[SEDur]

Hi all.
Before I blow a ton on some slinky Canadian gusset floss, can anyone recommend a good quality harness that will last me a decent amount of time I.e. 5+ years.

I am happy to spend out for something like the arc teryx jobbys, but wanted to ask the experienced and knowledgeable amongst you if there are any better suggestions for less money.

I will mostly be sport climbing, though may commit to trad eventually.
The two harnesses I currently have are too big, and I don't fancy self-castration.
Cheers

[ghisino]

I've had a good experience with a cassin laser lately. Comfy for my proportions and relatively durable

Mammut and edelrid have plastic-reinforced tie in point which should maje them last longer.

Arcteryx have bas press durability wise.


As for comfort you really need to try them out, each brand fits different morphotypes, ie german brands seem to ne built for tall skinny types, the aforementioned cassin is on the opposite end of the spectrum and BD seems to ne in the middle, etc...

[TobyD]

Petzl Hirundos is great for sport, or trad with a small rack. Inexpensive, comfortable, light etc. BD last ages and always seem good. I haven't really liked the arcteryx harnesses i've tried, or certainly no more than an average £60 harness anyway, and would never pay out 100 plus for one.

[Will Hunt]

Interesting question. Is it reasonable to expect a 'high performance', i.e. lightweight, harness to stand up to 5+ years of sport climbing? Current thinking is that less but more thoughtfully used padding = more comfort (I have a reasonably light Edelrid Atmosphere that seems to prove this).

The Atmosphere has a plastic cover over the bottom rope loop which presumably reduces wear on the important fabric bit underneath. Can't be a bad thing    I have heard that the plastic sheath snaps easily but it hasn't done so on me so far.

[Muenchener]

Harnesses. Tricky one, given that people only buy one every few years so almost nobody has any real basis of experience to compare theirs with whatever else is on the market.

Mammut ... have plastic-reinforced tie in point which should make them last longer.

That said, I've had a Mammut Togir for a couple of years and am very happy with it. Comfy, reasonably light and unobtrusive for sport climbing but have managed to cram a Gogarth rack onto it. Good colour too.

Not totally sure of the value of the plastic bit. Mine is showing signs of wear on the upper tie-in point, which just has the normal fabric covering. Nowhere near worn out yet, but visibly not new any more.

[finbarrr]

somewhat off topic, but i was just looking at photo #5 in this article:
http://news-beta.nationalgeographic.com/2015/01/150113-climbing-yosemite-capitan-dawn-wall-caldwell-jorgeson/

[Disturbed_one51]

I've had a range of Wild country harnesses over the years and i love my wild country Vision Elite for trad as it holds loads of gear easily without sagging and doesn't get uncomfortable when hanging around on belays.  That has been going strong for the last 5 years and now looking at the WC website i have no idea what the equivalent harness is anymore.
Last year I decided to get a lightweight fancy harness for sport and lightweight alpinism so i got a Arcteryx 320a. For its purpose it is great, its really light and surprisingly comfortable but as soon as it comes to hanging around in it for a long time or hauling a heavy trad rack (my horrific 20 cam rack) I go running back to my WC harness.  In terms of build quality most harnesses even with a punishing amount of use should last you 5 years.
But everybody is different and the key is just to find out which one fits you. so try a few and hang around in them.

[205Chris]

I am also in the market for a new harness. The Arcteryx things (R300/ 320) look good - and are the local brand out here - but I am told the ultra-thin leg loop material can bunch up and becoming annoying.

I've got one of these and the leg loops are definitely the worst part of it, particularly if you're on belay duty and your fat mate is working a sport route.

I've swapped the leg loops on it for a pair off a Black Diamond harness I got for free and it's much more comfortable.

[jwi]

Wild Countries Vision Elite is really good for long routes with lots of gear, but for me it is too uncomfortable for loooong belay-sessions, hanging stances, cleaning routes etc... Then again, this maybe not apply to you?

Petzl Sama is a good harness for sport climbing, very comfy and not too heavy, but the loops are slightly too far back for trad (imho).

The plastic protection thing is probably better than the tape-jobs I've resorted to at times...

[Baron]

Best harness I've had in 20+ years:
http://www.cragxclimbing.com/collections/harnesses/products/petzl-sama-harness

Very comfy to hang/dog in. Great for trad. Good for 8c redpoints too (not by me).

[Grubes]

not sure where you are based SEDur but I have a spare arc'teryx R275 size large which is as new if your interested.
I wore it once or twice at the wall and thought I lost it so bought another.

Looking for £55+p&p.

I am Huddersfield based.

[SEDur]

Hi Grubes.
That is an excellent offer and I wish I could take you up on it.
I am based near the peak.

Unfortunately, my current harnesses are both sized large and even with everything sinched as tight as will go, is still far too baggy.
I would also not want to sell these harnesses to anyone, because they were given to me so I cannot attest to the history of either before me. I have stored them well, and they are in good condition (I have taken a few uncomfortable falls in both), but still...

I did try on the Sama at a shop yesterday on the way home from work, and was impressed with how comfy it felt.
I have never owned a harness with elastic leg loops before. Are they much better than adjustable leg loops?

[jwi]

I have never owned a harness with elastic leg loops before. Are they much better than adjustable leg loops?

Yes.

[spidermonkey09]

Anyone ever used one of these? https://bananafingers.co.uk/ocun-neon

I'm going to need a new harness this year. I really rate the Petzl Hirundos I've used the last few seasons but am balking a little at £80+. The Ocun compares favourable on weight and appears functionally very similar/identical. Also comes in this lurid green.

Any other suggestions also welcome!

[cheque]

Those Ocun harnesses are good. I had the forerunner to that which was basically the same thing but in different colours.

Ocun seem to make some of DMM’s harnesses (or vice versa) as the DMM Trance (my current harness) is very similar.

[Paul B]

I'm going to need a new harness this year. I really rate the Petzl Hirundos I've used the last few seasons but am balking a little at £80+. The Ocun compares favourable on weight and appears functionally very similar/identical. Also comes in this lurid green.

Not the Arc'Teryx harnesses then! Mine has stood up to significant abuse.

[tk421a]

Anyone ever used one of these? https://bananafingers.co.uk/ocun-neon

I'm going to need a new harness this year. I really rate the Petzl Hirundos I've used the last few seasons but am balking a little at £80+. The Ocun compares favourable on weight and appears functionally very similar/identical. Also comes in this lurid green.

Any other suggestions also welcome!

https://rockrun.com/collections/deal/products/black-diamond-air-net?variant=39359079710901

Sub £80 (just)

[Duncan campbell]

I'm going to need a new harness this year. I really rate the Petzl Hirundos I've used the last few seasons but am balking a little at £80+. The Ocun compares favourable on weight and appears functionally very similar/identical. Also comes in this lurid green.

Not the Arc'Teryx harnesses then! Mine has stood up to significant abuse.

I have had arcteryx the past 10 years and am sold on them. Mates have gone through at least 2 hirundos in the time I’ve had my current arcteryx. This one has lasted me since end of 2017. Is wearing through at leg loops so managed to get a cheap women’s c-Quence in V12 to replace it but haven’t started using it yet!

Well worth the money for the abuse they take + comfort + really like the gear loops. But I do wear a harness at work so don’t want to wear an uncomfortable one at the weekends. 

[andy moles]

One thing I'd say about the only Arc'teryx harness I've owned (it was green with yellow gear loops, can't remember the model), it has this annoying bit of stitching that sat on my left hip bone. Sounds like a petty complaint but on full days it became very uncomfortable!

[Fultonius]

One thing I'd say about the only Arc'teryx harness I've owned (it was green with yellow gear loops, can't remember the model), it has this annoying bit of stitching that sat on my left hip bone. Sounds like a petty complaint but on full days it became very uncomfortable!

I have a similar issue with the BD Momentum Guide - right on the hip bones there is a little strip of rough (the "tough" outer fabric) that rubs really bad after a few hours in the harness. Mate of mine ended up with bleeding sores on Freerider from the same issue.

[spidermonkey09]

Thanks all, that's good info.

Dunc, which model Arc one do you have? Can see the women's c quence is the same price as a Hirundos on v12 which is tempting. Is the women's one fitting any difrerent for you?

Edit, balls, they don't have my size but would still be good to know!

[Duncan campbell]

The one I’m currently using was an older model AR-something (the green + yellow loops molesy mentions above) have that in a small.

Went into V12 and found that a small C-Quence in the women’s fits pretty much the same - is a bit smaller but not massively so. The waist band is a little narrower than the AR is the main difference I’ve noticed but haven’t started using it yet so don’t know if it will be a bit less comfy in practice. Good chance to snap one up for cheap as think the prices are going up for the next models. I’d imagine you’d be a small too Jim?

[spidermonkey09]

I'm an XS in the Hirundos (I was right on the border between the sizes) and the measurements are the same for the arc harnesses so was thinking I'd be an XS in them too. You might be right though, I might get away with a small if the women's fit a bit smaller, and could probably sell it on it it didn't fit...tempting!

[Duncan campbell]

Skinny bastard!   

[Paul B]

If it's for sport then this is probably less of a concern but you either lose loops, or they get smaller in skinny b*stard sizes.

I've got the same green and yellow Arc'Teryx mentioned by Andy (FL-365?) and I actually wore quite a big hole in my hips being an idiot and hauling in it. I ended up needing to cut up my sleeping mat and taped that in position for the remainder of the route.

I've also got one of their original harnesses languishing in a box somewhere. It was one where the legs didn't have the same technology as the waist band. I didn't find it very comfortable for RPing so it got very little use.