B&M Restraints: Old vs. New

I can sometimes get a little claustrophobic with restraints in general so for that reason I prefer the old ones, but on the other hand the new ones usually make for a smoother ride.

I was conscious of how elbow-to-elbow I was with my riding neighbors when compared with the more spacious, newer arrangement.

Totally noticed that on Raptor and Batman and had forgotten about it, but the cons of the new restraints overweigh the pros IMO.

I agree with everything Chickenbowl had said. I haven't been on Sheikra or Griffon, but I wasn't let down as much I thought I'd be by the vests on Valravn. Still had some wiggle room on the first droo, but yeah I bet it's nothing like the other two.

I've been on 4 Wing Coasters, 5 Flying Coasters, Banshee, and Valravn (Every B&M vest in the US). I think they are great in theory (no headbanging), but in reality they constrict on your upper body and inhibit any movement you'd have with the old. Examples:

 

- Dive coaster drops: The ability to float out of your seat within the space between your body and restraints (anybody who's been on SheiKra or Griffon knows) is completely decimated. You are pinned in your seat the whole time and the positives at the bottom keep the restraint pressed down the rest of the ride.

 

- Wild Eagle/X-Flight vest locking: On these tow rides the vest continuously gets tighter and tighter throughout the ride with no way to relieve the pressure on your collar bones. It's pretty uncomfortable sitting on the brake run not being able to take a full breath because of a vest constricting your chest...

 

- Cedar Fair's restraints: Even with Cedar Fair "unlocking" the vests so you can push them out manually, they're still very tight and you have to continuously push the vest away from your chest to enjoy the ride... Not a fan

 

The only B&M's I've ever had headbanging on are stand-ups, so I don't see the use for vests on anything other than that type of ride.

QFT.

Everything about this post is pretty much exactly how I feel about the B&M vest restraints. I really wish B&M would just go back to the old school harness that they used for ages.

- Dive coaster drops: The ability to float out of your seat within the space between your body and restraints (anybody who's been on SheiKra or Griffon knows) is completely decimated. You are pinned in your seat the whole time and the positives at the bottom keep the restraint pressed down the rest of the ride.

This is exactly why I LOVE SheiKra and Griffon, yet if I never ride Valravn again I'll die a happy person, the vest restraints KILL the ride.

I've been on 4 Wing Coasters, 5 Flying Coasters, Banshee, and Valravn (Every B&M vest in the US). I think they are great in theory (no headbanging), but in reality they constrict on your upper body and inhibit any movement you'd have with the old. Examples:

 

- Dive coaster drops: The ability to float out of your seat within the space between your body and restraints (anybody who's been on SheiKra or Griffon knows) is completely decimated. You are pinned in your seat the whole time and the positives at the bottom keep the restraint pressed down the rest of the ride.

 

- Wild Eagle/X-Flight vest locking: On these tow rides the vest continuously gets tighter and tighter throughout the ride with no way to relieve the pressure on your collar bones. It's pretty uncomfortable sitting on the brake run not being able to take a full breath because of a vest constricting your chest...

 

- Cedar Fair's restraints: Even with Cedar Fair "unlocking" the vests so you can push them out manually, they're still very tight and you have to continuously push the vest away from your chest to enjoy the ride... Not a fan

 

The only B&M's I've ever had headbanging on are stand-ups, so I don't see the use for vests on anything other than that type of ride.

 

QFT.

 

Everything about this post is pretty much exactly how I feel about the B&M vest restraints. I really wish B&M would just go back to the old school harness that they used for ages.

 

- Dive coaster drops: The ability to float out of your seat within the space between your body and restraints (anybody who's been on SheiKra or Griffon knows) is completely decimated. You are pinned in your seat the whole time and the positives at the bottom keep the restraint pressed down the rest of the ride.

 

This is exactly why I LOVE SheiKra and Griffon, yet if I never ride Valravn again I'll die a happy person, the vest restraints KILL the ride.

Prior to riding it, I thought the vests might put a damper on things. Having now ridden, this is not exaggeration. In general, I feel like I'm part of the damn train with the vests. I'd hate to see this become the norm.

This is exactly why I LOVE SheiKra and Griffon, yet if I never ride Valravn again I'll die a happy person, the vest restraints KILL the ride.

Right there with you. I could ride SheiKra and Griffon all day, but I rode Valravn three times and don't care if I ever ride it again. I wasn't fully ready to place the blame on the vests, but the ride just doesn't have the same exciting feeling the others do.

I've been on 4 Wing Coasters, 5 Flying Coasters, Banshee, and Valravn (Every B&M vest in the US). I think they are great in theory (no headbanging), but in reality they constrict on your upper body and inhibit any movement you'd have with the old. Examples:

 

- Dive coaster drops: The ability to float out of your seat within the space between your body and restraints (anybody who's been on SheiKra or Griffon knows) is completely decimated. You are pinned in your seat the whole time and the positives at the bottom keep the restraint pressed down the rest of the ride.

 

- Wild Eagle/X-Flight vest locking: On these tow rides the vest continuously gets tighter and tighter throughout the ride with no way to relieve the pressure on your collar bones. It's pretty uncomfortable sitting on the brake run not being able to take a full breath because of a vest constricting your chest...

 

- Cedar Fair's restraints: Even with Cedar Fair "unlocking" the vests so you can push them out manually, they're still very tight and you have to continuously push the vest away from your chest to enjoy the ride... Not a fan

 

The only B&M's I've ever had headbanging on are stand-ups, so I don't see the use for vests on anything other than that type of ride.

 

QFT.

 

Everything about this post is pretty much exactly how I feel about the B&M vest restraints. I really wish B&M would just go back to the old school harness that they used for ages.

 

- Dive coaster drops: The ability to float out of your seat within the space between your body and restraints (anybody who's been on SheiKra or Griffon knows) is completely decimated. You are pinned in your seat the whole time and the positives at the bottom keep the restraint pressed down the rest of the ride.

 

This is exactly why I LOVE SheiKra and Griffon, yet if I never ride Valravn again I'll die a happy person, the vest restraints KILL the ride.

Prior to riding it, I thought the vests might put a damper on things. Having now ridden, this is not exaggeration. In general, I feel like I'm part of the damn train with the vests. I'd hate to see this become the norm.

I don't think on some rides, feeling like you are almost being grabbed hold of is a bad thing. On the Swarm it adds to the theam of it, like you are being carried off.

^I think the vests would only be a really good thing if B&M made a super intense ride with insanely fast traditions and super strong airtime. In that case having your body properly secured wouldn't be bad but given that they rely a lot on things like floater air it has a nasty impact on their rides.

All B&M's should have one train with old restraints and one train with the new. Make both sides happy

I'm always for any restraint that takes away head banging. New Restraints.

I'm always for any restraint that takes away head banging. New Restraints.

One thing to keep in mind that many aren't considering with the newer restraints is the lower height restriction. 52" may not seem that much lower than 54". However, it could be the difference between a child making the height requirement on Valravn and Gatekeeper, but not Raptor and Rougarou.

One thing to keep in mind that many aren't considering with the newer restraints is the lower height restriction. 52" may not seem that much lower than 54". However, it could be the difference between a child making the height requirement on Valravn and Gatekeeper, but not Raptor and Rougarou.

This is the exact situation that we had last year (minus Valravn of course) with my little sister. This was also nice for Banshee at KI. She was about 53" when we went to both of these parks. Thanks to the new style of restraints she's found her second favorite wing and favorite invert

And yes, I fully support the Gen 2.2 version of B&M restraints. I say 2.2 because they don't lock once the ride starts I went on Wild Eagle, after having been on the updated updated version of the restraints on Thunderbird, Banshee, and Gatekeeper. While it didn't really take away from the ride THAT much, it could've been a much improved experience overall. During the ride, it isn't bad, but whenever you stack on the brakes it's hard to take deep breaths. I have 0 problem with the newest version, thankfully! I just happen to be the perfect body shape and height, apparently. I also prefer the way that it's a lot less claustrophobic for your head. On the old version, while sitting on the brakes, your head felt locked in a position. On these, the brake problem is it being slightly snug if the train stacks. For me, personally, I think that the latter is the lesser of the two evils.

Time to revive a dead topic. . .

I was thinking about two "new to me" coasters for 2016. Which include Valravn, and Griffon. . . Now, I must say that I prefer Griffon much more. . . Mainly because the restraints. Griffon didn't restrict my upper body movement like Valravn did, so I got great airtime, and floater time.

I must say. . . The new B&M restraints are awful. They kill any real good floater/airtime there could be on a coaster.

I'd love to experience a winged coaster with the "inverting dive drop" with standard OTSR's instead of vest restraints.

I think the new B&M restraints have very limited use-cases. I think a B&M wing coaster definitely is a good use for them, but honestly I can't think of another B&M where I would prefer them. I have been on two B&Ms that was quite "bumpy", GateKeeper (but only because the train is so spread out any bumpiness is exaggerated), and Rougarou. I feel like adding those new restraints to Rougarou would help it, but any other B&M I just don't think they are any good. One of the best parts of the B&M dive coasters is the drop, and when I went on Sheikra at BGT, you float around in your restraints, which is pretty damn awesome. But on Valravn, your just kinda strapped to the vehicle, and this floating sensation is removed.

I also find the new restraints kinda painful on Gatekeeper, it just digs into my collarbone and shoulders. Valravn felt a little looser and wasn't painful so that was fine.

Reviving this thread.

I prefer the old restraints WAY more than the new ones, to me they're more comfortable, and they don't restrict me as much as the new restraints. The vest on the new restraints press down against my chest, and if it's a busy day at a park, and I have to wait on a brake run for more than a minute or two, I'm begging to get off, cause the vest is affecting my breathing. Like it's not major like I'm gonna die, but it hurts to where it's annoying and I want to just take the restraint off ASAP, the worst being Valravn and Gatekeeper at CP because all the times I've went, it's busy. Rougarou on the other hand, I love so much! It's comfortable, and I can breathe on a brake run!

I actually love the restraints and trains on Valravn! Very comfy and spacious, there's so much elbow room, and they don't seem to have constrictive vests. I think those are the coziest trains in the park. They made me suddenly aware of how crammed the old school B&M trains are; it's hard to put my hands up and I'm often rubbing arms with strangers if I'm in an inside seat.

I'm not a big fan of wing coasters or of the tightening vests, but I have nothing but praise for the new restraints on Valravn.

For me, it depends on which type of coaster. I like them on GateKeeper and Banshee since those coasters have broad, accentuated elements or many positive G moments, but I really dislike them on Valravn since it takes away any possible airtime down the drops.