Charly - CRUISER - harness

The 'teardrop shape' has become the latest fashion, with many harnesses sporting the aerodynamic point behind the shoulders. The Charly Cruiser has one of the longest points, and features a unique shell of hinged hard foam for protection, called the 'Scooter'. I dangled for a while in the royal seat, and penned my impressions.

THUMBS UP! :

* The back-protection system is deep below the coccyx, and runs all the way up your back. With your glider bag stuffed in the storage space, you'll have protection all the way to your helmet, should you land on your back. The hard foam system has been well-designed, and hinges to allow a comfortable take-off run. It is designed to be compressed by impact, to reduce your injury, though it won't compress as much as the alternative 'airfoam' systems available. It is light, and the total weight of the Cruiser is competitive, being close to 6kg. Good work, Charly!
* The dorsal adjustment (supine - upright) is easy to adjust in the air.
* The chest-strap sports a 'safe-T-system', a bright pink strip of webbing that will catch you by your crotch if you forget to do up the legstraps. This may be a good feature for absent-minded pilots, and serves as a good safety mechanism should your quick-release buckles fail.
* There is a second upper-chest strap, which is very thin, but will ensure that the shoulder straps don't slip off your shoulders.
* The overall finish on this product is good.
* The Cruiser is very, very comfortable in flight.

COMMENTS :
* The side protectors tend to slide down, leaving the hips exposed.
* Neoprene has been used to cover the sides and shoulders. These are not high-wear points, so it should be fine, though I would have preferred more durable fabric.
* The shoulder straps are quite wide, and if you don't connect the upper chest-clip, it's easy for the shoulder-straps to slip off.
* The reserve handle is aluminium tube, set quite far back against the ribs. I found it slightly awkward to pull, as the angle required is outwards rather than forwards. The reserve is rear-mounted.
* The pack volume is large, because the backprotection system doesn't compress. Even the new Freex backpack, which has a lot of space, could not fit the harness and glider in. You'll need something like the Nova backpack, or the new Nova Compressor, which can accomodate the unique shape of the 'scooter' seat.
* The backprotection is made from expanded neoprene, not foam, as I originally believed. There's a photo of a vehicle driving over the seat, leaving no damage. Impressive!

THUMBS DOWN :
* No sidepockets, or anywhere to store goodies (radio, waterbottle, sunglasses, eats) during flight. If you slip things under the neoprene sides, they'll slide down and disappear in the bowels of the harness.
* The packing space is limited to a section behind the shoulders. Although the volume is large enough to stuff a glider bag and a few toys in, the opening is small, and there is no bottom to the pocket, so loose items will end up sliding down to beneath the seat. There is another tight pocket within this space for small items, but its difficult to use.
* Ballast would have to be inserted behind the shoulders, which will upset your centre of gravity. There is simply no space below the seat.

SUMMARY : If you're looking for an attractive, modern harness with good backprotection that is comfortable in the sky, then the Cruiser will serve you well. You may need a new backpack as well - check out the new Nova Compressor at the same time.

CHARLY - South African Importer - Rob Manzoni - 082 788 4398 - airborne@iafrica.com