New big wall harness from Black Diamond, the Long Haul

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4pJM52gJGA

Curious on everyone's thoughts. Has 2 ice clipper slots, 2 continuous belay loops, red color to make you faster, and 5 large gear loops. Anyone had a chance to test it? It's available for pre-order on some sites.

I'd wait until it's well reviewed in the real world first. BD has come out with enough total shit that got hyped and then was taken off of the market that I don't trust them. I like that it looks light, but not having a 2nd top buckle to adjust makes it less interesting to me. I love that feature on the Misty Mountain Cadillac as a comparable sized harness, and for the next size up, I also love the comfort of the bigger (and beefier) Metolius Waldo. 

I saw (leaks of?) this harness in the middle of last year, and really liked the idea of the continuous belay loops and a huge rear gear loop. I had a light sport climbing harness at the time and had just come back from my first big wall with badly bruised hips. However, after some research, it seemed that all of the other big wall harnesses had more than 5 gear loops, which put me off. I reached out to BD and got back the following dimensions:

~105mm for the 4 side gear loops seemed kinda small, as the current BD Solution / Momentum lineup has ~85mm gear loops. They also confirmed that the BD Big Gun would be discontinued.

So, I bought a Big Gun which has 7 gear loops, a mostly positive reputation, and I was able to get it for < $100 since it's being discontinued.

looks rad, as a larger climber i went through a lot of the classic all arounders and wall harnesses before buying an Edelrid Orion which is awesome though not exactly designed for trad/big wall. this looks like a winner to me

Edit: for single pitch my favorite is the Solution, so to me a beefed up Solution is looking very good

Harness has been out for a while now. Anyone used it on walls? For route development? How mobile is it for free climbing? How is it for hanging at a belay or aid? Any problems?

I haven’t had a chance to try it on any walls but have been using it for multipitch days with hanging belays.  So far, it is very comfortable in that scenario and feels great to climb in.  I do wish it had some “upper tier” gear loops though.  The large gear loop in the back is very nice however.

I recently used it on the prow in a team of 3, everyone was rocking the new long haul.  Spent 4 days living in it, I personally thought it was comfortable.  The other two partners were male and female.  The male thought it was nice but wanted a smaller size (We were both right in between sizes)  our female partner didn't feel the same way.  She thought it did not fit as comfortably and said that she wished there was a female version.   

I think it's got good back support, the 2 belay loops are nice, and there is plenty of space if you open up the lower hard point to fit your rope, daisy's and alfifi.  All the gear loops are solid, the rear gear loop is a bit funky with its angles but still works.  It's definitely bulkier than the big gun harness was.  But it's more supportive for that reason.  I was able to bust free moves and still feel nimble in it. 

A small negative was the front of the harness wants to pull down in the buckle area when standing tall (like the belay loops are too small) But with some adjustment to the leg loops I was able to take most of the pull out.  

All in all I like it and will be using it again this spring.

Leon Wright wrote:

I haven’t had a chance to try it on any walls but have been using it for multipitch days with hanging belays.  So far, it is very comfortable in that scenario and feels great to climb in.  I do wish it had some “upper tier” gear loops though.  The large gear loop in the back is very nice however.

I personally didn’t really like the “upper tier” gear loop on the big gun because it felt in the way of the lower ones, although I know many people like it for their ladders/daisies etc. Do you feel that there is not enough space even with the bigger gear loops? 

Alex Ghiggeri wrote:

I recently used it on the prow in a team of 3, everyone was rocking the new long haul.  Spent 4 days living in it, I personally thought it was comfortable.  The other two partners were male and female.  The male thought it was nice but wanted a smaller size (We were both right in between sizes)  our female partner didn't feel the same way.  She thought it did not fit as comfortably and said that she wished there was a female version.   

I think it's got good back support, the 2 belay loops are nice, and there is plenty of space if you open up the lower hard point to fit your rope, daisy's and alfifi.  All the gear loops are solid, the rear gear loop is a bit funky with its angles but still works.  It's definitely bulkier than the big gun harness was.  But it's more supportive for that reason.  I was able to bust free moves and still feel nimble in it. 

A small negative was the front of the harness wants to pull down in the buckle area when standing tall (like the belay loops are too small) But with some adjustment to the leg loops I was able to take most of the pull out.  

All in all I like it and will be using it again this spring.

Big gun felt great for free climbing to me. Do you think the long haul is better or worse? Do you mean bulkier as in thicker padding? Wider belt? Or bulkier when packed up?

What waist size/harness size did you and your friends choose who were in between. I sometimes fall between small and medium. Medium big gun felt good to me tightened all the way, but still sagged under a full wall rack, as I suspect most harnesses will despite getting the fit right.

How hard was the free climbing?  Would you recommend this as a primary trad climbing harness.  A lot of people seem to be going in the big wall direction if your only racking on the harness especially when bringing multiple anchor kits and approach shoes.  

Matt Schilowitz wrote:

Big gun felt great for free climbing to me. Do you think the long haul is better or worse? Do you mean bulkier as in thicker padding? Wider belt? Or bulkier when packed up?

What waist size/harness size did you and your friends choose who were in between. I sometimes fall between small and medium. Medium big gun felt good to me tightened all the way, but still sagged under a full wall rack, as I suspect most harnesses will despite getting the fit right.

The padding is about the same I think but the surface area it covered on your back and sides has grown.  I went with a large size while my friend had a large but preferred a medium.  I usually rock a chest harness so can't claim sag weight from excess gear.  As for free climbing, I think it's a bit bulky to use for normal multi pitch climbing.   Could be limiting your movements, I would say this is made for more big walls with long aid leads in mind.  

Sweet thanks for your input!