webbing harness question

This was weekend, I lent someone my harness and had to make a harness out of webbing. I made a "hasty harness".

The harness was safe, but really painful. After a few repels i was considering the Dulfersitz method just for some hip and lower back respite.
Anyone have experience with webbing harness? is the swiss seat similar? do i just have to man up?

I want to assume this is a troll, but your post history tells me that you're probably serious.

matt c. wrote: do i just have to man up?

Yes. Or buy a gently used harness here for $15-$20. Webbing harness are miserable.

Jon H wrote:Or buy a gently used harness here for $15-$20.

This. Or tell your friend to buy their own harness.

I don't remember how it was tied but the first time I climbed was with outward bound and we used webbing harnesses tied with a rap ring in the front?

Jon H wrote:I want to assume this is a troll, but your post history tells me that you're probably serious. Yes. Or buy a gently used harness here for $15-$20. Webbing harness are miserable.

no, not a troll. Just never used a webbing harness before, always had my own, or down climbed. Yes webbing harness are miserable- i hope never to touch them again. Thought i'd check because i might have to do i again sometime( for someone else, never again for me). I thought there was a possibility i was tying it wrong or there might be a better technique.

in looking this up i found this really amusing video of have to tie a swiss seat, thought i'd share:

harness video

What you made is nearly identical to what we used in our college outing club in 1975. I soon learned that tying fixed leg loops in the webbing was a VAST improvement (as did adding an inverted V of lighter webbing in the back to keep the leg loops up), and climbed in such a webbing harness for several more years. One of the nice things about it was that it packed down to a fraction of the volume of any commercial harness I ever owned, so it was good for a "just in case" harness or to tuck in the suitcase for business trips in the event I found a climbing gym. (But of course, being rather uncomfortable, it makes a poor choice for gym use. Plus, it freaked out the pimple-faced kid behind the counter.)

Fixed leg loops do help. I learned to climb with a webbing harness, it made me appreciate commercial harnesses. The light weight and compactness make webbing harnesses good for back country climbing, where the time spent hiking to and from the climb far exceeds the time spent actually wearing the harness.

Next time give your friend the webbing harness and wear your own harness.

Climbed my first few years of toprope only routes in a 'diaper' sling web harness. Reach through the legs and grab the hanging loop of web, and link it all together with a locking biner in front. Sure, today they would go crazy about the 3 way cross gate forces on it. Otherwise it was 2 inch web swami belt around the waist to choke off your diaphragm and crush a rib or two.

Webbing harnesses are quickly becoming a lost art, but they are good to know for the reasons cited above. Several years ago my partner showed up at the crag without his harness and started talking about bailing on the day. I said, "Not so fast" and made him a harness like this from a 30-40 ft static rope folded in half. I'm sure it was even less comfortable than one inch webbing. And yes, it was the last time he ever showed up without his harness.

Gunkiemike wrote:. And yes, it was the last time he ever showed up without his harness.

haha awesome!

you mean a harness like this?
swiss seat

I thought i had a pretty high pain tolerance, but after the second free hanging rappel, i was whimpering like a sport climb on a off width. if you used if for years, then either i need to find a better way to tie it or your a total badass

matt c. wrote: you mean a harness like this?

Exactly. (well, actually on one of mine I ran the long tails thru the overhand knots so the "bridge" between the knots was 3 thicknesses of webbing)