Arc'Teryx Harnesses

Just been looking at a few of the Arc'Teryx Harnesses including the R275, R320 and the R300... Just wondering if anyone has any opinions on them. I'm just looking for a nice trad harness and imao Arc'teryx is always the best...

They rock! I have the red one and it is great. Very comfortable and very light. Sometimes I will forget i'm wearing it. Been trad climbing in it for 6 monoths now, maybe 150 pitches. Still looks in great shape. I would say if u dont mind spending a bill grab it up, but it is kinda pricey!!!!!

Jim Reynolds wrote:Just been looking at a few of the Arc'Teryx Harnesses including the R275, R320 and the R300... Just wondering if anyone has any opinions on them. I'm just looking for a nice trad harness and imao Arc'teryx is always the best...

http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/clearancelist.cfm?cat=Climbing

half off 2010's
limited sizes, though. I picked up a CAMP Jasper for my brother at a great price, though.

if you rack gear on your harness they suck, there isn't enough support for the gearloops and the webbing begins to collapse. for sportclimbing though, or climbs where you're not carrying anything on the harness itself they kick ass. not worth the price though in my opinion. cost twice as much as any other harness with limited benefits.

I have the alpine one, not sure model number. I have climbed once in gym and one multiple pitch trad. I really like it for both. All my previous harnesses have been more padded alpine style so I was surprised with the comfort and fit. Really like the light weight and adjustability. Racked runners/biners on it with no issues. Expensive but IMO worth it...

Keenan Waeschle wrote:if you rack gear on your harness they suck

I rack all my gear on my harness and haven't had a problem ever with the R320. I think the gear loops on these harnesses are pretty much the bee's knees.

I like mine. It's really nice that I can fold it up and put it in my pocket if I have to (I don't know why). It's the lightest harness I have ever used. In general it is fairly comfortable. I do think the lack of padding makes it uncomfortable for hanging around in for a long time (longer than 30 min.) so not an aid climbing harness or for climbs with a lot of hanging belays. I also wish the harness loops didn't hang as long and had a different style so things hung more towards my rear. I find myself pushing gear out of the way a lot so I can see my feet. Other than that very nicely made.

my complaint other than the price is that the drop seat wears out very quickly i find

unless you get it on sale, id buy it at rei so that you can swap it anytime

other than that its great ... note that quite a few companies are coming out with low profile harnesses for a lot less

So i have owned the trad version for three years. I wore through the bottom tie in point to the orange indicator in three years .I've put some great mileage on aid and free. Thats the only dissapointing thing i can say about it. I just recently went and hung in a bunch of harnesses and this thin is still by far the most comfy one out there on the market for me. Will invest in the new version once it goes on sale to replace my old one.

T

jmeizis wrote:I also wish the harness loops didn't hang as long and had a different style so things hung more towards my rear. I find myself pushing gear out of the way a lot so I can see my feet.

The gear loops are reversable. You can take the plastic bottom part off, rotate it and re-install and the gear will hang towards the back.

Agreed with the general sentiment. I'm on my second and they are great. The elastic does wear out quickly, but when I contacted Arc'teryx about it, they just sent me a new one. Well worth the high price!

I had the R300 and the bottom belay loop blew out in less than 3 months. I climb about an average of 3-4 days a week. When I say blew out I mean the webbing was worn through exposing the indicator. I'm not sure how much this compromised the integrity of the harness, but it didn't give me a warm fuzzy so I eventually got rid of it. Was it comfortable for sport climbing? Heck yeah! It was the most comfortable harness I've ever worn, but for $150 I went back to the $75 harness and I still have worn my belay loop out since switching back.

My suggestion is that if you really want one goto REI. When the belay loop blows out (assuming they haven't fixed this problem) you won't have to dick around with the hassle of sending it back to Arc'Teryx when you can just drop by your local REI.

jarthur wrote:I had the R300 and the bottom belay loop blew out in less than 3 months. I climb about an average of 3-4 days a week. When I say blew out I mean the webbing was worn through exposing the indicator. I'm not sure how much this compromised the integrity of the harness, but it didn't give me a warm fuzzy so I eventually got rid of it. Was it comfortable for sport climbing? Heck yeah! It was the most comfortable harness I've ever worn, but for $150 I went back to the $75 harness and I still have worn my belay loop out since switching back. My suggestion is that if you really want one goto REI. When the belay loop blows out (assuming they haven't fixed this problem) you won't have to dick around with the hassle of sending it back to Arc'Teryx when you can just drop by your local REI.

Just out of curiosity, does your other harness has the indicator as well?

BTW, non-structural haul loop means it's not a full strength haul loop, correct?

divnamite wrote: Just out of curiosity, does your other harness has the indicator as well? BTW, non-structural haul loop means it's not a full strength haul loop, correct?

Right now I'm using the Black Diamond Ozone. My take on it is that it's BD's alternative to the Arc'Teryx Warp design and uses a Kinetic Core Construction. I thought it had an indicator when I first bought it, but I may be mistaken. If it does then it's not showing. It's not as comfortable for me as the R300, but it's not that much different.

Why do you ask about a non-structural haul loop? Because I haven't mentioned this at all. Is this a separate issue?

I have the R320 (have had it for approx 8mths now)

I was hesitant at first to shell out $150, but I'm more than happy that I did. It's super-comfortable (i've used it for sport, trad, ice, aid, and rope-soloing), very lightweight, gear loops are great, etc.

My only complaint is the haul loop - they tacked on a silly little plastic ring that's not even close to a rated strength. Kinda dumb considering they could've just beefed up the existing cloth that holds the little plastic ring, and had a stronger and more useful haul loop in the end.

Overall though, that's a small complaint on an otherwise outstanding harness!

I am an R320 owner as well.

Just wanted to throw in something regarding people saying "Buy it at REI for possible durability issues". Arc'teryx harnesses come with lifetime replacement. If anything on the harness wears out, Arc'teryx will replace the entire harness for free. (Max alluded to this I guess.) I'd suggest finding the best deal possible and let Arc'teryx take care of you instead of the retailer.

jarthur wrote: Right now I'm using the Black Diamond Ozone. My take on it is that it's BD's alternative to the Arc'Teryx Warp design and uses a Kinetic Core Construction. I thought it had an indicator when I first bought it, but I may be mistaken. If it does then it's not showing. It's not as comfortable for me as the R300, but it's not that much different. Why do you ask about a non-structural haul loop? Because I haven't mentioned this at all. Is this a separate issue?

Never mind. Ozone and R300 are different animals.

Haul loop is just a general question for Arcteryx harness. I never understand why they never made it a full strength, even on its bigwall harness.

Chance Copeland wrote:I am an R320 owner as well. Just wanted to throw in something regarding people saying "Buy it at REI for possible durability issues". Arc'teryx harnesses come with lifetime replacement. If anything on the harness wears out, Arc'teryx will replace the entire harness for free. (Max alluded to this I guess.) I'd suggest finding the best deal possible and let Arc'teryx take care of you instead of the retailer.

You could do that, but when my wife called Arc'Teryx about this I would have had to send it to Canada, get an RMA code, and all those other hoops involved as opposed to driving 5 miles in any direction to get it replaced in Westminster.

On another note why try the same harness that I'll have to send back later when there are other options?

Chance Copeland wrote:I am an R320 owner as well. Just wanted to throw in something regarding people saying "Buy it at REI for possible durability issues". Arc'teryx harnesses come with lifetime replacement. If anything on the harness wears out, Arc'teryx will replace the entire harness for free. (Max alluded to this I guess.) I'd suggest finding the best deal possible and let Arc'teryx take care of you instead of the retailer.

chance ,,,, i live in vancouver bc, not too far from the dead bird service centre ... and it took a week or so for dead bird to get back to me with a return authorization number ...

by that time i had already taken it back to MEC (local rei type store) and they had already given me a credit on the spot in 1 day ...

maybe some people wouldnt mind not climbing for a week in addition to the week or more itll take to ship to them, for them to make a decision, and ship back to you ... so say 2+ weeks without a harness ... i sure do especially if its in climbing season .... or maybe some people just have like 10 harnesses ....

i dont bother dealing with dead bird anymore ... unless its on a crazy sale, i just buy from mec/rei ... and get a same day swap for any reason if anything goes wrong

as to the haul loop ... its really a chalk bag loop and wears out very quickly ...

divnamite wrote: Never mind. Ozone and R300 are different animals. Haul loop is just a general question for Arcteryx harness. I never understand why they never made it a full strength, even on its bigwall harness.

Very simple: the tech behind the widened harness prevents this from being practical.

Full strength haul loops are achieved by sewing a haul loop around the main structural webbing of the harness. The construction of the arc'teryx harness webbing itself is the structural part of the harness. A loop would have to be put around the entire width of the harness. Any weight on this would cause the top to be pulled downwards and reduce possibly reduce the strength of the main waist belt.

Why don't they do the same thing like the belay loop? Will it reduce comfort? Less packable, more costly?