I am keeping this page active for anyone searching for information on this most unusual harness.
FOLLOWING IS A REVIEW ARTICLE ON THIS HARNESS
The Woody Valley X-Rated Harness
A Review by Tony Patt
If you fly Woody Valley's custom-made competition harness, you will get
pilots asking you questions on launch, staring at you in the air, and
poking around your bag after you land. It is a unique harness, radical in
its complete enclosure of the pilot's body and legs. People call it
different things: the pod, body bag, or canoe. Its real name is the
X-Rated, and it is for real.
I first started seeing them on the competition circuit in 2000 (I asked
questions on launch, and stared at them in the air). One South African
pilot who flew it told me that he reckoned it adds about 1 km/h of speed
for any given brake position. Plus, he said, it looks cool, and that is
very important. I got to test fly one later that year, a short thermal
flight, and loved it right away. They are imported by International
Paragliding (www.advance-usa.com), and available through Woody Valley
dealers, and eventually I had one made to my leg and body dimensions. Now
that I have flown it for a season, here are my reactions.
Comfort on the Ground. The X-Rated is, without a doubt, the least
comfortable harness you will ever ground handle. Try looking up at the
canopy, and there is this aerodynamic shark fin getting in the way behind
your head. The integrated leg/chest strap system, the same as other Woody
Valley harnesses, is great for not letting you forget to buckle up, and in
the air it gives you complete leg freedom. On the ground, however, it can
cause some major pain for people with y chromosomes. I recommend finding an
old training harness to keep your kiting skills afloat, and hook up the
X-Rated when it's time to fly.
Comfort in the Air. The X-Rated is, without a doubt, the most comfortable
harness you will ever fly. You can sit in it for five hours straight (I
have), with none of the characteristic aches and cramps. The fact that each
harness is custom made, to the pilot's measurements, probably contributes
to this fact. And while it looks like the X-Rated pilot is lying down, in
fact the position is rather upright, about like sitting in a car seat. Plus
it's warm. My first set of flights were over a cold Massachusetts beach in
April, snow flurries in the air. On my legs were just a pair of fleece
climbing pants, and I was completely cozy. This feature is really nice in
summer XC flying as well: just wear shorts and a long sleeve T-shirt and
you will never be cold. If you do get hot, unzip the pod and let in some fresh air.
Getting in and Out: Surprisingly, the X-Rated is one of the easiest harnesses to get into
after launch. Just slip your right foot into the pod (easier than finding a conventional
leg strap), give one push and you are in. At your leisure pull on a special black tab
and the zipper pulls the pod closed. When it's time to land pull the red tab and the pod
opens to reveal your legs. One of those first flights on the beach I had an unanticipated
landing (I admit, I got blown back over a dune) and within milliseconds I had unzipped
the pod, gotten my legs out and landed on my feet. It looks like it could be hard but it
isn't.
Weight Shift: If you live your life in search of the perfect waga-waga, don't fly the X-
harness. It's a stable harness, hard to throw around back and forth. But for coring a
thermal it's weight shift characteristics are ideal. The harness just invites you to pull
all
your weight on one side and keep it there, as you go round and round.
Glide: The X-Rated really comes into it's own in glide. I haven't personally put it
through
a wind tunnel test but it's aerodynamic shape has got to help. The three stage speed bar
is incredibly easy to find. It just sits there on the fabric, under your legs; pull a foot
back, and there it is, ready for you to hook a heel onto it. (Plus, if you are the
secretive
private type, you can be assured that nobody else can actually see how much
bar you are pressing.) Finally, you can order the X-Rated with side pockets
for glide. Connect a line to your brake toggle, run it through a little
pulley inside the pocket, and you can go on glide with your hands tucked in
at your side, still in control. I tried this on the beach and it scared me.
Maybe in another year I will have the guts to try it when I might encounter
turbulence.
Safety: I was initially a little worried about spins-with the pilot in a
laid-back position, it seemed like the risers would just want to get all
twisted up. These fears vanished when I put the X-Rated through a full SIV
course. I went into my first negative spin nervously, and deliberately
tucked my feet in. But there was absolutely no problem. The next few spins
I kept my feet out, against the footboard, again without consequence. A
couple times at the US Nationals my glider blew up on me, and I found
myself free-falling. It occurred to me that with my body in this nice sleek
package, I was much less likely to snag a foot in the lines on the way by.
Comforting. More so is that the X-Rated has a front mounted reserve, with a
big red handle that's always in view. Finally, the back protection is as
thick as most conventional harnesses, except for those with inflating
airbags. During one competition task, I ended up with no choice but to
crash land in a rocky river bed. Plenty of padding, though I did stub my
toe. All in all, I see no real safety sacrifice flying the X-Rated.
Convenience. Woody Valley has really thought of everything. The big
aerodynamic trunk could hold a month's survival gear, including the
inflatable raft. Inside the trunk, there is a small zippered pocket for
valuable things, and an elasticized pouch for your hydration system. The
drinking tube feeds right out behind your head, and there are even keeper
straps to hold the mouthpiece next to your face. In front of you, the top
of the reserve has Velcro for a full instrument panel. In front of the
reserve, there is an inside radio pocket, so that you can feed your
microphone cable straight up and out at your neck. There is an extra inside
pocket behind the reserve; I think it's for maps, but I don't really know.
And there are easily-reached pockets on each side-on long flights, I put
extra mittens in one, and some chocolate in the other. Under the legs there
is a huge pocket for water ballast. Amazingly, all this weighs little more
than a conventional full protection harness, and packs up into the
paragliding bag about as easily.
Price: While the X-Rated costs a few hundred dollars more than other top
end harnesses, somebody in Italy has to make it custom for you and it still
runs less than an Armani suit.
Summary: For thermal, cross country and competition flying the X-Rated is
ideal. The harness is a great piece of engineering and design: comfortable,
safe, aerodynamic, warm and convenient. It's only drawback is that it just
doesn't work very well for aerobatics. For me this is no sacrifice, but judge
for yourself. It is also quite uncomfortable on the ground. So what.
This just makes me want to get in the air, get high and sit back comfortably
while I glide off to some other mountain, sipping my Red Bull, munching my Toblerone.
Dr. Anthony Patt
Center for Energy and Environmental Studies
Boston University Department of Geography
-------------------------------->>
