Yates Climbing Gear - No More??

Has Yates Climbing Gear, or the division of Yates that makes climbing gear, gone out of business or shut down?

I have some big wall aid ladders that have been on back order for a couple months from an online shop.  "We expect them in the next several weeks" has come and gone multiple times.  I went to the the Yates site and under climbing gear it says "There are no products to list in this category".  Very few online stores seem to have anything in stock or even list Yates gear.

Mike Slavens wrote: Has Yates Climbing Gear, or the division of Yates that makes climbing gear, gone out of business or shut down?

I have some big wall aid ladders that have been on back order for a couple months from an online shop.  "We expect them in the next several weeks" has come and gone multiple times.  I went to the the Yates site and under climbing gear it says "There are no products to list in this category".  Very few online stores seem to have anything in stock or even list Yates gear.

Why don't you ask Yates directly?

•                   info@YatesGear.com            

                 

•                   Phone: 530.222.4606            

Look for FISH products. . . Russ posts here occasionally.  Great stuff!!

Skot (of Allfifi fame) recently (in the last month or two) had a Yates Shield harness made for him by working directly with Yates. Their online site has always been a bit lacking, I normally buy my Yates gear by communicating directly with them via email because I ask for specific modifications to their designs. 

Steve Williams wrote: Look for FISH products. . . Russ posts here occasionally.  Great stuff!!

FISH (though awesome) does not really make anything that holds a candle to what Yates makes

• Yates Adjustable daisies have less space between the buckle and the clipping loop than the Fish daisies losing a precious inch when cinching up tight. But neither really matter if you use an Allfifi

  • Advantage: Allfifi

• Yates Speed ladders are basically the perfect ladders, the FISH ladders I've never used but I'm unimpressed with the specifications.

  • Advantage: Yates

• Yates harnesses are the best there is for BigWall. Period. (<-that's a double period because of the word and the punctuation), FISH don't make harnesses. 

  • Advantage: Yates

• Yates heads are good, Fish heads are good, everyone's heads are good

  • Advantage: No one

• Yates rope bags are nice but heavy, FISH rope bags are weird, but their snake charmer rope bag is literally the best thing that exists if you're a soloist

  • Advantage: Yates for climbing with partners, FISH if you're a weirdo that solos walls because no one likes me

• Yates haul bags are truck but super expensive, FISH haul bags are less expensive but you're looking at three to four centuries before you get it (only slightly hyperbolic)  

  • Advantage: Other haul bag manufacturers (Go with Runout Customs if you're serious about this, otherwise go with Black Diamond if you just need a cheap usable haul bag) 

Mike I am in the same boat.  Received one of the two Yates speed ladders purchased back in January and have been getting the run around back order excuse from the online retailer since in regards to the second.  Some-what comforting to know I am not the only one.

Kevin, out of curiosity what do you think gives Yates harnesses an advantage over the metolius waldo? I have the Yates Shield currently and I'm not 100% happy with it. Only comes standard with one belay loop and the gear loops are not technically load bearing. Also bulky and difficult to adjust. Is all that extra weight in the padding really worth it? I've heard the new waldo speed adjust does not get looser and seems better for adjusting mid-route in a less sketch fashion than you can do with the Yates. Also heard a story of a Yates gear loop failing (something very heavy was clipped to it), which has been in the back of my mind ever since.

I sent my Shield to Skot for a second belay loop as a compromise rather than buying a new harness, but still considering switching to the waldo in the future.

Alex Abrams wrote: Kevin, out of curiosity what do you think gives Yates harnesses an advantage over the metolius waldo? I have the Yates Shield currently and I'm not 100% happy with it. Only comes standard with one belay loop and the gear loops are not technically load bearing. Also bulky and difficult to adjust. Is all that extra weight in the padding really worth it? I've heard the new waldo speed adjust does not get looser and seems better for adjusting mid-route in a less sketch fashion than you can do with the Yates. Also heard a story of a Yates gear loop failing (something very heavy was clipped to it), which has been in the back of my mind ever since.

I sent my Shield to Skot for a second belay loop as a compromise rather than buying a new harness, but still considering switching to the waldo in the future.

Lol, the shield gear loop failing may have been my story. I was on Bulging Puke solo (my partner had bailed on me so we had left lines fixed to our high point and I came back solo to finish it.) After leaving my fixed lines behind, I was ascending the haul line to to high point with my lead line in my rope bag attached to a single gear loop. The gear loop broke and I watched my lead line fall and realized I couldn't bail because the pitch was so overhanging that the single line I was jugging would not reach back to the previous belay now that it'd been cut loose. It sucked but I was able to finish the route by "bailing up" with only one rope. Not ideal but it worked. 

So why do I still love the shield harness? First of all, I climb bigwall a lot. A LOT. Every weekend that's it's not raining, a lot. My harness was old and had been through a lot. I knew better than to trust a single belay loop and I hadn't checked my harness to ensure everything was good to go. I don't fault Yates for it because that harness should have been retired by the time this happened. Having full strength get loops (despite my experience on Bulging Puke) is not  concern for me. When my gear loop broke, I had a full lead line, rope bag, and various other heavy hardware on the gear loop. Considering the weight, I should have backed up my essential gear to another loop, or better yet, attached it to one of the hammer loops which are stronger. That whole fiasco was my fault and getting a harness solely to prevent myself from paying the consequences of making a haphazard mistake again is no substitute from refocusing myself and learning from the lapse in judgement. 
So before I finish answering your question,  first if all, I'm a gear whore. I own a Waldo, a Calidris, a Titan, a Big gun (lol), a Yates bigwall, and multiple Shields. I’ve used them all and in the end, the Shield is the most comfortable for long long 4-6 hour belays and long long leads with a heavy nailing rack. I attribute that to the extra padding but I’m not a material scientist so who knows if the comfort and the padding are intrinsically related? I own many wall harnesses but the shield is the one that I come back to after trying out new harness on the wall, time after time. I should say that I always use a chest harness as well and I’m small and thin with a 28” waist so my comfort is different than a lot of bigger climbers. 
The Waldo specifically is just not comfortable for me in any way. It rides up from my waist and pinches below my rib cage. This is obviously not everyone’s experience, but it is mine. The difficulty of removing the connecting straps for the leg loops is an issues as well. I sleep in my harness but I do take my legs out of it when I sleep. Additionally with the removable of the leg lop straps, the lack of quick release buckles is an issue when nature calls and calls quickly. 
With the Shield, getting two belay loops is easy if you order directly from Yates like I do. All of my Shields have two belay loops except for one I bought off eBay. I never have difficulty taking gear off the gear loops like I do with other harnesses and the gear loops are not too small or weirdly angled like others. 
The buckles for the waist are a pain admittedly but in my individual experience, I’ve never had an issue with creep so I’ve never had to tighten or adjust my waist straps mid route. Even when I spent 12 days soloing Tribal Rite, the only time I adjusted my buckles was on large ledges when I took my harness off completely. But all that could just be cause I’m small and light, who knows. 
My advice is get a Waldo, use it, then decide if you’d rather stay with the Waldo or the Shield. Then sell the other one on EBay. It’s what I did (well I didn’t sell them because I like knowing I have them just in case, of what? I’ve not idea, but just) 

Kevin, thanks for the info. The story I had in mind actually had to do with a climber on Mescalito this past fall, but still good to know about your experience as well. I am also a small skinny guy (5' 8", 140lbs) and I always use a chest harness for my non-iron gear. I still think that the load bearing gear loops would give me more peace of mind that I am not going to drop a loop full of beaks, draws, or other pins; however, I definitely see your point about inspecting and taking care of your gear and I suppose any gear loop can break after enough wear and tear. The main reason why I have yet to switch to the Waldo is because of the leg loop situation that you mentioned. The new Waldo has a better release system, but it's still not as easy as the Shield's system and the bottom hard point is still sewn. In my mind the ideal wall harness for me would be a Waldo with the double pass buckle on the bottom hard point and the addition of a rear gear loop on the size S (barring any fit issues like the one you mentioned).

I'm going to try out my Shield with the added belay loop in the valley this Spring. Maybe if I don't like it I'll buy that Waldo from you (if you ever decide to part ways with it).

I have been using a Petzl Omni as a proxy for a second belay loop (vertically through my leg loops and waist belt). I keep my daisies and alfifi on there and they rotate around nicely. 

is Yates a going concern as of 5-May-2020? I have some money in my pocket that I want to spend on Yates gear. Website isn't informative, but when has that not been the case? Frankly, it's part of their charm.

What's the number for Yates gear?

mountainhick wrote: What's the number for Yates gear?

It's the same  as rock and resole