old style harness vs.new

When I started climbing about 26 yrs ago, most of the harnesses available at that time were designed with leg loops,a belt strap that you doubled back on the buckle, and 2 vertical loops to tie into or clip a carabiner. After a long hiatus I went shopping for a new rope and harness to start climbing again.That older design harness has now been replaced by ones without the 2 side by side loops which would cinch tight on the tie in or carabiner to hold you in, even upside down in the event that one forgot to double back the buckle.After looking at the new harness designs,especially ones where the belt strap just frictions on 2 buckle pieces and is not intended to be doubled back through,the "newer",to me,designs seem less safe and down right micky mouse imho.What happened to the older design and why was it apparently abandoned? What really got me thinking about this was taking a minor fall on the new harness and flipping upside down quick.It occurred to me that when tied in on the newer style,the strap that connects to the leg loops takes most of the weight well below the body's center of gravity.Not good if you want to stay upright.It seems to me that harness design has taken a giant leap backward.Did I not have my harness adjusted properly?Where did the old harness design go?Comments and info are invited.

Ben,I'm not sure your reply conforms to "Guideline #1.Anyway,that's usually what I get from my kids.

You can still get harnesses with traditional double back buckles. If nothing else I know Misty Mountain makes several models like that. The newer speed buckles that you are referring to have the buckles permanently doubled back, essentially.

I think if you are flipping upside down in a test fall in any harness you didn't fit it correctly. Wait, did you tie in to the belay loop rather than through the tie in points? Don't do that.

metoliusclimbing.com/how-to…



A properly fit harness should leave the user hanging in an upright position with approximately 20-30% body weight on the waist and 70 - 80% on the legs. Waist belt and leg loop sizing is fairly intuitive. Rise adjustment, however, is not so obvious, yet its accuracy is critical.

Rise is the distance between the waist belt and leg loops. It determines how much of your body weight is taken by the waist belt vs. how much is taken by the legs loops. If the rise on your harness is too short for your body, too much weight will be taken by the leg loops, and you could be flipped upside down in a fall. If the rise on your harness is too long for your body, too much weight will be taken by the waist belt, and a fall would be painful at best. It is easy to see how essential a well-fitting rise is to the comfort and safety of your harness.

;)

When did you take the pic of my walker ??!!

i do regret that FISH stopped making harnesses...IMO the best design ever. Tie in loops, great gear loops and cool colors

Is this the style harness you remember? I had REI harnesses like this as a kid. They seemed safe since those tie in points bridge the waist belt closure, so even if you forgot to double back your buckle and it came undone, you were still attached.

This harness was recalled about 20 years ago. Those extended loops would put your belay device right in your face. I've seen people get their hair stuck while rapping… Not fun. Not to mention clipping both loops tri-axelly loads the biner.

I just found this gem on ebay. Someone wants $50 for this garbage.

No worries Fetzer. But worthy observations I think.

Harnesses have gotten better every year. Security, comfort and safety in a fall are all better today than even a decade ago. All that while the harnesses have dropped weight signifigantly.

Falls are common and an accepted part of the sport in the gym or onto a bolt at waist level these days. Not so much 25 years ago. Reason I mention that is the newest harnesses are well tested (in house and in the field). Faults are generally obvious these days early on.