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

K Gowrote:

That's funny, I actually bought a women's L 395a cuz I have thunder thighs and it fits perfect. Same with rain pants... 

But finding a new trad harness recently was a pain in the butt with my requirements. Coming from an old BD Momentum DS but hoping for more gear loop real estate.

I needed: Adjustable leg loops, 2-buckle waist so I can center my gear loops (or the slidey thing edelrid does), stiff square gear loops (at least in the front, so misty mountain is out, also not angled like the 395a as that squishes all my cams together), ideally 5th gear loop (but basically none have 5th and square fronts), and comfy enough for hanging belays. If possible also not much over a pound. 

I went through every manufacturer's site and found like 4 options, which felt surprisingly low. Ended up with a Mammut Ophir 4 Slide, better than the BD Momentum but not by much. Am I too picky? 

I recently got the Ocun Webee Bigwall and I feel like it fits all of these, except for maybe exceptional long hanging comfort. 7 gear loops (6 square back one is round), adjustable legs, double adjustable waist, crazy light. 

That said, I do not personally love the gear loop configuration. 

Sam Ehmannwrote:

I recently got the Ocun Webee Bigwall and I feel like it fits all of these, except for maybe exceptional long hanging comfort. 7 gear loops (6 square back one is round), adjustable legs, double adjustable waist, crazy light. 

That said, I do not personally love the gear loop configuration. 

Yeah I looked at that, interesting but tbh the 7 gear loops looked like more of a headache than 5 for standard trad climbing. Also those gear loops are only kinda square, they still dip lower in the middle which is where cams get pinched, but probably better than the likes of the Misty Mountain smile-shaped loops that I can't stand. The Ocun Twist Quattro is more reasonable but still lacking a 5th gear loop, too bad you can't buy it anywhere. 

Alright, I ordered the Blue Ice Cuesta a few months ago and I feel like it's now been long enough that I can offer some thoughts.

I really like it! It's significantly lighter and more compact than the Chaos (which I really notice when I stuff it in my gym bag) with almost no loss in stiffness for carrying a rack. The gear loops are fine, and big enough for a double rack and many draws.  I do wish, though, that the rear loops were a bit stiffer to make it easier to reclip gear. The rear mini-loop has enough room to clip a carabiner through it for water/shoes. I may still add a 5th gear loop with some cord and plastic tubing, though I haven't done so yet. It's too soon to offer thoughts about durability. Sizing-wise, the medium is a hair smaller than the BD medium. 

Nkane 1wrote:

Alright, I ordered the Blue Ice Cuesta a few months ago and I feel like it's now been long enough that I can offer some thoughts.

I bought the Cuesta and really liked it too, but I was surprised when (what I thought was) the covering over the two front gear loops became quite worn/frayed in one season.

When the Cuesta Adj came out, I immediately bought one for the ice clipper loops. I was sure this was a better and more comfortable version of the Arc 395. However, after one season the gear loops became quite frayed again, and I rarely climb off widths or chimneys, but I didn't think much about it until when starting up a pitch, the covering (which is basically all that is holding the plastic stiffener inside) completely severed and half the rack fell to the ground. I've owned at least 15 harnesses and had never had a gear loop fail before.

Now if Blue Ice NA warranty will ever respond to my emails...

Interesting how many people seem to feel that "square" gear loops help gear stay evenly distributed. My experience is that a climber is almost never level, so the idea that any particular surface would remain consistently "square"or somehow perpendicular to the pull of gravity doesn't seem likely. Gear's going to slide on any type of loop. 

K Gowrote:

Yeah I looked at that, interesting but tbh the 7 gear loops looked like more of a headache than 5 for standard trad climbing.

I'm mostly a fan of the Webee bigwall. Pretty comfy, tons of lumbar support (bad back here), breathes really well, surprisingly light, loops durable enough so far.

Criticisms:

The skinny second belay loop is occasionally useful but could have been full width. I assume it's to save weight.

Loops 6 and 7 (the high back pair) would have been better as shorter utility loops to hold biner, pulley, knife, etc. You don't want anything hanging much below those, but they are useful to reduce the clutter on the rear loop. They do make it a bit easy to accidentally clip a draw through 2 loops. You can always just cut them off.

Front gear loops could have been positioned further forward. If you size the harness so you're wearing it pretty cranked in then they're reasonable. If you're much girthier than me (5'11, 165lb) consider the larger size.

I don't know if it's been mentioned but a good option is the DMM Renegade 2.  Plenty of padding and breathable mesh makes it comfy. It has 7 gear loops and a sliding waist belt so it is always sits evenly on your waist. Despite all of this it is still pretty light. IMO it's a great all around harness. 

Arc 395. Tack the leg loops where you want them if you must. The Mammut sender is essentially a bulkier version. Almost exact same gear loops.

John Pitcairnwrote:

I'm mostly a fan of the Webee bigwall. Pretty comfy, tons of lumbar support (bad back here), breathes really well, surprisingly light, loops durable enough so far.

Criticisms:

The skinny second belay loop is occasionally useful but could have been full width. I assume it's to save weight.

Loops 6 and 7 (the high back pair) would have been better as shorter utility loops to hold biner, pulley, knife, etc. You don't want anything hanging much below those, but they are useful to reduce the clutter on the rear loop. They do make it a bit easy to accidentally clip a draw through 2 loops. You can always just cut them off.

Front gear loops could have been positioned further forward. If you size the harness so you're wearing it pretty cranked in then they're reasonable. If you're much girthier than me (5'11, 165lb) consider the larger size.

And as someone who was is at the very bottom end of the larger size, the front gear loops end up kind of in front of me and I get gear hanging down the front my my thighs which is weird and gets all jumbled up when I high step so maybe it’s just a bad design overall…

MPwrote:

adjustable leg loops slip

adjustable leg loops dig into your leg when you are offwidthing

adjustable leg loops are unnecessarily heavy/bulky

My Petzl harness has adjustable leg loops and has two loops for tucking the strap in on each leg. One of the loops is super tight and stretchy. And the excess slack has a folded back and stitched end that will hook onto the loop and prevent the buckle from loosening. I've been using the same harness model for 10 years with absolutely zero loosening of the leg loops. Ever. As far as weight goes, I can't imagine the individual buckle on the leg loop weighs more than a few paperclips. But I guess that's the difference between sending your cool proj. and looking like a noob lol

FourT6and2 ...wrote:

My Petzl harness has adjustable leg loops and has two loops for tucking the strap in on each leg. One of the loops is super tight and stretchy. And the excess slack has a folded back and stitched end that will hook onto the loop and prevent the buckle from loosening. I've been using the same harness model for 10 years with absolutely zero loosening of the leg loops. Ever. As far as weight goes, I can't imagine the individual buckle on the leg loop weighs more than a few paperclips. But I guess that's the difference between sending your cool proj. and looking like a noob lol

you're right, buckles don't matter at all for sport climbing.

the weight/bulk matters when you have to hike 10 miles in to climb, and are trying to fit climbing gear, maybe alpine gear, camping gear, etc... into a pack. 

with respect to bulk-- there are some sizes of offwidth where it is incredibly annoying to have a leg buckle-- it scrapes along the wall, it diggs into your thigh as you leg jam, etc... 

Arc AR395 is the best harness (for single pitch, multipitch, trad, sport, ice) I have ever had. 

I am well into my third year on my Cuesta. Considering how light it is it has performed well for me. I will wear it at least one more year. Unfortunately i will be shopping for something because adjustable leg loops are not for me on a cragging harness. 

I have had 3 MM Bolts in the past but they are in a different weight class.

MPwrote:

you're right, buckles don't matter at all for sport climbing.

the weight/bulk matters when you have to hike 10 miles in to climb, and are trying to fit climbing gear, maybe alpine gear, camping gear, etc... into a pack. 

with respect to bulk-- there are some sizes of offwidth where it is incredibly annoying to have a leg buckle-- it scrapes along the wall, it diggs into your thigh as you leg jam, etc... 

Also, in a less badass scenario, when you want to fit harness, shoes, chalk, gym rope, and a change of clothes into your messenger bag, along with maybe a laptop and your kid's lunchbox, and still have room to pick up a few groceries on the way home. Every gram counts!

MPwrote:

you're right, buckles don't matter at all for sport climbing.

the weight/bulk matters when you have to hike 10 miles in to climb, and are trying to fit climbing gear, maybe alpine gear, camping gear, etc... into a pack. 

with respect to bulk-- there are some sizes of offwidth where it is incredibly annoying to have a leg buckle-- it scrapes along the wall, it diggs into your thigh as you leg jam, etc... 

Your point about bulk MAYBE holds some water. That's a MAYBE.

As far as weight goes, dude... two buckles that weigh as much as some paperclips. Just drink one less beer the night before or cut your armpit hair or leave your car keys on a tire while you climb instead of in your pack. It'll compensate for the added weight lol.

This is as silly as people who try to cut weight from their 3,000-lb. sports cars and spend $2,000 on lightweight parts to shave maybe 5 pounds off when they can just drink less or go to the gym and lose some weight instead.

FourT6and2 ...wrote:

Your point about bulk MAYBE holds some water. That's a MAYBE.

As far as weight goes, dude... two buckles that weigh as much as some paperclips. Just drink one less beer the night before or cut your armpit hair or leave your car keys on a tire while you climb instead of in your pack. It'll compensate for the added weight lol.

This is as silly as people who try to cut weight from their 3,000-lb. sports cars and spend $2,000 on lightweight parts to shave maybe 5 pounds off when they can just drink less or go to the gym and lose some weight instead.

Compare the volume that a non-adjustable (older) arcteryx harness takes up in a pack, compared to like a misty mountain. Difference in packed volume is easily a 1L, even if the difference in weight is probably 100g or something (which, depending on your perspective, is trivial or a easy thing to cull)

Y'all are missing the point. Leg buckles look dumb. Ruins the vibe.

Luke Lalorwrote:

Y'all are missing the point. Leg buckles look dumb. Ruins the vibe.

You clearly didn't grow up with the Victoria's Secret Catalogue. 

Andrew Ricewrote:

You clearly didn't grow up with the Victoria's Secret Catalogue. 

Andrew, you win the internet on this Monday morning 

Not sure if this was posted already, but there's some info on the solution guide on the BD website.

Found the women's version also by editing the link.