Best Trad Climbing Harness

What's the best trad climbing harness available? Namely, which harnesses have the best gear-loops for racking?

Thanks!

Misty Mountain Cadillac.

Don't just take my work for it. If you do a search here or at SuperTopo you will find that a ton of folks love both the company and the Cadillac harness. I have been wearing Misty harnesses for a while now, and really think that the Cadillac is where it is at for trad.

Good luck with your purchase.

Thanks for the recommendation. Actually, I've seen and had that harness recommended before as well. Six gear loops is perfect!

Do you know if there are any stores in NC where I could try it on to find my size?

I moved to Phoenix from NC about a year ago, so my info is a little dated. However, I am pretty sure that Jesse Brown's in Charlotte carries them. That is where I purchased my last harness. They would probably order whatever you wanted so you could try it on. You could also just give Misty a call. They are an NC company, located in Banner Elk and could tell you where else to look. The owners are totally cool and the company has great customer service.

Black Dome on Tunnel Road, in Asheville, will have them as well. Call and make sure they have some of your sizes in stock. They are very friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable.

Thanks guys; I'll call Jesse Brown's in Charlotte.

Since we're on the Misty Mountain topic, have any of you used their Power Pack as a multi-pitch climbing pack? Opinions?

A friend had a Power Pack. I was not overly impressed with the design, especially as a multi-pitch pack. The workmanship was awesome though. IMHO, the Petzl Bug is the ticket for that. Lots of other people like the small BD packs.

I recently started climbing on a Yates Astroman and I like it a lot. Very comfy, well built, and can hold a lot of gear.

6 gear loops? for what? can you clip the coleman stove?

they are smaller than most gear loops, so it doesn't necessarily carry more gear than other trad harnesses, but you can break it up among the six loops for organization.

edit- cms829- thought you were asking about the astroman

I'm in the market for a new harness too, for the same reason (better gear loops), and I'm leaning towards the Cadillac because it's so widely recommended. Could anyone compare it to the Yates Astroman though? They seem pretty similar, so I'll probably go for the Cadillac just because it's cheaper, but I'm curious if anyone has had experience with both.

the two harnesses look similar. Don't go with the caddilac just because it's cheaper, go with it because it kicks ass. i got one back in dec. and love it, will definately buy another.

I have been multi-pitch trad climbing with my Misty Mountain Caddy harness for about 3 years now and love it. The padding is just right for hanging belays and not too bulky for free climbing.

Misty Mountain Cadillac is good but I hate the placement of the plastic buckle on the elastic band going to the one leg loop. I always sit on it on ledges and it's uncomfortable. Check out the Wild Country Synchro Ziplock also. I prefer it over the Cadillac, having climbed a lot in both. Arcteryx Big Wall is sick but very expensive. BD makes some good ones too. To be honest, anything with at least 4 good-sized gear loops should suffice. +1 for a haul line loop or another gear look in the very back. Ultimately, you should try a few on and go with whatever feels comfortable for you.

Couple of things to think about in addition to gear loop capacity, although these may not be issues in your case.
- Weight
- Comfort when worn under a pack with a hip-belt (more of an issue for mountaineering)
- Ease of undoing leg-loops in case you need to drop your pants half-way up a climb

Harness gear loops aren't much of an issue for me since I prefer to rack gear on a shoulder sling, especially when swinging leads on multi-pitch climbs.

Big fan of the Bdel Big Gun Harness. Supposed to be a big wall harness but isn't nearly plush enough for the wall, but perfect for long multipitch trad. Dual belay loops are nice to have too.

kevin deweese wrote:Big fan of the Bdel Big Gun Harness. Supposed to be a big wall harness but isn't nearly plush enough for the wall, but perfect for long multipitch trad. Dual belay loops are nice to have too.

I like my Big Gun too. The big gear loop in the back is awesome for racking auxiliary gear (anchor-building, shoes, water). It free-climbs surprisingly well. In fact, I've worn it on most of my hardest redpoints.

Martin le Roux wrote:Couple of things to think about in addition to gear loop capacity, although these may not be issues in your case. - Weight - Comfort when worn under a pack with a hip-belt (more of an issue for mountaineering) - Ease of undoing leg-loops in case you need to drop your pants half-way up a climb Harness gear loops aren't much of an issue for me since I prefer to rack gear on a shoulder sling, especially when swinging leads on multi-pitch climbs.

Thank you all for your feedback!

At the moment, I have a Petzl Adjama harness (which I LOVE), but its gear loops are not that prominent or large (by design). I also use a gear sling when climbing, but I am trying to move towards racking entirely on my harness when my rack is not massive, and I'd like to have a harness that makes it easier rather than harder. Naturally, I am indeed also concerned with weight, comfort, etc., but the gear loops seem like the most natural starting point when seeking a "rack on the harness" harness.

I'd like to get my hands on a Misty Mountain to see how it feels; it definitely seems worth checking out. The WC Syncro Ziplock also looks like it might be a winner; I'll have to check it out as well.

i use whatever i use in the gym and for sport ... i only own one harness right now .... never had a issue ...

one of those BD things ....

metolius safe tech. Nice big gear loops.

johnL wrote:Trad harness or wall harness? I sport climb and do trad and everything else in a Petzl Sama. You don't need a special harness.

+1 for the Sama
Good harness without all the stuff you don't generally need (dual belay loops, 16 gear loops).