Belts/Harness

Since I am just starting to race, I have no experience with different belts/harnesses, other than skining my thumb on the latch of a camlock setup in a Mid-Ohio drivers school car. My question is about sternum straps. My intuition tells me that something that would keep the belts from slipping off my sholders and distribute any loads across my entire chest would be better. But I have seen statements from a belt manufacturer/retailer that they do not recommend belts with sternum straps. I would appreciate any feedback - intuition, experience, engineering data, etc.

I appreciate all the contributor on this forum. The information has been great!

I got talked into Team Tech belts a few years ago. They are padded on shoulders and behind the camlock and have a strap that keeps them together across the chest. They are expensive, but when out of date they replaced the whole setup for half price. Doing enduros in other cars has made me appreciate my belts. They are by far the most comfortable on the market. I am close to buying their "Turner Device" head restraint system. I am still doing a litttle research brfore I buy.
Mac

Opinions on sternum straps vary.

I hate them, and I feel they are dangerous. In the event of lap buckle or belt failure, a sternum strap is aimed right at your throat & neck.

They're also one more thing to try and untangle when you're trying to bail out of the car. Sometimes, you want to get out pretty damn fast, and a sternum strap is a whole other step to remember. I had a pretty big crash about 10 years ago, and due to where I ended up (right on top of the bridge at WGI), I wanted and needed to bail pretty fast. Popped the belts, made a dive for the passenger window and was immediately stopped/choked by the sternum strap, which I had previously thought was a good idea.

Install good belts properly, and you won't need them, even if you have a HANS device.