Petzl Corax harness

 I bought the new Petzl Corax harness last week after forgetting my old one back home in Baltimore. The first thing I noticed was bright green color and flimsy gear loops. No big deal though, the harness just has to get me through a few days.

 The first day I wore the Corax I noticed lots of differences in this harness as compared to my older one two models ago. First, NO ice clippers! WTH.. The second was the fit. The new Corax has less adjustability in size. My old Corax size 2 could possibly a guy with a 46 inch waist. The new one tops out 40 inches. Not a big deal if you’re not a total fat ass but if you have a 38” waist the gear loops sit way too far back which makes the front two ice clippers and gear loops sit way too far back. Forget four ice clippers. I noticed Petzl changed their ice clippers. Now they clip anywhere like Black Diamond’s. Maybe that’s the reason there’s no spots for clippers? Rappelling immediately shows how cheap this harness made. Rapping is uncomfortable in the leg loops more so than the waist.

 It’s almost like Petzl realized the Corax was a great harness for the money and that cut into sales of their more expensive harnesses. Therefore they redesigned the new Corax so anybody out that that climbs outside would upgrade to one of their better harnesses.

 I’m happy to update with pictures of the differences if anyone’s interested 

I agree... the old one was a nicer harness.

That sucks that it changed.  Mine is coming up on 2 years right now and it's still going strong.  Even the supposedly weak gear loops on the last model have survived a bunch of squeeze chimney goveling with very little signs of wear.  Guess this pretty much cements that I'm going with a Misty Mountain Caddy when I have to retire this one.  BTW I'm interested in the pictures, no site seems to have any pics of the back on the new model.

Christopher Smith wrote:

That sucks that it changed.  Mine is coming up on 2 years right now and it's still going strong.  Even the supposedly weak gear loops on the last model have survived a bunch of squeeze chimney goveling with very little signs of wear.  Guess this pretty much cements that I'm going with a Misty Mountain Caddy when I have to retire this one.  BTW I'm interested in the pictures, no site seems to have any pics of the back on the new model.

 I’m in Baltimore right now but heading back to Lake Placid Friday. I’ll snap and post pics that show what I’m saying this weekend.

Bill Kirby wrote:

 I’m in Baltimore right now but heading back to Lake Placid Friday. I’ll snap and post pics that show what I’m saying this weekend.

Don't get eaten by any monsters.....lol probably a cliche that everyone there is tired of hearing.

 There’s way more monsters in Baltimore :)

Well this is unfortunate news.  I just ordered one based on good reviews to replace my aging harness.

Wes C wrote:

Well this is unfortunate news.  I just ordered one based on good reviews to replace my aging harness.

Maybe the harness will fit you better if you have a smaller waist or size 1?

I could fit in the size 1 for waist but not the leg loops, so I went with the size two.  I guess I'll see when it shows up.  

Guess I'll have to enjoy my old one while it lasts, 2 years and still going strong, no surprise really as I spend much more time on ice than rock, but that is unfortunate, for what I paid for my old one I'm really happy with it, biggest complaint is that it's bulky when jamming it in my pack.

The same with the Adjama and the Sama. The new versions of both are garbage compared to the harnesses they were putting out around 2010. The sizes changed, and the usability and comfort went way down.

 So here’s a couple pictures that show the difference between the old Corax and the new..

 The old Corax supports four ice clippers. I clipped a couple draws to show how much further forward the gear loops on the older model.

 Above shows that the gear loops are much further back. The BD ice clippers that are too far back for my taste.