X-small women’s harness advice

Hey there! So about a year ago I bought the black diamond solution guide harness after observing larger people and specifically men climb with it. I coveted the large gear loops that stuck out pretty low. I mostly trad climb and do a lot of multipitching that necessitates space for gear and something that sits comfortably when its loaded up.

Needless to say when my BD harness came in x-small the gear loops were smaller (obviously, its an xs) but also barely stuck out from the harness at all. As in, they’re very short??

Ok here’s my question: do any other x-small sized people who wear womens harnesses have this problem? Have you found a harness that works well for you? I am curious about the Arcteryx c-quence harness, but want to get some opinions before dropping a bunch of money.

Thanks! 

EDIT: 

OKAY folks here is an UPDATE: 

I just bought this Mammut 4 Slide harness and I am really liking it! The gear loops are huge, and it's super adjustable for many sizes -- I think even someone smaller than me could wear it. Also, because it has two buckles on the waist, one on either side of the belay loop, you can cinch it down while keeping everything centered. I went trad climbing in it and with a double rack of cams, .3 - 3, I STILL had room on the front two gear loops. Incredible. Unprecedented. Is this how the other half has been living all these years? I feel like I just discovered sliced bread or Serial Season One for the first time. 

Cons: heavier than the BD Solution Guide because there are more adjustable buckles, but not by too much. 

Just thought I'd share the news if anyone else is out there searching. 

Cheers! 

Al K wrote:

Hey there! So about a year ago I bought the black diamond solution guide harness after observing larger people and specifically men climb with it. I coveted the large gear loops that stuck out pretty low. I mostly trad climb and do a lot of multipitching that necessitates space for gear and something that sits comfortably when its loaded up.

Needless to say when my BD harness came in x-small the gear loops were smaller (obviously, its an xs) but also barely stuck out from the harness at all. As in, they’re very short??

Ok here’s my question: do any other x-small sized people who wear womens harnesses have this problem? Have you found a harness that works well for you? I am curious about the Arcteryx c-quence harness, but want to get some opinions before dropping a bunch of money.

Thanks! 

This is such an issue I have! Same experience with all of the xs harnesses. Gear loops are tiny in most of the ones on the market. I've tried men's harnesses in xs where the loops are bigger but then the harness doesn't fit (of course). I only trad, multi pitch and lots of alpine where those gear loops are essential so I've landed on the petzl Luna. It doesn't check all the boxes and many folks criticize the quality of petzl products, but it's the best I've found for xs and larger gear loops (5 of them). The next best option is a misty mountain custom harness...

I second the Petzl Luna harness. The back side gear loops are pretty small, but it has a back loop too to make up for it and I haven't had any space problems.

I usually do cams on front, nuts and draws on back side loops, and everything else (anchor, grigri, shoes, etc.) on the back loop. 

Bringing over the shoulder slings rather than more alpines can also help save harness space (and weight!)

What about a misty mountain? Iirc they’re pretty big loops.

I have the arcteryx c quence and the loops are huge, I love it. The issue though, is that I purchased the size small after reading that they run quite large - I am typically a medium in pretty much everything, climbing related or not. The size small is too big for me. I’d worry that xs would actually still be too big for you :/

J S wrote:

What about a misty mountain? Iirc they’re pretty big loops.

I have the arcteryx c quence and the loops are huge, I love it. The issue though, is that I purchased the size small after reading that they run quite large - I am typically a medium in pretty much everything, climbing related or not. The size small is too big for me. I’d worry that xs would actually still be too big for you :/

Oohhhh this is very good information!! Thank you, Jackie! I have looked at the misty mountain harnesses and they seem nice but very bulky for long approach/alpine climbing. But maybe thats a compromise?

Appreciate everyone’s feedback! 

I’m 100lbs, tiny framed human. I wear XS harnesses (currently using the XS Petzl Adjama/Luna). It works fine but I don’t love it. The front gear loops are huge and the fifth in the back is a lifesaver. The uncomfortable things are that even in XS, it’s cinched as tight as possible and the back gear loops are a) super small and b) far behind me as opposed to in the side, which makes getting gear from there hard and c) the front gear loops angle forward so it pushes all my gear forward which is annoying  

I tried on the Arcteryx XS C-quence and the leg loops, which aren’t adjustable, are ridiculously huge. I can shove my entire arm and fist through it and it doesn’t feel safe. Something to keep in mind if you’re small framed. 

Good luck! Keep us updated. I’m in the market for a new harness as well and I just want something that fits properly, lightweight for alpine, and has huge gear loops too. :( Why can’t companies consider smaller humans aughhh. 

So I haven't bought a small harness for this reason, I just wear a slightly ill fitting harness (a women's size up still doesn't pass my hips, luckily..)..  When I went harness shopping to see if I could get a better fitting harness, all the gear loops were terrible and small. One of the harnesses I tried on in the small size only had 2 gear loops! I was really shocked. Just wanted to wish you good luck in finding one-- sorry I don't have a great recommendation.

As a random side note about petzl harnesses and heavy gear, one of my friends who trads a lot had a front gear loop fail and drop all his cams on one side while climbing. I guess the fabric sheath covering the loop was the main point of attachment, rather than the plastic part?? I think he was trying some off width projects this year with big cams, but still---the harness was a less than 1 year old petzl harness (LOL he switched to a BD harness after petzl basically said he just needed to check for signs of wear on his gear loop, like it's not weird for a new harness gear loop to fail so fast...). So anyway-- it's another thing to check and be aware of if you're out a lot with heavy gear-- I'm not sure if it's something that gets better if the gear loop is smaller and you have to rack more stuff on a smaller space.

As a random side note about petzl harnesses and heavy gear, one of my friends who trads a lot had a front gear loop fail and drop all his cams on one side while climbing.

Regina, yep I have heard of this/ actually seen this happen at the crag before with Petzl brand harnesses! I think this is an issue that many people have had with their harnesses, and a reason I've stayed away. Thanks for the heads up and the solidarity, the search continues.. 

I ordered the BD Momentum harness awhile ago and returned it. Instead of coming with smaller gear loops they actually removed 2 of the gear loops for xs     so it only had 2 gear loops TOTAL! My comment at the time was something like (zoolander voice) "what is this a harness for non-leading non-trad climbing ANTS!?!?"

Easy Cheese wrote:

I ordered the BD Momentum harness awhile ago and returned it. Instead of coming with smaller gear loops they actually removed 2 of the gear loops for xs     so it only had 2 gear loops TOTAL! My comment at the time was something like (zoolander voice) "what is this a harness for non-leading non-trad climbing ANTS!?!?"

Wtf hahahahah

OKAY folks here is an UPDATE: 

I just bought this Mammut 4 Slide harness and I am really liking it! The gear loops are huge, and it's super adjustable for many sizes -- I think even someone smaller than me could wear it. Also, because it has two buckles on the waist, one on either side of the belay loop, you can cinch it down while keeping everything centered. I went trad climbing in it and with a double rack of cams, .3 - 3, I STILL had room on the front two gear loops. Incredible. Unprecedented. Is this how the other half has been living all these years? I feel like I just discovered sliced bread or Serial Season One for the first time. 

Cons: heavier than the BD Solution Guide because there are more adjustable buckles, but not by too much. 

Just thought I'd share the news if anyone else is out there searching. 

Cheers! 

I'll also provide an update. Unfortunately, the rumors about petzl gear loops have caught up to me. I've had this petzl Luna (I mentioned it way back as a workable option with larger gear loops and five total, as well as being an xs with adjustable legs) for one season and while I've put considerable miles on it, there's no reason the gear loops should be falling apart. They are on the brink of breaking off, putting me at risk of endangering my partner and losing all of my pro. Dang it! So, I'm retiring it to a gym harness.

I purchased a misty mountain harness that hasn't arrived yet, but I hope it's a keeper.

I’m late to this topic but finding a harness small enough with reasonable gear loops has been an ongoing quest for me. Just wanted to chime in with a holy grail I would recommend to anyone - the DMM Puma goes down to a 22” waist, has a floating belt (so the belay loop stays centered no matter how it’s adjusted, amazing for layers) and best of all it has five decent-sized gear loops.The fifth gear loop is full size and is a super convenient place to stash anchor/rap stuff and keep it out of the way until the end of the pitch—freeing up all four of the other gear loops for actual gear. This is the first time I’ve ever been able to carry a double rack and lots of draws without needing to bundle/chandelier everything and it’s amazing!

It’s pretty padded compared to most of my other harnesses so not the most packable thing in the world, but it’s comfortable at long hanging belays so I’m happy. It still fits inside my helmet for packing and I’ve carried it on long alpine approaches and fast/light days no problem. 

I noticed last season that I was coming home from long multipitch days with bruises on my hipbones from the weight of fully-racked but slightly too large harnesses pulling down. The Puma has seriously fixed my life haha.