Harness review:Arc'teryx R320a Rock Climbing Harness

Hey i was just wondering if anyone had reviews on this harness? I am thinking of switching to in from my black diamond chaos because the chaos isn't that comfortable... Any negative reviews? Whats the durability like? Any other harnesses that would be comfortable for full day routes?

I'm loving mine. Had it since may, haven't done a ton of hanging in it but it's certainly not uncomfortable. Although something I've noticed is that since you don't have the padding of other harnesses you have to pay attention to fit just a little bit closer, but after that you're good to go. Also if you like racking a lot of stuff on your harness make sure you've got the fit dialed since again it doesn't have the padding structure.

So you would recommend sizing it on the smaller side? but still comfortable?

I'm just saying make sure you get the right size. Like if I fully tighten a med. BD harness it is almost perfect for me, and the small is a little too small with many layers. In Arcteryx harnesses the med is much too big.

i picked one up in oct and love it for sport. if you're gonna do a lot of trad play around with racking gear so it pulls even. not as big of a deal with small gear, but it makes a difference with about a #3 c4 and up.....it's not really a huge deal, it just got on my nerves doing my 1st multi pitch wearing it

Thanks! so is racking the only issue you have had? i like a shoulder sling best because it makes swapping leads a little quicker, so that solves racking issues.

Some folks - who apparently fall a lot more often than I do - have observed that the lower of the two tie-in points wears out quite fast. I'm not sure but I think Arc. has beefed this up in the last year or so.

ive owned 3 350a .... the lower tie in point is a very high wear area, not just when falling, but also when rapping and lowering ...

the good news is that dead bird will give you a new harness ... the bad news is that youll be sans harness for 2 weeks or so

i dont recommend dead birds to people who ask ... a 50$ mammut or BD harness will last longer ... and you wont climb any harder in a fancy $$$$ harness

i just bought a 20$ el cheapo harness and i dont expect to climb any less hard because of it ;)

misty mountain cadillac

bearbreeder wrote:ive owned 3 350a .... the lower tie in point is a very high wear area, not just when falling, but also when rapping and lowering ... the good news is that dead bird will give you a new harness ... the bad news is that youll be sans harness for 2 weeks or so i dont recommend dead birds to people who ask ... a 50$ mammut or BD harness will last longer ... and you wont climb any harder in a fancy $$$$ harness i just bought a 20$ el cheapo harness and i dont expect to climb any less hard because of it ;)

Truth. My Togir Light was $50ish and has a plastic protector for the leg loops.

Ultra meh.

Good gear loops/Bad haul loop aka no haul loop just a stupid D ring. Newer harnesses have some cheapo thin webbing instead.

No Ice clippers - if youre into that shit its awesome to have and if youre not it doesnt get in the way to have them. i.e. petzl harnesses

Floppy and looses structure when a lot of stuff is hanging off it. Kinda feels like your pants are falling down.

Webbing tail retainer is too small and a b*tch to use, new harnesses fixed that, i think.

Really light and packs super small. My next harness will be one of the new petzls.

i had a mammut ophir for a while but it started to get uncomfortable after long days.. im kinda look for comfort and light weight. the intended purpose would be for long days and i usually carry gear on a shoulder sling so the harness flopping wouldnt really flop too much. and i dont plan on falling too much in it.... (at least i hope not) most of the wear i can see would come from hanging belays and rappelling... and other ideas than arcteryx?

Totally not worth the money, none rated haul loop, racking is a pain, didnt like the way the leg loops where cut or the adjustments where made, wears fast, feels cheap, and hanging in the harness for a short amount of time made my legs fall asleep quick. Luck i got it from REI
Just get a good BD and spend the extra on nice shoes!
very happy with my BD focus

First of all let me say that I really like the way my Arc'Teryx R320
fits and feels. However, the quality is terrible. Here's a letter
I sent to them last year. Sorry it's so long.

They sent me a brand new harness, however, the fundamental problem
was NOT corrected and I expect it to wear-out quickly.

Date: August 27, 2012 12:05:29 PM MDT
To: ARC'TERYX SERVICE
Subject: Service request

Dear Arc'teryx,

I am writing AGAIN about my Warp R320 harness.  It is now just over
2 years old and both the tie-in points have worn through.   Considering
that I only wore it outside (I wear my old BD harness in
the gym) this is far below my expectations, especially since it cost
twice the price.

(I wore my BD harness outside for 4 years before I demoted it to the
gym and route development where it actually sees more "action".
Neither tie-in point has worn through even the first layer of nylon.
It is now 6.5 years old and I still use it regularly.)

Being curious, I carefully popped the stitches on the protective
covering on the leg-loops and removed it from the rest of the
harness. This covering has two layers.  The inner layer is a very
tough but flexible material and is glued to the outer layer.
However, the inner layer is smaller than the outer layer, and doesn't
extend to the edges of the outer layer (where the outer layer is
folded over and bar-tacked).  Thus, the wear-point is NOT over this
tough inner layer; only the outer layer protects the core of the
harness.

This is a manufacturing defect.  The protective covering is sewn on
"upside down", both on the leg-loops and waist belt, and this has two
consequences:

1) The much thicker, bar-tacked side of the tie-in point is less
flexible thus focusing the friction and wear.

2) The tough under-layer is not involved in protecting the core, and
at worst, actually exacerbates the wear because its edge is at the
focus point.

I have two friends whom I climb with regularly and had recommended
your harness.  Both their harnesses have worn through too, and they
now have new harnesses from another supplier, as do I.

My previous complaint (below) resulted in a 30-minute phone call from
your Quality Manager, where he acknowledged that the elastic was crap
and would be remedying the situation.  I appreciated that call but I
had to make my own repair.

So I'm curious to see what happens this time.  I am still enamored of
the design of the Warp harness, but your realization of it falls far
short of my expectations.

Sincerely,

John Byrnes
Fort Collins, CO

On Jan 20, 2011, at 11:06 AM, John Byrnes wrote:
Peter,

I'm sorry to say it, but this entire experience has been less than
satisfying.  If you would, please forward this to the appropriate
person in management.

When I look at the shipping instructions, it's just ridiculous that I
would go through all that hassle and cost when I don't even know if
Arc'teryx will actually fix the problem.  All I've heard is "we'll
see what we can do to fix it."

And even if I did decide to ship it to you, there's no f-ing way I'd
put my SS number in there with my name, address, phone and email.
That's a prescription for identity theft if I've ever heard one,
should the package end up in the wrong hands.  I've had my checkbook
stolen, not even my full identity, and I will not willingly expose
myself to that kind of nightmare again.

Further, those morons in the Dept of Homeland Security can look up my
SS number in an instant.  They're feeding you a line in my opinion.

For these reasons service should be provided through either the shop
where I bought it (No one at Arc'teryx would respond to them) or your
local rep (same lack of response) so that I don't have to hassle with
it.  

I've taken my harness to a local sewing shop, where they will cut the
elastic but leave about 2cm on each end.  Then they'll sew a new,
shorter, stronger elastic onto those ends. This will not impact the
weight-bearing bar-tacks.  This will cost me about $10, and I'll have
it tomorrow.

In conclusion, Arc'teryx should beef-up the elastic they use; mine
has lost all it's elasticity after less than a year of use.
Secondly, you should improve your customer service procedures as I've
outlined above.

Sincerely,

John Byrnes

 
On Jan 7, 2011, at 5:11 PM, ARC'TERYX SERVICE wrote:
Hi John,

Sorry you've been unhappy with the service you're received to date and
that you are having problems with your harness.

Please fill out a warranty form at:

arcteryx.com/Service-Forms.…

You can send your harness into us and we'll see what we can do to fix
it.

Regards,

Arc'teryx Service Team - Peter Aird

regularly climb in my deadbird harness doing 95% gear...i'm skinny without much padding so it wraps around me very well and is extremely comfortable...i didnt pay full price on it. The new versions have reinforced tie in points. I had one that wore pretty early on and i do not fall a lot.

Easily racks a full double rack comfortably. No haul loop but perfectly fine for trailing a rope on.

If you find a deal its worth trying out...i find it light and comfortable. 31 inch waist and i'm pretty sure i have it in a medium but i'm not sure.

I have had the R320 for about two years. Great harness that I used primarily for outdoor trad and some sport. It did not crease at all as some of the R300 users have reported. It's has two weaknesses: not great for extended hanging and the tie in points wear a bit fast. My leg loop in particular is now showing the orange wear material and it's retired. Hopefully, the R300 is beefier in the belay loops.

Follow Up
After sending the harness into Arc'teryx they replaced it under warranty. I now have a brand new S-220 LT. BTW, I chose the harness I wanted and they were very easy to work with. Easy shipping, and a call directly from their folks to ask me what I wanted. Good company making good stuff I will go back to in the future.

You wrote "belay loops" in your post, but I think you meant tie-in points, right?

Unless you enlarged the hole for the photo, this is a very bad case! If memory serves me, the orange material is actually exposed Kevlar, which is the primary strength element of the harness. Kevlar is sharp, and having the rope rub on it while weighted could rapidly abrade the rope. FYI.

So did the tie-in point at the waist wear out too?

John Byrnes wrote:You wrote "belay loops" in your post, but I think you meant tie-in points, right?

Yes, corrected my post with an edit. Thanks! The belay loop was in good shape.

John Byrnes wrote:Unless you enlarged the hole for the photo, this is a very bad case! ... So did the tie-in point at the waist wear out too?

No artificial enlargement or any other tampering. The waist tie-in point was not as bad. It was not showing orange yet, but significantly worn.

@John, for what it's worth I agree with your assessment on the R-320 overall. A grand idea with a 75% quality delivery. The tie in points on the new 220 seem to address the core issue and I hope the elastic is more durable. Time will tell!

My R-320 has worn through to the orange after 275 days of use. Seems a bit fast to me but I expect a lot out of my gear. Any idea how many days of use were on these other worn out harnesses?

Bryan Hall wrote:My R-320 has worn through to the orange after 275 days of use. Seems a bit fast to me but I expect a lot out of my gear. Any idea how many days of use were on these other worn out harnesses?

I don't count days, so no. All I can say is that my BD harness is now 7 years old and is still not worn out. My Arcteryx harness wore out in a little over one year.

John Byrnes wrote: I don't count days, so no. All I can say is that my BD harness is now 7 years old and is still not worn out. My Arcteryx harness wore out in a little over one year.

7 years is pretty amazing. The guys at Arcteryx just told me on the phone that 200 days is around the maximum lifespan of their harnesses. Looks like I'll be saving some cash and switching to the BD Chaos...