I have been kiting for a couple of yrs using a seat harness. Few months back bought my 1st waist harness. I wear it quite tight and it fits well not riding up unless I'm trying to jump a lot, but I usually ride in a gusty location and every time I'm out at one point the bar literally gets ripped out of my hands through the gusts. I can of course use the de-power but I'd be adjusting it every 2minutes and even then it doesn't always help anyway. My seat harness I can use the full range of the depower without letting go.

This I know is mainly due to the waist bar being about 6inches higher than my seat, but what's the best way around it? Should my weedy arms and grip be able to hold on? in which case a few more trips to a gym are needed! (I might need directions), or is stance and technique to blame?

I ride a 11m Cabrinha crossbow IDS without the clip for the depower lines so the bar has got quite a lot of travel but if it's being ripped out of my hands I'm a bit worried to put the clip back on to stop it!

I weight 70kgs and usually go out when it's averaging 20knts but that usually means anything from 10 to 30!

Any advice appreciated!

Let go with one hand in a gust. Your reach is a lot longer one handed than two handed.

Thanks I will give it a try

Well, you are absolutely correct - you will have a lot less available depower range, with a waist harness, compared to a seat - when you have a good long throw bar system.

Nothing you can do about that - so if you end up not finding peace with the waist, change back to the seat (as many do).

But give it a try a little longer, as you might find it better in the long run.

AND - you most often dont ride with the bar pulled all the way in, when using a seat harness.
But you more often does, with the waist.

So now when using a waist, I would advice you to trim your rear line settings (typically knots at the leader lines - use these further away from the bar) so you will have a bit more depower, as you will typically ride with the bar a bit closer to the CL

In short: Make the default trim a bit more depowered, either by using different knots, or by having the trim strap depowered a bit more now than earlier

Kindly, Peter Frank

Or just learn how to use your legs to depower the kite

Seat harnesses encourage bad habits like keeping kite high and not using your legs instead relying on sheeting in and out to control power when a good proportion should be done using the edge of the board.

With a waist harness keep the kite a bit lower & lean back more (which will help stop harness riding up aswell) ditch the poo stance and engage your legs - legs are the strongest muscle group in the body instead of your arms

If you have correct stance there will be no difference in hook position between seat and waist harness as kite should not be pulling straight up

In terms of setting the kite up, the shortest throw will be when you are using the forward settings for the rear line bridle.

You bring the sheeting range closest to the harness hook by setting the depower strap so when the kite is overhead or off to one side, if you pull the bar slowly down the kite just starts to back up slightly into the window just before the bar is at the bottom of its range.

If you have a good stance as JGTR said and still need more reach, if you dont need to unhook its possible to use a locking carabiner instead of the chickenloop. The locking carabiner because you dont want to be able to catch a line in it.

That requires grinding the end of the carabiner down to exactly the same thickness as the Cabrinha part that goes into the Q/R. If you leave it thicker, it can increase the force needed to release. If you make it thinner, it wont be so strong.
The other thing to do is to open up the top of the hole which goes through the red part of the Q/R so it is wider and more funneled so the end of the plastic cover for the IDS line will not catch as it goes through the Q/R. You then have to clip a kite leash into the IDS ring.

This.

It's partially your kite's fault as well as the seat harness, though, bow kites really make you lazy and reliant on sheeting to do everything, when you can control so much more with a combination of sheeting, moving the kite around, and foot pressure. Try to think of it not so much as "I need to sheet out" but "what can I do to stay in control"

That said, gusty wind sucks so good luck

Thanks for all the great advice, looking forward to getting out and trying some of them