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Paragliding Harness

ADVANCE IMPRESS 3 M

Ziad Bassil5

ADVANCE IMPRESS 3

My main harness for the past 2 years was the Impress 2+,
which was very comfortable for my taste. Then came the Impress 3 M .

1.81 m and 73 kg inside the M size.

The construction of the harness and details are
‘impeccable”. It is very rare to find between harnesses such a jewel in terms
of “finessing”  😉 !

The harness impresses you to the level of handling it with
respect. Swiss precision! 😉

In the air:

In order to feel better the harness, I did make a flight in
the Impress 2 + and the Sigma 8 25 @ 93,and then landed at the take off in the
same conditions and switched to the Impress 3 M @ 90 all up.

Immediately after take I felt more roll movements than the
Imp 2+ has. May be I am a bit skinny inside the M size.

Conditions of the day were like small 3m/s bullet thermals
with 10 m “radius”. “Frequent on our sites”.

It was an exceptional day for trying to put the glider in
its path using the harness.

My flying was long adapted to a seat board, and used to have a support
point inside the Imp 2 when weight shifting, and that, wasn’t available in the
Impress 3 as it doesn’t have one.

I think that time is needed to adapt to that feeling that I
didn’t get used to it yet after 5 hours. It could be my stubborn head to adapt
…

But I felt that “it rolls a bit quicker than I could weight
shift to counter steer”.

Nothing out of the ordinary for that level of race harnesses,
but just a bit more roll than the Impress 2 +.

The strong points of this harness are its superb comfort in
the air by supporting the back and the hips + the light feel of carrying it on
the take off.

The pluses:

A comfortable feeling, with nice back and hips support.

Lighter than Impress 2 by -3 kg.

A superb product with excellence in details and
construction.

The minuses:

Has more roll in the thermals than the Impress 2. (I am
1.81m and 73 kg) May be a bit skinny inside the M that does explain the roll.

Doesn’t have a “support point” when you weight
shift (no seat board edge) like the Impress 2, but it needs time to adapt to
its weight shift characteristics.

https://picasaweb.google.com/110040226962521480605/ADVANCEIMPRESS3M

More feedback:

Flying inside the harness i thought I’d make a small modification for skinny people, to limit the “slack” roll i was feeling.

After receiving some e-mails of pilots that found a similar feeling in
roll movement,here’s a photo of the modification that i don’t recommend
to make before contacting the pros at ADVANCE to be on the safe side.
But it worked fine for me.

A small strap on each side about ± 16 cm (see pic) would suffice but i
did install the trims to see at what point it will erase the roll
excess.

I found that just a bit of pressure would be enough. No need to pull them hard. Just a slight pressure.

https://picasaweb.google.com/110040226962521480605/ADVANCEIMPRESS3M#5664862914670979250

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/110040226962521480605/ADVANCEIMPRESS3M#5664867032364545746


 

And i did install the neoprene cover on the chest strap to prevent the
inside hard webbing’s to hurt the chest on take offs when leaning
forward.

…

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14 Comments

  1. pallaire on

    Hi Zen,

    I enjoy your review and comparison; this harness did catch my attention. Can you comments on the speed bag adjustment; were you at the maximum speed bag length? I am 1.85 cm in height and was wondering if a size M was the right size…

    I am surprised you did not comment on the back protection which seem to be limited to the lower back compared to other harness…. Can you share your views on this aspect, I currently fly the same harness Impress 2+ but I am hesitant to switch the the I3.

    Reply
  2. Ziad Bassil on

    Hi,
    I am not in the max speed bag length.May be more 5 cm. Yes the back protection is small.
    The harness support the back and hips more comfortably than impress 2+ but in moving air the I2 is much more stable in roll movements.

    Reply
  3. Mike on

    Hi Ziad,
    first of all thanks for your "work" of testing all this gear, I really enjoy reading your reports!

    Regarding the Impress 3: I experienced the roll-momentum of the harness as very helpful for avoiding collapses. Since I fly this harness my Mantra M4 hasn´t collapsed any more due to the "forced weightshift" to the side which is loosing load.

    Can you imagine what I am trying to explain?

    Greetings from Austria,
    Mike

    Reply
  4. Ziad Bassil on

    Hi Mike,
    Thank you for your comments.Yes of course,the harness is good for feeling the air mass. I found it sometimes to have just a little slack to react ,surprisingly much like the brakes of the M4.
    Happy flights,
    Ziad.

    Reply
  5. Jorge on

    Hi Ziad,

    So since you eventually sell your gear after testing for a while. Are you going to sell the Impress 3? Or are you replacing your Impress 2? I believe that will also be a good indicator of the appeal of this new harness 😉

    Reply
  12. Dr. M. J. Walters on

    Hi Ziad

    At which points did you attach the straps you added please? I can see the one to the chest strap buckle. Is the idea to secure it to the carib and create some cross bracing?
    regards
    Matthew

    Reply
    • Ziad Bassil on

      Hi Matthieu,
      It look like a cross bracing but effectively it's only the keep away useless roll movements.
      From the carabiners to the attachment strap .may be 12 to 15 cm. .there's a picture on the paragliding forum in the I3 topic.
      Cheers,
      Ziad

      Reply
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