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Looking for a new audio harness


boodschap

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After using my Petrol PS605 for a few years, I'm looking for a new audio harness. I'm looking for a harness with a good waist support, so the full weight goes on my waist instead of my shoulders and I can hold the bag close to my belly. I'm looking at the Orca OR-40. Any experiences? Or other harnesses I should take a look at?

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I recently purchased the new KTek stingray harness. It's amazing. I would defiantly check that out. Best harness I've used (I moved up from a Portbrace harness I used for years)  I recently used an orca bag and harness on a gig that provided gear. I didn't like the Orca at all after using my KTek Stingray.

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The new K-Tek has an innovative new weight transmission / back support arrangement about which there have been some very good reports from heavy duty reality operators. I appreciate the effort and innovation by K-Tek to try to alleviate those 12 hour non-stop days hopefully.

I'm going to try one soon myself.......

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I tried the orca and the k-tek (they arrived yesterday at Audiosense in Belgium) and got myself the orca. Couldn't get the k-tek right, the waist support didn't work. Perhaps we did something wrong? 

What I didn't like about the k-tek is the fact you can't fast put down the bag and you can't really 'put on' the harness. 

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This trick with the K-Tek harness is the order of operations. 

There are 6 total mounting points; 3 on the left and 3 on the right. I loosen the straps, then connect one side to the bag, put the harness on, and then strap in the other side. Then, I tighten it all down nice and snug. Pretty quick, actually. To take it off I just undo one side and keep the harness connected to the bag and take the whole thing off. I don't keep the harness on me while taking the bag off. I've personally never liked doing that with any harness. I haven't had any issues with the waist part not working if it's put on correctly. After doing it a few times it really isn't any slower than a regular harness used correctly. But again, I keep the harness attached to the bag, rather than taking the bag off and leaving the harness on. 

 

I've had people say it isn't as fast as their harnesses where they use just the upper part. Ok, sure, but then you'll be retiring early because using just an upper part of a harness is major league stress on your lower back and not good for you at all. To get proper back support you need six mounting points AND a rigid spine, AND the bag needs to be nice and snug against your body. 

It sounds like there might have been some confusion going on in regards to properly demoing the  K-Tek to you because there hasn't really been any complaints about the waist part not working properly. 

Edited by dfisk
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i have owned the KTek Harness for 3 weeks now. After getting the hang of the harness its just as fast as any other harness but there is a slight learning curve. But the payoff is amazing. I've done quite a few long days in a row run and gun with it. It's amazing how well it works.  at the most my shoulders are slightly sore but no back pain like I used to have using my old harness.

Edited by KGraham045
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Tried the ktek at Trew today and am impressed. Tried the stingray jr bag with it because it won't work with my current bag and it definitely feels like the way to go. What a difference over having the weight on your shoulders. 

 

 

Edited by RJBerto
deleted some inaccurate impressions after futzing with the harness for a bit
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I might be checking out the K-Tek harness as well. I've been using the Orca for over a year and I'm just not happy.
Luckily my neighbor is a retired construction worker who wore harnesses for a living and my girlfriend is a Physical Therapist, so I'm going to hire them both to tweak the Orca on my body before giving up. It just doesn't feel comfortable to me and there is more pressure on the shoulders than I feel there should be.

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I pulled the trigger on the stingray. Have a half day tomorrow and a full day Saturday to test it out. So far I love it. Was worried it wouldn't work with a bag i have that only has two attachment points, but removing the lower section from the butterfly and attaching the upper and mid biners to the d rings on the bag works fine. Tonight I'm attempting to add two more d rings under the bag to take advantage of the full harness, attaching the top and mid to the top rings and the lower to the new rings at the bottom. Will be upgrading to a stingray bag in the new year....

 

 

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I might be checking out the K-Tek harness as well. I've been using the Orca for over a year and I'm just not happy.
Luckily my neighbor is a retired construction worker who wore harnesses for a living and my girlfriend is a Physical Therapist, so I'm going to hire them both to tweak the Orca on my body before giving up. It just doesn't feel comfortable to me and there is more pressure on the shoulders than I feel there should be.

yeah same here. I love the material of how cooling it is. But I still feel the load over my shoulders rather than on my hips/waist. And the bucket of the orca is just a little too big and annoying. Keeps pressing against my stomach. 

 

Now I use my portabrace shoulder strap (the thick one that comes with the mixer bag) and it goes around my back, just to give it more support.

 

anyone else facing the same issue?

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I own the new K-Tek and it's phenomenal, especially for us slender sound guys!!

would like to hear from someone who is not built like a racing snake and preferably works in inclement weather as some of us are of a heavier build and have to wear warm/wet weather gear more often than not. Any comments K-Tek?

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  • 1 month later...

Ok, I did test some harnesses. The Orca OR-40 ruined my back after a few days of testing and I went back to my old Petrol.

So I gave the K-tek another chance. And after two days I know I would never ever go back to the old harnesses again. 12 kg bag for 4 hours straight is no problem. No more compensation for the back, a relief!

And yes, the guys from Audiosense were a great help, they demoed it perfectly!

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