Gatekeeper Restraints

Am I the only person who HATES the gatekeeper restraints? They are extremely tight, and are uncomfortable for taller people, they provide no room for airtime, and worst of all, it tightens throughout the ride, leaving me in pain when the ride is over.

I think the ride would be so much better with a harness + lap bar combination thing (I305 maybe?).

Anyone else agree?

I remember hating them initially, but I think the over tightening has been either reduced or eliminated.

Yeah, they were uncomfortable its debut year, but they've corrected the issue. And even when they were tight, I still prefer those compared to the style on Raptor and Rougarou.

The first few times I rode Gatekeeper its debut year, I felt like I was going to have a broken collarbone by the end of the ride, but this year it was much more tolerable. I also didn't have any issues with the similar restraints on Banshee.

Granted, being tall I've never had an issue with headbanging with most OTSRs, so I don't really have a huge preference one way or another.

Yes, the Gatekeeper restraints were fixed during the first year of operation. If you haven't ridden Gatekeeper since the first year before the restraints were fixed, give it a try again, you will probably like it.

As a tall person, I love them, because the other OTSRs are bad for my shoulders. These are much better.

I dislike the restraints due to the fact that they don't allow for any airtime. Gatekeeper has an outstanding airtime hill but the restraint keeps me pinned to the seat. So in that sense I dislike them, however they are great in terms of being fairly comfortable, plus there is no head banging.

Depends entirely on your definition of "air time" in that case. Air time can either be negative forces, or moments where you feel like you're lifted from your seat. It's different for everyone.

Yeah, to me air time is synonymous with negative g's, being physically lifted from the seat really doesn't matter.

After Gatekeeper's media day in 2013, I had bruises on my collar bones after 3 rides. About midway through the season they fixed it so the vest part doesn't lock, making it a lot more comfortable. Easily my favorite restraints in the park, and I'm looking forward to having the same style on Valravn

Can't stand the restraints. They kill my shoulders. Number one reason I don't really care for the ride.

I also found Gatekeeper to be rather rough back when I rode it in the summer.

Gatekeeper's restraints are the only thing in the world that make me feel claustrophobic. I about have a panic attack sitting on the final brake run going into the station. The original ones were terrible, but they managed to make the updated ones bearable.

CPboy77 said:
I also found Gatekeeper to be rather rough back when I rode it in the summer.

No, CPboy77, a B&M rattle when it's going into a break run is not anywhere near rough.

I actually think it and Maverick are the two smoothest rides in the park...

Im a taller person myself. I find that they pinch my shoulders a bit at the top. I have learned however to hold on lower down the restraint (about 1/3 from the bottom seems to work well) which rolls my shoulders forward and helps a lot. I find that they tighten down a little more than is comfortable at the bottom of the dive loop but it is not bad at all. Overall, I feel like someone is giving me a strong hug for the ride duration. I prefer to be able to move around a bit. the restraints on Banshee are almost the same but they didn't bother me at all. Hopefully Valravn doesn't give me any issues.

If they fixed the restraints then they sure didn't do a good job on it because I was having issued with them back in August. They gradually get tighter throughout the ride which makes me hate them.

It's sort of a give-and-take for me- I love that GK's restraints aren't hard plastic that wrecks the sides of my head, but I like the extra breathing room on restraints like Rougarou's.

My biggest issue with GK, me being super "pear-shaped" (BOOTY ISSUES, OKAY?), is the occasional close-call with the belt actually latching. Never had it not work, but it's taken me too long for comfort once or twice.

Actually, during the last ride of our trip this past October, the ops almost sent me up without being snapped in, which was...stressful. I mean, the restraints were obviously locked, but still. They gave the all-clear while I was still trying to click the buckle, and I had to yell "NOT CLEAR," like a crazy person.

Wait, what were we talking about? Oh, yeah. I think I prefer the flexible vests, but I can definitely see why others would feel claustrophobic.

This summer during my trip with my friends we stooped at Kings Island before heading to CP. Banshee being the 1st coaster I tried with the new restraints and to be completely honest I didn't like them, then I headed up to CP and Gatekeepers were completely different to me. It was just an extremely fun ride

I personally like the fact that the vest style B&M restraints tend to lock you in to your seat more then the previous ones. I don't know, but maybe as I'm getting older I prefer the more secure feeling. I also like how they press down on my pockets more, securing items in them.

I did hate how they ratcheted down through out the ride, and was one of the reasons I didn't ride Gatekeeper its first season much more then a handful of times. I loved them on Banshee and I'm looking forward to them on Valravn. Another reason I like them is so far every coaster to use them has lowered the height restriction from the standard B&M 54" to 52". While that may not sound like a lot, it does make the ride slightly more family friendly.

The main drawback I see with Gatekepper restraint's is the maximum height restriction. At least 78" (6' 6") is not as bad as some of Intamin's 76" (6' 4") restriction.

I absolutely hate the restraints on Gatekeeper. They hurt my thighs by the end of the ride. Then I'm sitting in the brake run feeling like I just rode Skyrush (I wish).

jscll, which Intamins rides have a height max of 6'4"?