girls sizes, like 4, 6, 8, 10 etc isnt going to help you much when, unfortunately, most of the gear is goibg to be in mens or boys sizing. Youre going to have to face the music and measure your waist in inches.. however, by the sounds of it you wont need to sit down with a scotch and rethink your diet ;)

Windxtasy said..

There are harnesses especially designed for women and girls, in women's sizes (and colours!).

LOL..... I have doubt there are. However, shes clearly having trouble finding something along the lines of your post or thats suitable for her small lady frame.... shes asked for advice on a predominently male forum. Im a guy, so cant offer much in the way of womens apparel (that would be appropriate to post anyway). Perhaps you could post a link or offer something a little more tangible?

I also imagine the range and availability of mens harnesses are far greater and probably better because they dont prey on the marketing hype that seems to typically get bundled with womens fashion... at the expense of a good quality, practical poduct.

Youre also making a somewhat sexist comment wrt "womens colour". Does that disclude black, which is the colour of my mens seat? Im curious.... what are womens colours?

The best advice I can offer is....

I use a Prolimit brand Freewave seat. Im a 35" waist and my harness is a size M, with 32-34" waist clearly printed on the inside. Its a fantastically comfortable harness with a removable/adjustable gel pad for lumbar support. It doesnt ride up, doesnt cover half my lower back, is probably more adjustable than the specified waist circumference and Im really happy with it for around AUD100.

In general, mens sizes go down to 26" waist, which I would guess is equiv to anXS. Now, if the lady's waist is significantly smaller than 26" then I imagine she'll need to look a boys gear. Boys gear has diferent sizing to mens and womens, but will still have a waist measurement.

I didn't include a link because I really feel windysmile needs to go into a shop and try them on. Having tried many (ladies and mens) harnesses myself, I only found one which was right. That turned out to be a kiting harness, but the shop got the windsurf version in for me.
Women's colours? Women's harnesses are available in colours such as pink, powder blue, and lilac, (as well as more mainstream colours such as red and blue) which may be sexist, but I don't think there is a very good retail market for those colours in mens sizes. My harness is blue. I might have preferred another colour but blue was the only one available in that size and model. As I said, fit is the most important criteria, but if you can get one in a nice colour as well, that's a bonus!