Petzl belay loop too short?

Anyone else have trouble w/ petzl belay loops being too small? I have a hirindos, fits perfect in the waist but seems to support most of my weight on the leg loops while hanging, with very little on the waist belt. Never had this problem with BD harnesses I have had, any thoughts/solutions?

I bought Petzl Luna because my BD harness became too large due to my weight loss and summer season and I can't stand it. Way too uncomfortable 

the hirundos is not meant to be comfortable its is the closest harness to a G String next to the sitta

love petzl harnesses Sama is my favorite

It's not really a question of the comfort of the harness, I realize that light, sporty harnesses are not the most comfortable, I've done some backyard expirimenting with just clipping the waist band for hanging, and it wasn't too uncomfortable, so it is more  of a weight distribution issue.

No; well, not me or anyone that I'm aware of.

I have found that Black Diamond harnesses are among the best on the market when it comes to having a longer rise, which is mostly achieved via having a longer and supple belay loop. Most Petzl harnesses definitely don't have belay loops as long as BD harness, which makes for a shorter rise on Petzl harneses - and most other companies' harnesses too.

I'm kinda surprised that this complaint doesn't come up more often.....

Rise:

http://www.metoliusclimbing.com/how-to-fit_a_harness.html

Edit typo

Hirundos is designed to be comfortable to climb. It is not intended to be comfortable to hang.

Nick Black wrote:

Anyone else have trouble w/ petzl belay loops being too small? I have a hirindos, fits perfect in the waist but seems to support most of my weight on the leg loops while hanging, with very little on the waist belt. Never had this problem with BD harnesses I have had, any thoughts/solutions?

The rise (the length of belay loop) is one of the ways in which the harness fit must be dialed. Might not be the right harness for you (solution is to get a different harness...)

I am really surprised at how many people say the harness is not supposed to be comfortable to hang in. What if you are working a route? or a lightweight belayer flying off the ground with every fall? I think I spend more time hanging in my harness while belaying, then I do while climbing. :)

When I was shopping for my more recent harness, Hirundos was the close contender for the best choice. Trying it on, it certainly felt great walking around, and seemed to fit perfectly-- until I tried hanging (good gear shops will always have a place for you to try hanging in the new harness, IMO). As soon as I hung in it, I knew it was not right for me. The weight was fully on the leg loops, and the edge of the leg loop was cutting into my thigh. I have an Arc'teryx FL-365 harness, which fits perfectly, and I can hang in it for couple hours at a time while setting routes, without feeling in the least bit uncomfortable.

But as always, YMMW. My Husband (bigger/heavier guy) dislikes the Arc'teryx harness, because that thin non-padded leg and waist foam starts folding in half for him after a short period of time. He much prefers the BD.

Lena chita wrote:

What if you are working a route?

Personally I have more than one harness. When working a hard route or belaying a buddy working a hard route I bring my uber-comfortable Edelrid Orion. Hirundos is gym and send harness.

Any design is a bunch of compromises based on priorities. Hirundos is made to send. It is not necessarily fit well with any other application.

BTW, teach your climbing partners to always have a QD to clip in direct after fall or hang so you can feel comfortable while them are resting and/or visualising moves.

Pavel Burov wrote:

Personally I have more than one harness. When working a hard route or belaying a buddy working a hard route I bring my uber-comfortable Edelrid Orion. Hirundos is gym and send harness.

Any design is a bunch of compromises based on priorities. Hirundos is made to send. It is not necessarily fit well with any other application.

BTW, teach your climbing partners to always have a QD to clip in direct after fall or hang so you can feel comfortable while them are resting and/or visualising moves.

Fair enough. A multiple-harness solution works, if you can't find one harness that fits well to do everything you want to do. Then again, Arc'teryx costs as much as any two harnesses combined. :) But it takes less room in my pack than two harnesses would.

And yes, obviously, going in direct is a good idea when working a route, and all my partners already do that.

Thanks for all the input, I was guessing it was just a matter of the wrong harness/rise/fit issue. I've added loops of elastic to the rear suspender things, which lengthened the rise about an inch. Not quite perfect leg loop/waist belt weight distribution, but much better than before.