Opinion About Black Diamond Momentum Harness

Was thinking about buying the Black Diamond Harness. I need a good all around harness as I am a beginner. Plz. Give your opinion or recommendation for a good beginner harness or other gear. Thanks.

Everyone's first harness. It'll be fine.

Don Ferris wrote:Everyone's first harness. It'll be fine.

Great harness. It is as good or better than lots of harnesses costing a lot more.

Momentum is great all around harness. First one I bought and served me well. Would recommend.

It's the only harness I've consistently used over the last 8 or so years. Killer value.

Careful if you're in a humid environment.
I had the buckles on a BD harness corrode to literal powder.
The Petzl harness I replaced it with has lasted much longer.

Thanks. I live near Boulder so it's pretty arid so corrosion from humidity won't be a problem.

The Corax is a good harness. Just don't get the larger size if you don't need it... I was on the border so opted for the bigger one, so much extra strap! Think the gear loops also now too far forward since I have so tightened, seem to catch gear on the rock quite a bit.

I tried the Momentum and the Corax. Found the Corax to be a little more comfortable. That combined with reviews, swayed me to the Petzl. Very happy with it as my first harness.

Momentum left me with bruised hips from hanging belays. Not comfy on big falls. Same goes for the bd aspect. Bd harnesses just don't fit me well. Hang in it at a store before buying if possible.

simplyput wrote:Careful if you're in a humid environment. I had the buckles on a BD harness corrode to literal powder. The Petzl harness I replaced it with has lasted much longer.

Black diamond, like most companies, has one piece of safety-rated nylon running through the waist belt, surrounded by padding. Petzl makes their waist belts safety-rated, so there's no thin piece of material that can cut in, making their harnesses more comfortable.

That said, I have a momentum as my gym harness. It's solid, I've used it inside and out (though primarily indoors), has held up well and is coming enough. It's a great value.

I've had many harnesses in the years i have been climbing. Try them for yourself and don't listen to someone eles's opinion. With saying that i will give you my reasons for choosing bd over petzl. I work in the climbing industry so i have deals with most company. I used a momentum for the past 6 years, multi pitch and sport its caught some major falls topping out at 40 ft I never once had an issue. my gear was evenly placed and i was never struggling. I recently got a petzl sama I wear a size small and the first thing I noticed the rear gear loops smaller then the front then taking it out of my use in multi pitch not being able to carry more then a single rack with a few doubles. sitting in the harness was uncomfortable as was taking a fall over 10 ft. during this testing I picked up the solution by bd looking for a replacement on my momentum. At 70 bucks in my option its one of the best harnesses out for the price. like I started with make the decision on your harnesses your own. Buy at rei and take it back if you don't like the fit or how it feels.

How into climbing are you? If you are planning on climbing for a while and wanting to lead trad, get a better harness.
Ya, that is the harness that everyone gets for their first harness. And it's a fine gym harness, bit for me, it was quickly grown out of. Bloody hips after long days of climbing and minimal space for gear. Shell out the 100 dollars originally and get the better harness.

NorCalNomad wrote: LOL, ok petzl employee

I wanted to buy a $200 + harness.

I tried on and hung in a bunch of different brands at the store of all costs.

I bought a BD Momentum. It's simple, and was the most comfortable for me while being minimalistic. I own two, my original one is used at the gym and the other for everything from hard sport to all day trad.

Great harness especially for a beginner, and you will get lots of use out of it even when you are not a beginner! Also I think black diamond has the best gear loops for trad climbing, since they are flat and rigid which keep your gear from jamming up when your loops are loaded. Nothing more frustrating than trying to pull a cam out of the middle of a gear loop like a petzl or misty mountain harness when you pumped as the weight of the surrounding cams are causing them to slide back down into the middle of the loop. As far as comfort on multi-pitch its fine, and honestly no harness will keep you from getting rashes if you doing hanging belays all day anyways. I owned my first one for 3 years, then promptly bought another one as my second harness.

I've lead many pitches of trad and ice climbing with a bd momentum.. the only thing I've noticed is that it gets pretty uneven. What I mean by that is the right side loops come farther forward than the left side, making it sort of hard to grab gear off the left side... that being said if that prevents you from sending a climb you have more problems than the harness....

Mike-Mayhem wrote:I've lead many pitches of trad and ice climbing with a bd momentum.. the only thing I've noticed is that it gets pretty uneven. What I mean by that is the right side loops come farther forward than the left side, making it sort of hard to grab gear off the left side... that being said if that prevents you from sending a climb you have more problems than the harness....