Should I Use a Wing Foil Harness? Benefits and Buying Guide
Do I need a harness for wing foiling? This is a question we get all the time at the shop from beginner and intermediate wing foilers. The short answer is no, it is by no means necessary to use a harness when wing foiling. However, using a wing foil harness yields several large benefits that I believe all wing foilers past the beginner level (consistently riding on foil in both directions) should be taking advantage of. Here are the main benefits of wing foiling with a harness:

Prevents fatigue & extends sessions
Harnesses allow you to hook onto the wing and use your body weight to hold the wing under power rather than your arms. I find that hooking in for short periods of time throughout a session and giving my arm muscles, especially my forearms, a brief break allows me to stay out and ride significantly longer.
Increased upwind efficiency
Since you are using your body weight rather than your arms to hold the wing under power when riding hooked in you have significantly more leverage over the wind and can increase your maximum upwind angle. Increased efficiency upwind leads to more time riding downwind with the swell!
More secure closure
While closure mechanisms vary harness to harness they are almost always stronger and more secure than the wrist or waist leashes that often come with wings. Board or wing leashes attached to your harness will be more secure than other options. This security makes you and your gear safer on the water.
Options for leashes
As alluded to above you can attach your wing leash, board leash or both to your wing foil harness. I believe that waist attachment is the best place for your wing leash so the harness works great but leash preferences can vary person to person. If you aren’t sure about what wing foil leash system to use check out our wing foil leash system overview blog post here.
What to Look For When Buying a Wing Foil Harness
When deciding on the right wing foil harness for you make sure it:
- Fits comfortably and securely
- Has a hook that can slide to the side when paddling
- Has the leash attachments for your preferences
Harness Lines
There are a few different styles of harness line on the market and you might be wondering which one is right for you. Other than boom style harness lines for wings with booms harness lines are cross compatible and pretty similar. Our favorite is the Ozone V3 Harness line because of its elasticity, length adjustment capability, and low profile. We recommend having one harness line for each wing in your quiver so that you aren’t stuck switching them when everyone else is out on the water!
Staff Picks
Harness Line Pick: Ozone V3 Harness Line


Top Harness Pick: Mystic Wing Foil Harness


Upgrade Harness Pick: Mystic Majestic Wing Foil Harness


Budget Harness Option: Ozone V1 Wing Waist Padded Belt

