Gear Review - BD Big Gun Harness

I've been using this harness for about two months, and feel that I can offer a decent review. The BD Big Gun Harness, billed as a lighter big wall harness, is a solid piece of equipment. I've used it on all-day desert tower routes, all day high-angle search and rescues, and for rigging purposes, as well as cragging when I've needed a quadruple set of cams and didn't want to use a gear sling.

Overall, I really like this harness. The trim, comfortable fit does not feel cumbersome at all. For such a large harness (5" waist belt on lumbar section), it does not feel like one. I can hardly notice the difference in bulk between this and my BD Blizzard harness (which I also love, but was killing me at long hanging belays). This is especially noticeable when free climbing. Movement is not hindered (but I wouldn't go wearing it on a project sport route, obviously). It's quite comfortable, much more so than my other two BD harnesses (Bod and Blizzard). The foam is thick and wide in the right places (lumbar, back of legs), and I noticed this when my legs hadn't fallen asleep and my ribs and hips weren't throbbing after sitting at a semi-hanging belay for well over an hour.

The dual belay loops come in handy when you have multiple daisies, fifi hooks, biners, etc. Also, the 7 gear loops allows for easy organization and the ability to carry an arsenal of gear. I have carried a quad rack of cams, 2 sets stoppers, aiders, draws, and much much more.

Features include:
-7 color-coded gear loops, including one large loop that is located on the backside of the harness.
-2 belay loops, color-coded, and one has a smaller diameter so that it fits nicely within the other loop.
-includes hammer holster
-15 kn haul loop

Gripes:
Well, this is just nitpicky, but i'm used to having the double-back buckle on the left side of the harness. The Big Gun has it on the right. So for you lefties, this one's for you! Also, BD's sizing is not consistent in all of their harnesses. For example, I thought I was a small in BD, which I am in their Blizzard (Small=30-35" waist),but a small in the Big Gun is only for 27-30" waists. Quite the difference, so research this before you buy.

Stats on other big wall harnesses:
Yates Big Wall - 27 oz., $135
Yates Shield - 23 oz., $135
Metolius Waldo - 25 oz., $129
BD Big Gun - 20 oz., $100

Overall: A-
This is a great harness for all day routes that require a lot of gear, hanging belays, and a significant amount of free climbing. If I was on a route with a ton of aid, overhanging rock, and very little free climbing, I would go with a bigger harness with more padding (Yates). But for me, the Big Gun offers a great compromise between performance, comfort, and versatility.

Thanks for posting this up.

I've been working on a review of the big gun for ages but work has been so crasy the last couple of months I've been neglecting my mp.com responsibilities....

Couple things I would add:

1. I hate the velcro strap that is included. It is the first thing I cut off when I get home. I"ve seem too many people walking around with harness held up only by velcro. Why have it?

2. Although the harness has a supportive and wide waist band its not plush and I get bruising on my hips when hauling. A little bit more padding would be nice.

3. It's compact and doesn't take a lot of room up when packed.

4. Leg loops are hard to adjust and get right. Seems overly complicated to me.

Other than these points I agree that its a very good wall harness ideally suited to smallest walls rather than mutiday seiges when you're doing a lot of vertical camping and hauling a lot of crap.

I don't have anything on the Big Gun harness, but I have a Misty Mountain Cadillac. Its very effective for long days on the wall. Very comfortable. Any one else have anything? $110.00 plenty of gear loops.

ben kenobi wrote:I've been using this harness for about two months, and feel that I can offer a decent review. The BD Big Gun Harness, billed as a lighter big wall harness, is a solid piece of equipment. I've used it on all-day desert tower routes, all day high-angle search and rescues, and for rigging purposes, as well as cragging when I've needed a quadruple set of cams and didn't want to use a gear sling. Overall, I really like this harness. The trim, comfortable fit does not feel cumbersome at all. For such a large harness (5" waist belt on lumbar section), it does not feel like one. I can hardly notice the difference in bulk between this and my BD Blizzard harness (which I also love, but was killing me at long hanging belays). This is especially noticeable when free climbing. Movement is not hindered (but I wouldn't go wearing it on a project sport route, obviously). It's quite comfortable, much more so than my other two BD harnesses (Bod and Blizzard). The foam is thick and wide in the right places (lumbar, back of legs), and I noticed this when my legs hadn't fallen asleep and my ribs and hips weren't throbbing after sitting at a semi-hanging belay for well over an hour. The dual belay loops come in handy when you have multiple daisies, fifi hooks, biners, etc. Also, the 7 gear loops allows for easy organization and the ability to carry an arsenal of gear. I have carried a quad rack of cams, 2 sets stoppers, aiders, draws, and much much more. Features include: -7 color-coded gear loops, including one large loop that is located on the backside of the harness. -2 belay loops, color-coded, and one has a smaller diameter so that it fits nicely within the other loop. -includes hammer holster -15 kn haul loop Gripes: Well, this is just nitpicky, but i'm used to having the double-back buckle on the left side of the harness. The Big Gun has it on the right. So for you lefties, this one's for you! Also, BD's sizing is not consistent in all of their harnesses. For example, I thought I was a small in BD, which I am in their Blizzard (Small=30-35" waist),but a small in the Big Gun is only for 27-30" waists. Quite the difference, so research this before you buy. Stats on other big wall harnesses: Yates Big Wall - 27 oz., $135 Yates Shield - 23 oz., $135 Metolius Waldo - 25 oz., $129 BD Big Gun - 20 oz., $100 Overall: A- This is a great harness for all day routes that require a lot of gear, hanging belays, and a significant amount of free climbing. If I was on a route with a ton of aid, overhanging rock, and very little free climbing, I would go with a bigger harness with more padding (Yates). But for me, the Big Gun offers a great compromise between performance, comfort, and versatility.

My Big Gun harness has the buckle on the left and not the right, but for the most part I totally agree with your review.

Pros:
Large gear loop in back
Dual belay loops
7 gear loops/strong haul loop

Cons:
Leg loops rub when walking(swish swish noises)
Could use more padding
Needs BD"s new comfort edge taping system

I like the harness for long routes, aid and route setting(in or out). I don't use it for sport and the leg loops area bit hard to adjust. My harness history has been Metolius Safe Tech, BD Focus, Petzl Caldiris, BD Big Gun. I thik my next harness will be the Wild Country Syncro and the Petzl Sama for Sport and Trad climbing.

Wanted to like this harness but the truth is it sucks!just like pretty much everything else BD makes...They really need to give up on
trying to make gloves and harnesses and concentrate on what they do best cams and pitons n Ice screws, some packs ect....

Im glad someone has found a use for yet another BD POS.Just like the
Blizzard try getting the buckles snug with freezing hands , freezing because there so called warm gloves were not !

1st off the sizing is probly jap sense they have there junk made in china now can't seem to make a small or med work right I ended up with
the med to err on the larger side and have been trying to make it
work out as I've already laid out the 100 bucks for it.

I could go on and on about the cons of this harness but that has been
brought up by others and I totally concur 1000%!Its not even a good niche harness too small for big wall,too big for trad /sport unless
you like carrying a ton of junk clipped to your waist on a trad climb

I have used several harnesses over the years and would never recommend a Bd harness to my worst enemy which right now appears to be bd harnesses !

Go with a metolius, a Petzl,Misty, Yates ect ...They all have there quirks but nothing like the big gun

Now for those of you that like this harness my hats off to ya
do you have a mutant build or what? BTW Anyone want to buy a
slightly used Big Crap or Blizzard CHEAP!both size med.

HEY BD I think you should rename this harness the BIG DUMP cus ya just
dropped a load of on the public once again!

iceman777 wrote: 1st off the sizing is probly jap sense they have there junk made in china now can't seem to make a small or med work right I ended up with the med to err on the larger side and have been trying to make it work out as I've already laid out the 100 bucks for it.

Oh my... where to begin. Or should I at all?

Japanese sizing from China - enough said.

What an awesome post!

I had tried the harness when it hit the market, it fit great around the waist, but the leg loops were too small. They don't make any substitutes in the loops (to exchange them for a larger size), so I went up a size and the waist and leg loops didn't fit at all. I'll stick with my titan for now. I have to have a wider waist belt due to back problems-it takes the strain off my lower back and allows me to climb with no pain.

I picked up a slightly used one, and here are my thoughts after some trad and single pitch solo aid (all I can do in winter...):

1. Much easier to get snug and to double back than my Shield.

2. Compact, and not heavy.

3. I really miss the dual haul loops that BD had on their last Bigwall harness (10 years ago?).

4. 7 gear loops is a misnomer. 2 are directly above 2 others. I wish I had a couple small loops more up front to stow my aiders/daisies on. Because you only have effectively 4 gear loops for true racking, I find I have less clip in space than my Astroman. WTF? I wish the gear loops would stick out a bit more, as they lie sort of flat and are not as easy to clip as any other harness I've owned (maybe my old Bod was this bad?).

5. I like the dual belay loops that nest. The wider belay loops on my Yates Big Wall, and Yates Shield are a bit clunky, but the sport sized ones on lesser harnesses just don't feel wall worthy. Clippin into the nested dual loops just feels bomber. Not scientific, but I like it...

6. Padding is not really full wall worthy. Just trad climbing I found that some awkward hangs just weren't "plush" like with my Shield. Still a bit better than the Astroman, but not by much.

7. Color is not black. I am tired of black gear that roasts in the sun. Minor, but nice to get something than boring old black.

8. Leg loop elastic adjustment simply sucks. One handed cinching like my other harnesses is sorely missed.

Overall I like it, and will take it on a wall come spring. The less bulk and reasonable comfort make it worth what I paid for it. The better buckle compared to the slipping/annoying Yates Shield buckle are the chief reasons I'm looking forward to in switchin out my Shield.

I've had mine out only a few times.

The little upper gear loops on the sides are kinda ridiculous.

Cut the velcro off first thing.

The hammer holster hangs right under a gear loop no matter what.

But, much more comfortable than the old BD Momentum it replaced!

I bought the Big Gun for a little more back support after catching a whip from one of my more burly partners and suffering from back pain for a few days afterwards. It's great. Zero interference with free climbing and gobs of room to rack double cams or more. There is one monster catch-all gear loop at the back where you can hang the stuff you don't expect to use, but want with you as a backup. The only downside is that it takes up one heck of a lot of room in the pack. You can do some fancy origami folding, and get it down to a manageable size, but it's still a biggie. Definitely recommended for long-route tradsters.

My only complaint is the sizing. I fit perfectly into the old BD mens small (28"-32") The Big Gun for some reason has different sizing which is slightly smaller (26"-30"). Also, the leg loops seem to be small in relation to the waist size. I am actually between a Sm. and a Med. I guess.
Yes, I cut off the silly velcro-bungee thing on the waist first thing!

Pros:
-Well made (even for twice the price). Not too heavy or bulky... for a wall harness.
-The big rear gear loop is awesome.
-The two belay loops are handy.
-Gotta love the logo shaped bar-tack stitching!

Cons:
-Funky sizing.
-Even if the hammer holster did fit my hammer (which it doesn't), it's mounted in a really bad spot right under the gear loops.

I've climbed Zodiac VI, Tangerine Trip VI, The Prow V, Wet Denim Day dream V and many other walls in the harness. I would agree with the general consensus, a solid harness.

- Before this harness I got "wall hips" on every wall I did. Haven't had them since. Considering Tangerine Trip is VI, and took us three days without having a single ledge to fully stand on, this is saying something (compared to a trad or sport harness at least).

- I didn't think I would like the dual belay loops, but they are pretty great for your two daisies while aid leading. Suprisingly they don't get in the way of your belay device either, even if you back yourself up following pitches with a GriGri. Be sure to put it on above your knot though, the belay device tends to stay where it is.

- The sizing is weird as other suggested, try one on first.

- BD, if you are listening: The hammer holster is worthless. It needs a redesign and seems like more of an afterthought. Not worth putting on your harness, it is a pain in the ass to thread through and adds an annoying 5-10 min at the end of the day on the ledge to take off before you go to sleep. might as well just let the hammer dangle, or just put it through a gear loop because the hammer will immeditally fall out if you put it in the holster. This and the right hand buckle are my only gripes, but I feel like a prud since these are the only faults I can find!