Harness

I'm trying to decide on a harness. I'm thinking about the BD solution guide bc I want to start doing multipitch this summer. I often do only single pitch outdoor climbing though... Right now I'm doing lots of indoor climbing. So I need a good all-rounder... Any opinions?

Gear loops are kinda small on the solution guide. I like the Petzl Sama and the metolius safe tech. Enough space on gear loops and comfortable (for me) at a hanging belay.

https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/climbing/best-climbing-harness/ratings

Petzl Adjama. One of the best all arounders I’ve ever used.  

The harness that doesnt hurt you after a +30 minute hanging belay.

Hey. Thinking about the petzl Sana or black diamond guide. My friends are saying go for the BD, but I don't know. Opinions on those two specifically

FWIW, I recently ordered a BD solution guide, and can confirm Travis' comment- the gear loops are smaller than I'd like; but more importantly, the non-adjustable leg loops were too small for my thunder thighs, even while only wearing thin pants.

I ended up selling the harness to a scronny friend who is just getting into climbing, and got myself a petzl Adjama- much more gear loop space, super comfy, and even has a 5th rear gear loop for anchor gear/extra stuff. I agree with Layne, great all around, comfy, lots of gear, and not too expensive.

Petzl Adjama for a "low cost" all around Harness, and the Arcteryx AR series for "High end" all around. The solutions gear loops are wayyyyy too small for multipitch.

Alec Batten wrote: Hey. Thinking about the petzl Sana or black diamond guide. My friends are saying go for the BD, but I don't know. Opinions on those two specifically

Also the key difference between the Sama and Adjama is that Adjama has adjustable leg loops; Sana’s are fixed and also not friendly for thunder thighs! Boo!

No Metolius or Misty Mountain harness's at the Outdoor Gear Lab comparison site. Probably the 2 best harness products generally. That's like saying you're going to review Rain Jackets and then no even mention Patagonia, Mountain Hardware and North Face. WTF?

https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/climbing/best-climbing-harness/ratings

Edit, even more confusing: did a search and they did test a single MM harness, the Misty Mountain Silhouette
for women. That harness came in #1 on their comparison review. https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/reviews/climbing/climbing-harness-womens/misty-mountain-silhouette

Sad to see that Misty Mountain gets skipped. I guess they don’t contribute enough ad dollars. I think a MM will be my next harness if I can ever wear out this Adjama. My last one was a Cadillac back around 1990. I loved that thing. 

These review sites make money when companies offer them kickbacks for a click-to-sale. It’s called affiliate marketing. Metolius and Misty Mountain may not offer as much (or any) money in comparison to Petzl or BD. Always be skeptical of review sites with this business model. 

I’ve never gotten the Misty mountain fan club. I haven’t been impressed by any of their harness. They are comfy if you are just standing there, but the fleece lining gets so hot and sweaty so fast, and the waist is basically just a 1” seatbelt harness covered in foam. Every other manufacturer (yes I know that’s an exaggeration, but most of the big names) has found ways to spread that load better than EVA foam.  Misty even had to stop selling a whole harness and a leg loop option because so many people were getting their family jewels crushed.   How does a company that only specializes in one thing get that one thing THAT wrong?

There seems to be two camps here, people who love MM harnesses, and those that have never used a MM harness.

I'm on my third MM Cadillac, and second Turbo.  The comfort is outstanding, the gear loops are perfect, they are extremely burly and they look cool.

I also own a BD Momentum and a Petzl Sama. They are good gym/top rope harnesses, and maybe sport climbing, but they suck balls for trad climbing. The loops are too small on the BD, and the Petzl has a strange overlapping gear loop that makes it hard to pick gear out, which is not good for hard trad.

So buy whatever you can afford, and then go and buy a Misty Mountain when you age enough value comfort over trendiness (Arc'teryx). 

Buck Rio wrote: There seems to be two camps here, people who love MM harnesses, and those that have never used a MM harness.

I'm on my third MM Cadillac, and second Turbo.  The comfort is outstanding, the gear loops are perfect, they are extremely burly and they look cool.

I also own a BD Momentum and a Petzl Sama. They are good gym/top rope harnesses, and maybe sport climbing, but they suck balls for trad climbing. The loops are too small on the BD, and the Petzl has a strange overlapping gear loop that makes it hard to pick gear out, which is not good for hard trad.

So buy whatever you can afford, and then go and buy a Misty Mountain when you age enough value comfort over trendiness (Arc'teryx). 

I haven't owned one, But I have climbed in both a Caddy and a Turbo. Both were meh at best for me.

Layne Zuelke wrote: Sad to see that Misty Mountain gets skipped. I guess they don’t contribute enough ad dollars. I think a MM will be my next harness if I can ever wear out this Adjama. My last one was a Cadillac back around 1990. I loved that thing. 

Agreed. 

I own a misty. It sits in my closet in favor of my camp energy which is both much more comfortable and lighter.

Jeremy S wrote: FWIW, I recently ordered a BD solution guide, and can confirm Travis' comment- the gear loops are smaller than I'd like; but more importantly, the non-adjustable leg loops were too small for my thunder thighs, even while only wearing thin pants.

I ended up selling the harness to a scronny friend who is just getting into climbing, and got myself a petzl Adjama- much more gear loop space, super comfy, and even has a 5th rear gear loop for anchor gear/extra stuff. I agree with Layne, great all around, comfy, lots of gear, and not too expensive.

I thought the whole point of the Solution Guide was to offer a model with larger gear loops than the Solution, are you saying they didn’t even got that right? Also from BD’s website the Solution Guide does have a 5th gear loop at the back. 

Misty Mountain Cady and Turbo are great multi-pitch harnesses that rack plenty of gear, are comfortable, and very durable. Plus you can call them and discuss several customizable options. Doubt any other manufactures will do that. Made in the USA 

PatMas wrote:

I haven't owned one, But I have climbed in both a Caddy and a Turbo. Both were meh at best for me.

I think they fit certain body shapes better than others...my buddy that is very thin with a long waist (5'10 and 140lb) does not like either the Turbo or the Cadillac.  Loves his Petzl Calidris, even though they wear out every few years.

Pierre Proulx wrote:

I thought the whole point of the Solution Guide was to offer a model with larger gear loops than the Solution, are you saying they didn’t even got that right? Also from BD’s website the Solution Guide does have a 5th gear loop at the back. 

Yeah that was my understanding too, but I was let down. held them side by side with a BD Momentum harness and saw no difference. The 5th loop in the back is nice, and there's a small "0kN" loop for a chalk bag, but the main loops are plain ol'.