- This time we're gonna be talking
about the Advance Success 5.
Advances standard open harness.
And we'll be comparing it to its predecessor,
the Success 4.
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The Success 5 is Advance's top of the range
standard open seat boarded, sit up harness.
In Advance's range of harnesses, they have two ranges
of standard open harnesses, the Success and the Axess.
The Success models are for pilots, prioritising safety
protection, comfort, and the access models
are for pilots who are prioritising weight and pack volume.
The Success 5 is more of an evolution of its predecessor.
This is a Success 4 rather than a complete redesign.
Advance say that well proven features
of the Success 4 have been retained
in the Success 5, but also there's clearly
a lot of changes, especially in terms
of the shaping and the back protector.
And also the reserve system, which we'll look at later.
(upbeat music)
Advance say The Success 5 is a high quality sport
sit up harness with maximal safety
and it's directed towards leisure
and cross-country pilots who are looking
for maximum comfort.
Combined with excellent aerodynamics, the harness now
appears with a completely revised look
and represents the prelude to a new design series.
I think one of the main reasons pilots
go for the Success range of harnesses
is they want the maximum the best protection there is.
So let's compare now the Success Four to the Five.
So looking at,
in the back area, first of all of the Success 4.
What you can see in the back here, this is the comfort
foam, area there.
And below that is the protection,
which you'll look at in more detail later.
But here you can see that comfort foam and that's held
inside this area here with a zip.
And there's the comfort foam.
So now let's go across to the Success 5.
And compare the same.
When we open the back, you see it's actually quite different
in the back here because there's this here,
you can actually hear is a little bit
of bit of a stiffer part and it isn't the zip there.
So what we need to do is actually
go to the open and reserve zip.
And in here we can see these two zips here.
The first zip on the outside when we open that goes
to the SAS-TEC protector and that runs all the way down
right down into the back
and provides not only additional protection
but also it's very noticeable how much more support
it gives on the back.
You can actually see how much stiffer the back is.
And then the second zip here is where that
that's the comfort foam.
And that gives you a nice soft padding against your back.
And then you've got SAS-TEC protector
on the outside to give you impact
and penetration protection on the outside.
Advance, say that once more safety
was given top priority with the Success 5.
It has an additional SAS -TEC element compared
to the Success 4 along the entire back.
The protector has been completely redeveloped
and provides a significantly higher absorption factor.
For a 20% reduced pack volume of the protector.
As a new option, a hook knife can be contained
in the shoulder strap similar to the Success 4,
an additional foam protector for lumber
and thoracic vertebrae is also built
into this fifth generation Success 5, Advance say.
Today I'm gonna try and give you a bit
of an idea of the difference in pack volume
between the two as best possible in the video.
So first of all, they pack in a very similar way,
pop them on their backs and you can fold
the harness over like so.
So that's the Success 4.
And here the Success 5 that's the same,
pop it on its back and it's made so that
it can fold like so.
So if you put them right next to each other
and if I just leave them as they are, as they sit.
You can see the pack volume is very similar.
They're both medium size.
So here's compressing the Success 4.
You can see the thing.
This is an advantage with the foam protectors compared
to some other much more rigid inflatable protectors.
Once they're inflated, they don't compress.
You have to with an inflatable protector
you have to deflated obviously.
But with the foam protector actually they compress
down quite a lot like that.
You can see the pack volume there.
Let's compare that with the Success 5
I'll try put it side by side and the protector on this.
Yeah, compressors right down.
So I think they're quite similar, aren't they really?
- [Nancy] Yes.
- Okay. Now let's look at some of the details
of the Success 5.
And let's start just on this side.
Let's start with the safety side of things,
the reserve system.
So here we have the reserve handle
and you can see that yeah
positioned on the side there,
it's got a magnet here that holds it, that holds it to you.
It means it's quite easy to grab.
The reserve is an under seat.
So the reserve goes under the seat there
and it's a side mount side loaded kind
of reserve and side extraction like that.
But it's very neatly done, very, very clean.
What you see with the Success 5
as you see with all advanced products
and all their harnesses is that the design is very clean
and simple and not over complicated.
So yeah, you can see there's two nylon rods that
go in through the little material loops
and for me this is just so much better
than any kind of metal pins.
I'm glad to see more and more harness manufacturers
moving away from those and they just sit really cleanly
and they're going to their little holes.
So it's very, very easy to see
if your reserve pins are in also, it's very stable
it's very unusual for these to actually get pulled out.
You know if you got dragged or something like that,
that could happen.
They sit very clean and nicely.
The reserve handle is easy to grab
reserve is easy to pull out and extract.
So this opens, there's the zip sound system there
and you can just see it's incredibly clean
and so beautifully made and goes up to there.
And then inside there you can see there's
the integrated Dyneema reserve bridals,
it's Y bridal or V bridal depending
on how you want to call it.
It goes down just to a single point at the bottom there.
So looking at the straps Advance are gone
for this get up system and that's favouring simplicity.
What it means is you've got your leg straps there
which you can see you've got a bit of padding on them.
which go up and they're integrated into the waist straps.
So the kind of the leg straps and the waist strap are one.
And the beauty of that, the bonus of it, the pros
is that you've simply got, when you clip in,
you've simply got two buckles
to clip in to get into your harness.
And of course, I mean it's kind of optional
but you've got the chest strap as well
which is really just to, to stop your chest straps
to not have that off the shoulder
sort of bra look.
As well as the reserve handle,
and the integrated reserve bridals
the Success 5 comes with all its protector elements here
the SAS-TEC protector in the back and comfort foam.
It also has the SAS-TEC side protectors that
you can see there, comes a standard with these very
high quality EDELRID AS aluminium carabiners
which are really nice and very light and strong.
Also comes with a really nice carbon speed bar.
Show that's got a nice anti-D dangle system in it.
So it sits nicely.
Then moving on to here you see comes
with a carbon seat board.
Which is a very high quality carbon seaboard.
Very nice smooth finish and not gonna cause any issues
with your straps and things like that.
So yeah, that all comes included.
And also again emphasising the whole safety side
of things comes with this little red strap here,
and inside there it's got its own builtin hook knife.
HTO
You can put what you want in there if you like
you can put your champagne, whatever
non-alcoholic of course, but yes tube comes in there.
Out and that, this neoprene loop is just to hold
the tube there so it doesn't flap about.
Looking at pockets and storage.
So first of all on the left hand side
we've got pocket inside there
that's in this nice stretching material
just to keep it all nice and tuck to the harness.
And there's a little red loop there for a lanyard.
So if you are gonna put something in there
like your camera or something
you wanna hold it pulled out so you don't lose it.
That's there.
And on the other side pocket on the right hand side
with no zip and again it's got a lanyard there.
Look, if I stick my head in it
and you get an idea of how big it is.
There you go.
So I'm the show clipping in and out of the harness
which is really quick and easy.
And just before I do that, I was gonna mention
that I find tip for you or recommend of a general looking
after your harness is I tend to do my buckles
up at least one of them.
And even when I get outta the harness, I do them back up
especially when I'm moving them around
and putting them in the bag and in the back
of the the van and whatever the reason is,
if you have your straps undone, like so,
then they can bash around and they can end up hitting
if you're in a car park or anywhere, there's hard bit
you can end up with your metal buckles banging
against the ground and stuff like that
which is gonna cause wear on the the shape of the buckles
which could cause them eventually to fail
but also could cause the metal to crack.
So to clip in, haul this up.
Like so.
Reach between your legs, get those straps, then check
you've got that clear that side pop in like so.
And then all you've got left is the chest strap.
You can see the beauty of this, it's very quick to clip in.
And also you can also see really obviously how
I don't have straps going across my legs.
That's really easy to move and move around like so.
But the downside is if your ground handling
and the harness rides up or you're dangling
and these bits tend to go a little bit up there.
Enough of all the features and all the beautiful details.
What's it actually like to fly with
and what's it like to use?
What's it like to take off with and land?
So first of all, let's talk about from the takeoff.
Well I think because of the anti balance system
the Success 5 is one of the best harnesses I find
for getting in and out.
Advance harnesses I think because of how they've made
the geometry and this anti balance system
that helps with rotating up and going from
a seated to a standing position,
that really helps you get back into the harness.
It's just a case of really having good posture
and you I tend to find most of the time I just lift
my knees up and I'm back in the harness
no problem at all.
Getting out of the harness.
So as with all harnesses
what you do is just as you get out
just do the pelvic thrust, push your hips forward a bit.
And because of the anti balance system
the harness rotates nicely with you
and you can easily push your bum, push yourself
to the front of the seat and get your legs down.
And so I find it one of the easiest harnesses
for getting upright and getting your legs down and landing.
In terms of sitting comfort.
The Success 5 is supremely comfortable,
offers very good comfort.
So let's start around the bottom.
So it offers very nice comfort.
There's a nice balance, it's reasonably firm
but it's not hard and there is some padding there
against the carbon seat board
and so that offers nice comfort.
And then on the sides the SAS-TEC protectors there
they do press against the side of your legs a little bit
and especially if you've got bigger thighs,
you might notice that, yeah
you might notice that a bit, but they're quite firm,
but I don't find them uncomfortable.
I find they're pretty comfortable,
it feels more supportive
than kind of uncomfortable.
And on the back similarly the support
is absolutely fantastic.
On the Success 5 I think it's one
of the most comfortable supportive harnesses
on the back and it's a nice balance.
It's not too stiff, it's not too stiff so
that it's just kind of like a rigid thing against your back.
But it's very supportive.
It's not soft and mushy and saggy
like a lot of harnesses, like some other harnesses.
The the shape is, you can see it's all lumpy
and stuff like that and you feel like you've got lumps
and pressure points on your back.
With a Success 5 you've got a really nice comfort
right across your back.
Now let's talk a bit about the feeling.
So when the air's very smooth
any harness is gonna feel very smooth.
So what we really want to know is, first of all
if it's in active air.
How does the harness feel when it gets lumpy and bumpy?
So in active air, when it's really lumpy and bumpy
and you're getting bounced around the sky a bit,
then that's the time when you want a harness
that makes you feel nice nice and secure
and doesn't bump you around so much.
And the Success 5, I think has got a really nice balance
like that it is a harness that does
give a reasonable amount of feedback.
It's not a harness that's really dampened, not at all.
In fact it's a harness that's quite reasonably active
and it gives you, it moves about in active air
but not overtly slow.
It's not the most active harness in the air.
But it is more on the active and weight shifty side.
So in active air you do feel it, you do notice,
you are getting moved around and such.
So it is on the more weight shifting feeling side
it does talk to you a bit more than some other harnesses.
So looking at different standard open harnesses
if you have a look on our website you can see
the different ones.
Then we're talking a range from some harnesses being
very much more on the dampen side
and quite not so weight shifty
and very, very comfortable and reassuring.
They're a bit more dampened.
And then some of the other harnesses
are quite weight shifty and agile.
So off the top of my head, if I look at the Advance range,
the Progress 3 is, which is a split like harness.
So that's their reversible split like harness.
That's actually a very stable
very reassuring harness, very comfortable.
But for a pilot who wants something really weight shifting
and wants to wang the glider around
it's probably not the harness for them.
Whereas the Success 5 is a kind of moderate
to a bit more on the agile side, a bit more weight shifty
and a bit more offering a bit more agility and feedback.
It's not overtly feedbacky but it does
give a bit more of that.
Having done full SIV
and some getting into acro manoeuvres
on the Success 5, it's fantastic for that.
It's a really great harness, for getting into wagar
and freestyle and if you want to progress
into doing some acro.
Then just kind of getting into that
obviously it's only got one reserve,
so if you're getting fully into acro then it's a good idea
to fly with two reserves.
But in terms of the handling
and the feedback and the feeling
then the Success 5 is absolutely brilliant.
So that's one of the fantastic things
about the Success 5 it's a great beginner harness.
I mean it's one of the best beginner harnesses there is.
So it's fantastic as a first harness choice
but it's also something that you can
a harness that you can carry on flying for a long time
and only if you want to, it's only when you want to change
to a pod harness or if otherwise in the other direction.
You might want to get an ultra light harness
for going hike and fly or especially if you're gonna get
into hike and fly racing or something like that
then obviously this isn't the harness for that.
But in terms of general flying, soaring and going XC
and things like that, this is a brilliant harness all round.
Even though it's a sit up harness, it's a standard
sit up harness, it's actually very streamlined.
You can see when you look at that, you can see when you look
at the harness very streamlined all the way around.
If I stand up like this and you look,
there's not a lot of stuff sticking out on the sides.
And when you're sat back in the harness
actually because the protector, they've made it
they've given it a very good solid protector
but it's not one of those massive ones that sticks
right out of the bottom, it looks like a huge mushroom
sticking out of your bottom.
It's pretty streamlined.
And when you've got your legs tucked in that's pretty much
where your legs end up.
So it's very good from that point of view.
And you can even add the foot stirrup,
and that go to that more laid back position.
So it's a great harness to go from from first days out
of school transitioning through to your longer flights
and getting into cross country.
And it's only when you want to change
to getting into a pod harness
that's when you'd look to change and upgrade.
I'm gonna show you what we've got
in the 115 litre backpack as an idea.
Got the Advance Cockpit..
Jacket, open face helmet.
Costume bag.
(Carlo laughs)
And the harness.
Oh my God.
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