Harness: Magic Marine Ultimate harness, which is NOT the Worrell XT
-this is a pretty good harness, but a little difficult to get it where you want it. I've spent 100's of hours trapped out in it. For light wind days, I'll still take my half-harness from Murray's. The Ultimate is good though, I've done 2 Tybee's with it. I'll probably pick up a Worrell XT for this year's Tybee though.

PFD: Stohlquist Drifter
-man-ohhh-man, this is a great jacket! It is like wearing nothing at all (as far as pfd's go). It fits wonderfully, stays away from the trap harness, and doesn't ride up at all. I'll be sticking with this one for as long as they make them. The only gripe I have on it is that it needs another pocket.

Gloves: Ronstan Sticky Race full finger
-I really like these gloves, and I have tried dozens of different gloves. When I worked at Layline, I had access to all the different gloves in stock there, so of course I tried them all on for fit and function. The Ronstan Sticky gloves fit me very well, and have been very durable. They do grip the line better as well.
(note: stay away from the Gill Championship gloves, they are crap and will fall apart!)

Shoes: Ronstan Dinghy boots
-When I'm not wearing my drysuit, these are great. They are hard to get on over a drysuit though. I've been happy with them thus far.

Eyewear: Barz goggles AND sunglasses
-I've had great a great experience with Barz. My polarized goggles are a must for heavy winds and big seas. For long days like Tybee days, they are invaluable for keeping the salt and sun out of your eyes.
-For the beach and the milder days, I have Barz polarized sunglasses. They are fairly light, and the lenses are very clear. Once again, my crew Alan, nor Tad, nor I have had any problems with fogging.

http://www.aquatausa.com/harness.htm

Scroll down.

I use the Worrell XT; I had to buy the XL size, then I had Tony cut the leg length so the legs wouldn't cut into the back of my knees whilst kneeling.

Just by it.

Teva Gamma Pro for the feeties.

well I'll be a monkey's scratching post

Guess I'm wrong about the harness

I wear an Aquata Equipe XT and love it. Has adjustable lumbar support, quick release bar, kevlar seat and padding everywhere. Very comfortable. Never used for prolonged distance racing but comfortable for a weekend.

Chris - did you get the harness straight from Aquata, or somewhere else? I haven't found it sold in the usual places. For some reason I seem to be "search challenged" on this one.

Sounds like I may be the only one with Barz issues as well!

I've found a pair of $12 Stearn goggles at Walmart (sport / fishing section) that have hard plastic vented cups and a soft band with a plastic clasp. They work better than anything I've ever worn...not incredibly stylish (neither are the barz) but I went through the last Steeplechase and only recall twice getting any saltwater in my eyes. I missed out on a lot of the 2004 Tybee 500 experience because I couldn't see past the bow since my barz were all fogged up. It scared me on day three when I finally admitted this problem to David who replied "geee...me either!".

You, issues? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Call Mr. Bliss and do it soon. He is going to be "out of pocket" shortly.

Just called him, harness on the way... I love when I'm productive at work!

have a pair of those as well--very nice

Funny thing is, I was filling up my car today and saw'em laying in one of those €2 bargain bins.

I bought the Barz as well, you have to put the vented eye gasket in to avoid the foggin'. They are great for haevy weather. For lighter weather I have Gill glasses with the soft strap, wrap around lenses and vented frame. I do prefer the Gill product over the Barz though...

I have to put a vote in for the Aquata Equipe harness. I owned a Murry's "Full Race" (POS) and i now have two Equipe's. I used a Worrell harness for two days in the Worrell and switched to the Equipe. That thing HURT me! The metal adjusters on the outside of the upper thigh killed. I don't know if it's b/c of how I'm built or what... I', 6'2 and have large thighs from running track and xc in college and then racing mountain bikes. Once you get an Equip right, they are a dream... till then... not so much. Mine has also been modified a bit to fix some problems with the design.

IMHO Maui Jim's ROCK and don't want/need anything else for my eyes. Even on the NASTY days.

I also have a system for gloves and it involves the orange box gloves. They rock as well, only problem is that they get heavy when wet.

I first had a Burke cheapo harness which is good if you like waddling up the beach instead of walking due to the painfull wedgee... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

I now use the equip harness and ronstan full fingered gloves minus the thumb and index.
No wetsuit just long microfiber paints, a tee and sunnys.. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I didnt think about eyewear in my original post..But I have found the mother of all glasses. Harken Hydophobics! Water repellant like nothing else, polarized and tight fitting. I have Polarized Barz and some polarized Gill floating glasses, but the Harken's are way and beyond my expectations.

I found the Harken hydrophobic coated lenses:



Looks like they are brown lenses (which I do not like). Do they come in grey? They look like regular sunglasses (actually just like the Hobie Turbos, which you can get pretty cheap on ebay) but you say they really work?

They can be seen at: Harken Store Sungasses

Not cheap but how are they to wear everyday?

Later,
Dan

Hey Dan -

Day-to-day wear, the brown lenses are not as attractive, sure. But I understand that brown is a better color for water sports.

Dan:

Get the Salty Dogs I posted link to. You will LOVE them. Grey lens and water runs off. And a good price.

http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/15638-405_FOXMN6-1-Clothing-156-Eyewear/Fox-The-Main-MX-Goggles.htm

Doug

brown is definitely different than what Im used to, but it sure works well on the water and in low light(which my 40 year old eyes are not quite adjusting to these days). They do look like the Hobies, maybe the same, dunno, but they sure are my favorite eyewear so far. Jake has touted the Salty Dogs too.

The green and brown color will give you the best contrast, (brown the best depth perception) better than gray, blue or yellow.

UV radiation is the cause of cataracts. I'm 49 and the doc says mine are already developing. I wear, and have worn, sunglasses outdoors religiously. Protect the eyeballs!!!

Sometimes theres nothing you can do <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />