Best harness for multi pitch / big wall climbing

Cosmic Hotdogwrote:

Confirmed! Thank you for this. Pretty easy to do - I pulled off the plastic "sleeve" things from the loops and soaked them in hot water for a minute or so. It made getting them back on easier. The picture is after flipping them, now they angle towards the back of the harness instead. 

Think you could heat up the plastic and bend them so they lay flat? 

K Gowrote:

Think you could heat up the plastic and bend them so they lay flat? 

I don't think so, the material didn't feel like it'd be easily moldable. For being a flexible plastic, it's still pretty rigid/bend resistant

395a for trad and ice (my most used harness. pretty comfy, big gear loops, packs really small)

Yates shield for big wall (bulky and heavy but sooo comfy)

BD zone is my new gym/sport harness and I love it. feels like I'm wearing nothing at all!

probably many other good options but those are the ones I know and love

I did buy the BD long haul harness and it’s super comfortable although maybe a little bit bigger than some of what’s out there it’s great for bigger walls holds a lot of gear and I would use it for multi pitch missions for sure.    Haven’t used it enough to find anything wrong with it.

Max Thompsonwrote:

I did buy the BD long haul harness and it’s super comfortable although maybe a little bit bigger than some of what’s out there it’s great for bigger walls holds a lot of gear and I would use it for multi pitch missions for sure.    Haven’t used it enough to find anything wrong with it.

Thanks! 

Sean Cardenaswrote:

Hey everyone, I had a question. I'm looking at buying a harness for big wall multi pitch trad and sport. I've been looking around and wanted to know people's take on which big wall harness is the best. I was looking at this BD Long Haul Harness and wanted to know if it's any good or I should be looking at other options?. Any input helps. Thank you for your time. 

I call it a seniority harness since it is a bit heavy but is very comfortable and robust. Plus two separate belay loops help with extra attachments and give more confidence during rappelling. I love it!

Interesting that one guy found the Ocun Webee Big Wall harness uncomfortable. I think it is super comfortable. I just use it for easier trad multi-pitch though so am not hanging in it all day. I also use it for solo climbing because of the double belay loops. 

Some people comment that the front gear loops are too far back. That also is not a problem for me but I bought the L/XL They must have opted for a smaller size which maybe made the loops end up further back?.  For access to all the loops in the back I just look for the gear I need hanging down and don't really care too much exactly which loop its on back there. For me the gear out back is stuff I am not using constantly, you know anchor building slings etc. For reference I have a Petzl Adjama for sport and a Arcteryx one I bought for cheap on craigslist I use for the gym. Both of those I find comfortable as well. I tried another Ocun harness that I thought was not very comfortable so I am not paid to promote Ocun products. 

My son and I both use the BD Long Haul and love it, multi pitch trad is great for carrying all the gear on the harness.  We use it for sport climbing also, it’s super comfy!  

Metolius Safe-Tec harness is the only option. Full strength gear loops. Every loop? Every loop. Imagine going on a 15 pitch climb, you’re 11 pitches up and take a fall. On the way down one of your cams snags a rock or root or whatever. Your gear loop rips off and there goes 1/2 of your cams. Don’t want that to happen? Metolius Safe Tec. Is it comfortable? It’s always felt great to me but knowing that all my gear is going to stay in my harness is a great feeling. 

If you can imagine that scenario then you can also imagine this one: you’re falling and your gear loop catches a horn or root and you stop violently basically decking on your harness and transferring all that energy directly into your pelvis, shattering it, but you don’t lose any rack. 

….but I love my gear so much. I’ve never even met my pelvis. 

Wild Country Synchro harness is my go-to.

Lots of gear loops.  Comfy, and comes in size XL to accomodate getting my fat self safely up climbs.

https://www.wildcountry.com/en-us/syncro-harness-40-0000008006?sku=40-0000008006_0000000001

Yates “”Astroman” harness does the job well, has a separate bomber sewn loop on the back to clip in a trailing haul line.

I am on my third one in the past 20 years. Very satisfied.

Tom Pontewrote:

Interesting that one guy found the Ocun Webee Big Wall harness uncomfortable. I think it is super comfortable. I just use it for easier trad multi-pitch though so am not hanging in it all day. I also use it for solo climbing because of the double belay loops. 

Try actually hanging in it all day and you’ll see what I mean.

Sincerely, 

That one guy

Does anybody have experience with the Ocun Twist or Twist Tech harnesses? Looks similar to the weebee but fewer gear loops and a different padding construction. 

Aid multi-pitch: Misty Mountain Titan. Especially love the 5" leg loops! Burly enough to scrape through Fisher Tower chimneys, for hanging belays, and to carry a monster rack without complaint.

Free multi-pitch: Petzl Adjama. It disappears in use, leading, following, wearing, lowering, multi-pitch. Which is actually a big compliment. It's surprisingly comfortable while lowering/rappelling, for being so lightweight. My go-to for cragging. It'd be fine for a long, free, multi-pitch route. 

Not sure I'd consider a harness in between, there's plenty overlap between these for oddball, in-between scenarios.

I would recommend against the Long Haul. I've had two in less than a year and the belay loops start to fray immediately, I think it's something to do with the infinity belay loop. BD warrantied one that lasted about 15 pitches and the replacement lasted a whole summer. Two friends of mine have had the exact same issue. I have a Wild Country Syncro in the mail that I'm excited about.

Harry Kinnardwrote:

I would recommend against the Long Haul. I've had two in less than a year and the belay loops start to fray immediately, I think it's something to do with the infinity belay loop. BD warrantied one that lasted about 15 pitches and the replacement lasted a whole summer. Two friends of mine have had the exact same issue. I have a Wild Country Syncro in the mail that I'm excited about.

Interesting, I'll definitely keep that in mind, really appreciate the heads up. 

I have a FS post, but I thought I'd mention it here: I'm selling a barely-used Yates Shield harness, medium, $100. See my thread for pics

I just picked up the pretzel adjama. 5 loops and an accessory loop good padding but lightweight. I will be using this for a 9 day multipitch sport climbing trip and pretty happy with how it sits on my hips.

I got analysis paralysis and went with this because of the features and the quality.