Best do-it-all harnesses

As my current harness frays more and more, I've begun looking into a new one. My current is a CAMP Quartz CR3 and is very middle of the road.

Looking at harness reviews, they seem to be skewed towards fast and light sport climbing or big wall comfort.

I'm looking for a comfy enough harness for hanging belays on a long day and good gear loops for trad, but not the bulk and weight of a true big wall harness.

Any options besides metolius or misty mountain to consider?

Arc'teryx AR 395a

They also make a version with fixed leg Loops if that's your thing

BD Chaos. I'm on my third.

nkane wrote: BD Chaos. I'm on my third.

Comfy harness for the weight but the tiny gear loops were a deal breaker for me.

Misty mountain Cadillac has served me well 

Never been a problem for me.

I advocate for this harness because I never want BD to discontinue it. I've never found another one that supports the weight of a full rack without slipping down while having both a slim profile and a haul loop.

The Misty Mountain Spectre is a great high end harness. Comfy, durable, American-made.

Jake Jones wrote:

Maybe I just got a bad one, but I didn't like my Cadillac.  It fit great, but the tie in points wore pretty quickly, and the leg loops loosened on their own and I had to constantly readjust them.  I have a Chaos too and I love it.  I've never found the loops to be an issue.

It's durable, light, and comfy.

Oh god now that I think about that it’s very true.  I find myself tightening my leg loops each pitch.  I saw Petzl is updating there basic harness making it more ergo and adding a loop.  

OP,  in my opinion Harnesses are kinda like shoes I’d try on some and see what you like.  I’ve got a bad disk in my back and a narrow belt seems to aggravate it.  The Misty’s wide belt doesn’t as badly.  But it’s bulky as hell.  

M Alexander wrote: 
I'm looking for a comfy enough harness for hanging belays on a long day and good gear loops for trad, but not the bulk and weight of a true big wall harness.

The Black Diamond Chaos or Technician.

I have tried the Arc'teryx AR-395a, and it is not comfortable at all, at least for me, in comparison the the BD Chaos/Technician.

M Alexander wrote:
I'm looking for a comfy enough harness for hanging belays on a long day and good gear loops for trad, but not the bulk and weight of a true big wall harness.

Define all round ? Do you mean for rock? or also ice? etc. The Metolius Safe-Tech has been my goto harness for most all climbing. 

I love my Misty Mountain Turbo.  It's on the light side and I've never had a problem stuffing gear on the loops. The leg loops are fixed in size, but fit me well and eliminated a bit of bulk.  Works well for both sport and/or trad.

Metolious safe-tech all the way. Can do anything with it, and super comfy!

I hated the BD Chaos.  I sold it to someone for $25 because it was so darn uncomfortable.  I have had four or five harness at this point and it was by far my least favorite in terms of its comfort to price ratio.  Plus they're expensive (not compared to an Arc'teryx of course) for what they are IMO. The Zone is essentially the same thing with ice clipper slots for $25 less if you're set on BD (why people like their stuff always confuses me, though, so keep in mind I have a bias against almost all of their kit).

SINGING ROCK DOME

i route set in this thing all day and it has 8 gear loops

greggrylls wrote:

Comfy harness for the weight but the tiny gear loops were a deal breaker for me.

Misty mountain Cadillac has served me well 

Definitely misty mountain. 

Allen Sanderson wrote: Define all round ? Do you mean for rock? or also ice? etc. The Metolius Safe-Tech has been my goto harness for most all climbing. 

Just rock, mostly trad or moderate sport with some days of long multipitch and infrequently easy to moderate aid climbing. 

Metolius safe tech

Petzl Adjama

I tired a Misty, but it's way to big and clunky for me. Went with Arc'teryx a395 and am stoked! It's plenty comfy for multi pitch trad and easily carries a double rack and lots of alpine draws. It's tiny and stuffs easily in a pack, but I usually just wear it on the approach. My only complaints are that if I don't remember to tighten the leg loops its a ball crusher on big falls (only took me two falls to never forget that...), and it does need some adjusting on a long day carrying a lot of gear. 

Bd Chaos is great for everything except hanging belays. So uncomfortable. 

BD Alpine Bod. Super comfy.

Bd Big gun.
Hanging belays are super comfy but moves like a light harness. I've owned 3 now.
Developing hanging for hours. Waiting for partners on aid pitches. Hangdogging the proj. It does it all.