Trad Harness Help

Hey! I know there's already a thread on this, but it's been a while. I wanted to get some recommendations on a good read climbing harness. I've tried the DMM renegade and found it was uncomfortable, especially on the waist during hanging belays and raps. I tried on the misty mountain Cadillac and found it way too bulky. Just recieved an arc'teryx fl-365 and its already back in the box with a return shipping label on it. The waist fit fine(almost too big), but the legs were way too tight. I didn't find it overly comfortable either. Would it be worth trying the ar-395 or will it fit the same. Love my BD solution but I need bigger/ and or more gear loops.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!!

The BD Technician is pretty awesome, I've used it for about 40pitches and its been pretty great. The 5th rear gear loop is perfect for things like anchor building gear/gloves. I can easily fit a double rack of C4s, full set of nuts, 4 alpine draws, extra biners, slings, belay devices, and more. Pretty comfortable on hanging belays and surprisingly light weight, legs adjust pretty well too. 

if you're having trouble with leg fit with the arcteryx harness, try the womens size. a womens L is a mens M waist with a mens L leg loops. plus the womens harness has way better colors.

the ar-395a (or 385a) is the shit.

Jake Russell wrote: Hey! I know there's already a thread on this, but it's been a while. I wanted to get some recommendations on a good read climbing harness. I've tried the DMM renegade and found it was uncomfortable, especially on the waist during hanging belays and raps. I tried on the misty mountain Cadillac and found it way too bulky. Just recieved an arc'teryx fl-365 and its already back in the box with a return shipping label on it. The waist fit fine(almost too big), but the legs were way too tight. I didn't find it overly comfortable either. Would it be worth trying the ar-395 or will it fit the same. Love my BD solution but I need bigger/ and or more gear loops.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!!

Find a harness that fits you. I like my Metolus climb safe because the leg loops have a wide range of adjustment. That’s most important for me because one leg is big and the other is much smaller.... 

most of my friends love arc’teryx and wouldn’t change. 
I would suggest you get to a real climbing shop and taste and feel a whole mess of them. 
So if the harness fits use it.  

I´m using the arcteryx harness now. I´m very happy with it, gearloops are huge and i the extra loop at the back is great if you are doing multipitch stuff and need a place for the cordalette, micro-jacket or other stuff. I spent two days on el cap hauling a heavy pig before bailing and it was comfortable enough for that. For regular single day stuff i find it very comfortable.

The only climbing shop with a decent selection near me is rock and snow by the gunks, and I've kind of expended all the options there. That's why I kind of went out on a limb and purchased the arc'teryx online. I checked out the technician there, but didn't try it on because the gear loops still seemed much to small. I tried the DMM on there and hung in it for a bit, and it felt okay. As soon as I took it out climbing later that day it was clear it wasn't going to work for me.
Any one have experience with the big gun? It looks large like the misty mountain, but maybe it fits different?
Thanks again guys

Jake Russell wrote: The only climbing shop with a decent selection near me is rock and snow by the gunks, and I've kind of expended all the options there. That's why I kind of went out on a limb and purchased the arc'teryx online. I checked out the technician there, but didn't try it on because the gear loops still seemed much to small. I tried the DMM on there and hung in it for a bit, and it felt okay. As soon as I took it out climbing later that day it was clear it wasn't going to work for me.
Any one have experience with the big gun? It looks large like the misty mountain, but maybe it fits different?
Thanks again guys

I have a Big Gun. It's very comfortable. If anything it has too many gear loops. I find it to be a little like a backpack with too many pockets. 

I use a Misty Mountain Sonic love it.

Misty mountain cadillac harness all the way 

Wild country summit harness. 7 gear loops. The loops are different sizes and not all slanted or curvy and overlapping like other 7 loop harnesses,  so you can actually use all the loops. As comfy as any other harness I've worn. And only like 45 bucks right now. I got an extra so when my current one is done i will be all set. 

I love my Big Gun. Holds everything and is super comfy when hanging. I've heard complaints that the belt is too wide, but it fits me fine. But then again, I'm a big dude.

John Wilder wrote: In terms of pure comfort, nothing beats the Edelrid Orion. It's by far and away the most comfortable harness on the market if it fits you.

If you rack on your harness, you may not love it as there are only 4 gear loops. I don't mind it when I rack on my harness, but I only do so for redpointing or climbs with a super light rack.

Same, love this harness. Minus the rear/haul loop is too tiny...smaller biners fit, but its not the easiest to clip.

Why not make do with the gear loops on the comfortable harness you like and use a shoulder sling too? Lots of benefits from a shoulder sling when climbing trad. Also I didn't notice the gear loops on my solution being all that different from a trad harness I have. There is only so much space on a harness. Plus if I have have a ton of weight dangling from my harness, then the damn thing is always wanting to slide down. 

I have the solution and made 2 extra gear loops out of some extra cord. I've been really happy with the 6 loop configuration. I put gear in the front loops. Slings and draws on the middle ones, and all other gear on the back loops.

Max, any way you can send me a pic of what you did?
My best
Jake

I also have the Edelrid along with my Arcteryx. The Edelrid is very comfy, but i prefer the minimalistic feel of the arcteryx while climbing and don´t feel that much of a difference comfort wise. At least i have no problem with hanging belays for a whole day.

Like others I find it to be a major con to not have an extra gearloop on the Edelrid and the haul loop is also very small, which i find odd on a harness that seems to be geared towards trad stuff and long routes. Other then that, really great harness.

I use the BD aspect and am very happy with it. Carry my rack well and I find it comfortable.  I used to use the BD Big Gun, which was great for hanging in, but too bulky. Looks lIke they replaced the aspect with the Technician.

Jake Russell wrote: Max, any way you can send me a pic of what you did?
My best
Jake

I've done the same thing on my BD Solution but with just a single gear loop so it looks basically like the new technician's harness rear gear loop. I believe its a Petzl 6mm cord. Experimented with two loops but this gave me more space and functions smoother for me since things can slide to both sides to be grabbed with either hand.  Just tied it on like I would tie a double fisherman's bend around both gear loops. It does a decent job staying in place, it slides around the loop when there is no gear on it and I have double clipped things to my cord loop and the molded loop accidentally before. I've also intentionally double clipped items like a PAS to this so it is easy to locate; I did this after realizing that clipping both keeps it organized since the cord loop forces everything to sag towards the center. I've used it for belay devices, spare slings, 2 double length slings, shoes for walk off and a bail carabiner or two. Not a perfect solution but I haven't had much of an issue with it since the only things that go on it aren't used while climbing and finding something in a strenuous stance won't be an issue. A rubber keeper could likely be implemented to keep it from moving a little better. The knots could also probably be improved, they stay tight for the most part but every so often I will need to cinch them down more. ¡Be careful of sitting down at the base of a climb with a Gri Gri on this loop I've done this multiple times and it's not pleasant!

Jake Russell wrote: Max, any way you can send me a pic of what you did?
My best
Jake

Singing Rock Dome. You can rack 2-3 racks. It's big wall size, but super comfy. $60.

That feeling when I chose a harness for a long time and recently I bought Arcteryx. And now I have found a lot of good reviews about this equipment here! It's nice to know that you made a good choice. By the way, I made a choice based on various ratings and reviews around the Internet. So you can trust them :) For me the Arcteryx is very smartly designed to weigh a lot less but still offer loads of support and allow you to feel as comfortable as possible.