10 Thoughts on the Dire State of the Climbing Harness Market in 2025

1. I'm coming off of a 10+ year run of Black Diamond Chaos harnesses, and my last one is finally ready for retirement. I'm looking for a replacement and the market is, frankly, sparse.
2. It doesn't seem like any other company is seizing the incredibly obvious market niche of a harness with a) big gear loops for a full rack; b) nonadjustable leg loops; c) comfy enough for hanging belays; d) 12-13 oz. or less; e) something to clip jacket, water, and shoes to on the back (haul loop or 5th gear loop); f) burly enough to hold the weight of a rack and approach shoes without slipping down.
3. The BD Solution Guide seemed to fit the bill. But it's been discontinued and the rumored Babsi harness doesn't seem imminent.
4. In other words, from 2013-now, what the heck happened to the harness market? For a minute in the 2010s, it looked like Arcteryx was going to push the market forward with creative materials, new gear loop shapes, and sky-high prices. The a-395a still exists ($160) and now the C-quence has been seemingly replaced by the Skaha ($180). No thanks. 
5. But other than the prices, have there been innovations since the mid-2010s?
6. Actually, harness prices have not increased as much as shoe prices have in the same time period. Discuss.
7. Right now, I'm trying to decide between the BD Zone and the Mammut Sender. The Zone reputedly has small gear loops (a review measured them at 3"), and I can't find good info on the Sender's gear loops (it's mostly described a sport harness, which is worrisome). Also, the Sender may be discontinued, taking one more option off the market.
8. Am I missing something? Is there a BD Chaos replacement out there somewhere? Is there a new category of harness that I'm missing since I haven't comparison shopped in 12 years? Are the new lightweight harnesses now burly enough to act as daily drivers? (The recent BD Vision explosion is evidence that this is not the case....)
9. Why don't companies list the size of their gear loops? Literally every harness has a review that says "the gear loops are too small." But only a few reviewers--not companies--are actually measuring them!
10. Has anyone ever bought a harness and said "the gear loops are too big?"
11. Bonus thought: Is the harness market just a loss leader for gear companies and no one puts resources into improving them?

Blue Ice Cuesta fits most of your desires. The only weak point I've experienced is accelerated wear on the hard points due to being so light, but a bit of tape or seam seal to reinforce that area works wonders.

Misty Mountain?

Just get the BD Momentum like the rest of us plebes. It's on sale now too

Petal Adjama has nice big gear loops, but it’s pretty heavy and has a pretty critical wear point flaw on the gear loops that can eventually send your rack down the route. Mist mountain makes some with plenty of space too but also heavy. That Arc 395 does pretty well with a single rack on each front gear loop and all your draws on the back.

That's funny, I'm still nursing my last BD Chaos harness along too. Will the regular Solution fit in its place... I'll be finding out soon. The Misty Mountain Turbo also seems like it could work. 

Big Redwrote:

Blue Ice Cuesta fits most of your desires. The only weak point I've experienced is accelerated wear on the hard points due to being so light, but a bit of tape or seam seal to reinforce that area works wonders.

Thanks--it looks like a decent option though it's missing a haul loop/5th gear loop. It looks like there's a little tab that you could hang a shoe carabiner through; is that burly enough to trust?

Also, it looks like Blue Ice is discontinuing the version with non-adjustable leg loops!

Plus, the Mammut Sender was mentioned in this thread as randomly breaking: https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/200278963/harness-broke-during-fall?page=2

Not very confidence-inspiring!

EDIT: I'm rate limited so here are more thoughts:

I find the leg loop buckles add bulk, weight, a wear point, and something to get stuck in squeeze chimneys for no discernible benefit. Once I started wearing harnesses with non-adjustable buckles, I never once wished to go back. To be sure, I assume there are some body shapes for which this is not true.

But if I end up needing to compromise on something, this might be it--the WC Mosquito Pro looks like a good option if I can get over the leg loop thing. 

Also, there are some good hacks for adding a fifth loop out there. I might do that with a 4-loop harness. But seriously, I would pay an actual manufacturer to do it for me. Still waiting for someone to chime in and say they wish their harness had smaller gear loops.

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/121493813/how-to-diy-gear-loops-on-a-harness

https://www.reddit.com/r/myog/comments/15o9zcn/added_another_gear_loop_to_my_harness_more/

https://www.alpinesavvy.com/blog/diy-add-gear-loops-to-your-pack-for-alpine-climbi

Also, MM Cadillac is $180 retail and weighs 18.8 oz. I know it has its adherents and their feelings are valid but it's not for me. MM Cadillac F is 15.1 oz.

Why the aversion to adjustable leg loops? Bd technician meets most of your reqs other than that.  Also I haven’t used it but Wild country mosquito pro looks to have (just 4) fairly large gear loops

Nkane 1wrote:

Thanks--it looks like a decent option though it's missing a haul loop/5th gear loop. It looks like there's a little tab that you could hang a shoe carabiner through; is that burly enough to trust?

Also, it looks like Blue Ice is discontinuing the version with non-adjustable leg loops!

5th loop is easy to add with a bit of cord between the two back loops.

I am running into the same thing since I’ve gotten into grad. Had my eyes on the solution guide for a while but said I’d wait until I built my rack and everything, then it was gone. Seems like companies focus a lot on gym and sport climbing from what I’ve seen. 

Misty Mountains my go to but I am biased being from Nc. Plenty of space on the harness for anything you’d want to carry and plenty comfortable. I use the Cadillac F which also has fixed legs as you were desiring. Kind of costly and definitely not light but comfortable as can be. 

Another vote for the MM Cadillac F (or Turbo).

I'm still climbing in my Solution Guide and have been contemplating this topic in anticipation of needing to replace it one day. Similar to your experience, I have not been able to identify a "perfect" replacement for the SG that is currently sold... I prefer having a single harness that can transition "well" between indoor and outdoor (single-day multi-pitching, no big walls yet) climbing. This rules out some of the burlier "big wall" options like the MM Cadillac and BD Long Haul for me, leaving a seemingly narrow middle ground of options that have robust gear loops, a fifth loop, and overall durable construction without being TOO bulky or cumbersome. I can appreciate the last point is subjective and that my harness weight will never be the reason I can't climb harder grades, I guess it's just a personal preference thing at a certain point.

If one were willing to compromise on non-adjustable leg loops (doesn't seem like OP is given the final two options they've narrowed their search down to), I'd throw the Edelrid Sendero into the mix. There's a healthy MP thread discussing it here: https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/125779524/edelrid-sendero-ii-harness.. Alongside the BD Technician, which was mentioned by a previous commenter (and, as far as I can tell, seems to be the same as an SG but with adjustable leg loops... feel free to point out other differences that I'm probably missing), the Sendero strikes me as another leading Solution Guide alternative that is currently sold. Were I in need of a new harness today, I think I'd probably be deciding between these two or an AR395.

... or maybe I just need to cave and have two separate harnesses for different use cases. Either way, I'm hoping to get lots of mileage out of my Solution Guide before it gets retired. Curious to see what other options will come up on this thread!

Edit: coming around to the MM turbo as well.

Second Edit: Solution Guide replacement coming this year?!?! Curious to see how this compares to the old version (hopefully it will have bigger gear loops and fixed legs) and the new regular Solution (which supposedly is getting a fifth gear loop - unsure what would differentiate the two if so)?

What's wrong with adjustable leg loops? the 395a is the harness you want.

The Zone is also really great, but yeah the gear loops are on the smaller side. It's not super comfy hanging, but tbh no harness is really that comfortable at a hanging belay except for big and heavy ones which you also don't want.

I like everything about my AR-395a...except the adjustable leg loops. I pull them just tight enough so I can tuck the excess tab in the belt loop, yet they always loosen and the end slips out from the belt loop.  

Mildly annoying enough for me to buy a used C-quence on MP and now use it. 

Charles Iguanawrote:

I like everything about my AR-395a...except the adjustable leg loops. I pull them just tight enough so I can tuck the excess tab in the belt loop, yet they always loosen and the end slips out from the belt loop.  

Mildly annoying enough for me to buy a used C-quence on MP and now use it. 

This is really what I don't get. Arc has been making premium harnesses for decades now. The first R-320 was the best harness I ever bought. But now they have only two harnesses in their line, only one of which has fixed leg loops and is decidedly inferior. 

I keep waiting for someone to split the difference between an AR-395, Sitta, and Choucas Pro, but I seem to be waiting in vain. Finding a ~300g reasonably comfortable fixed leg loop harness with four good gear loops, a haul loop, and four ice clipper slots shouldn't be like finding the Holy Grail.

95% of my climbing is long days in Yosemite. I seem to share a lot of OP's prefs for harnesses. My harness experiences:

Many years with the Momentum. Good workhorse for the price at that point on my climbing. Solid B

Two years with the Metolius SafeTech Trad, a terrible harness and the least dialed piece of climbing gear I've ever used. D-

Handful of seasons with the Misty Mountain Cadillac, which I got because I was climbing w my daughter + wife in guide mode and wanted all 7 loops for carrying lots of stuff. Good to great harness but not light, hence not ideal for back country. Emphasis on "ideal" - I took it into the Sierra a bunch and it's fine, a few oz won't kill us. Pricey but built well and to last.

Last week I bought the Solution and the Technician on sale to compare them. The gear loops on the Solution are smaller, though I like the feel overall and that there are no buckles on the legs. But feels too sport oriented. I'll probably keep the Technician but I don't like the adjustable leg loops + I find the gear loops to be not as well placed as the Cadillac; they ride much further back. Maybe to accommodate the ice slots, which I'll never use. The fifth loop is good. Can't grade it yet but seems promising.

The Technician won't be comfortable at a hanging belay but the other harness I use is the Yates Shield and even that harness is not comfortable at a hanging belay, so it's not part of my criteria.

I may end up with another Cadillac in time but I'm looking forward to taking the Technician up something like the Steck-Salathe to see how it feels.

Mike Larsonwrote:

This is really what I don't get. Arc has been making premium harnesses for decades now. The first R-320 was the best harness I ever bought. But now they have only two harnesses in their line, only one of which has fixed leg loops and is decidedly inferior. 

I keep waiting for someone to split the difference between an AR-395, Sitta, and Choucas Pro, but I seem to be waiting in vain. Finding a ~300g reasonably comfortable fixed leg loop harness with four good gear loops, a haul loop, and four ice clipper slots shouldn't be like finding the Holy Grail.

yeah, it's wild how arcteryx harnesses got worse after like 2012-2013. that vintage was such a good mix of qualities. 

Yukon Corneliuswrote:

What's wrong with adjustable leg loops? the 395a is the harness you want.

The Zone is also really great, but yeah the gear loops are on the smaller side. It's not super comfy hanging, but tbh no harness is really that comfortable at a hanging belay except for big and heavy ones which you also don't want.

adjustable leg loops slip

adjustable leg loops dig into your leg when you are offwidthing

adjustable leg loops are unnecessarily heavy/bulky

Charles Iguanawrote:

I like everything about my AR-395a...except the adjustable leg loops. I pull them just tight enough so I can tuck the excess tab in the belt loop, yet they always loosen and the end slips out from the belt loop.  

Mildly annoying enough for me to buy a used C-quence on MP and now use it. 

I taped the excess strap with a bit of duct-tape / electrician tape, doesn't slip anymore, easy fix. Black or grey color so it doesnt look like I'm gonna die.