What’s on your harness

I’m just finishing up a week in the wind river range and I noticed (not just this trip) I have so much more gear on my harness compared to other climbers. So out of curiosity what does everyone have on their harness for a multi pitch trad route? Let’s say 8-12 pitches with gear belays, book calls for “pro to 4, doubles 1" to 2", one 3", one 4".

I took cam sizes that are listed for the route plus 4-5 non lockers, 4-5 lockers, 240 sling, 120 sling x2, 21’ cord, shoulder length sling, 8 alpine draws, and a micro traction.

I know rack selection is very subjective but maybe I’m just carrying way too much stuff haha. 

what's the scenario where you you use all 5 lockers and all 5 non-lockers at the same time?

What's the scenario where you employ the cord and the 240cm sling?

If you can't answer very very quickly, then you're probably bringing too much.

Edit:

To answer the actual question, besides gear and draws (which are too route-dependent for a general answer), I might bring a belay device and 3 lockers (one to clove to the anchor, 2 to set up the device in guide mode). I would have a 120mm sling to rig anchors; this is also my rappel tether if there's rapping. If it's a walkoff, I would have a carabiner attaching my approach shoes and water bottle to my harness. My chalkbag has a bit of cord as the waist belt. If I bring a pack, there's a carabiner on the pack to hang it on the anchor.

And that's... it?

Common variations: If I knew the route has awkward, spaced anchors or trees that I don't expect to be pre-slung with tat, then I might consider replacing the 120cm sling with a cordalette. If I know I'm swinging leads, though, I might just use the rope for an anchor. If it's somewhere like the Winds, not on a trade route, I might bring a tiny bit more cordage in case a rap anchor needs to be replaced.

The sling is my go to for anchors often. Carabiners, I could slim those down for sure but I’m always on the fence to do so. 

That’s a lot of biners. I usually carry 2 or 3 lockers and that’s it (0 non locking because I can use draws). 

edit: i also wont carry a micro traxion unless the plan is to simul a pitch. 

Taylor H wrote:

The sling is my go to for anchors often. Carabiners, I could slim those down for sure but I’m always on the fence to do so. 

Which of the three long slings is your go-to for anchors? If you're using the sling, then why have the cord? If you're using a sling, why have 2 other slings?

I'd keep the cordelette, ditch the Microtrax, ditch the loose non-lockers, slim the lockers down to what you need to belay and possibly ditch the two 120cm slings unless the route is wandering or unknown.  Climbers with more expertise in placing gear will find a wider variety of options for to place gear and can safely climb on slimmer racks.  If you are climbing routes below your fitness and skill then you can run things out more and still have a reasonable margin of safety.

The reason I'd keep the cordellete and not the Microtrax is that you can use the cord to deal with a lot of unexpected scenarios, you can put a loop on a bight knot on the end for a prussik and quickly turn it into a hauling system or even a block and tackle arrangement.  You can use it plus your guide mode ATC or GriGri for ascending a rope.  You can use it for an anchor if your pieces are spread further out.  You can reinforce a rap station.  You can use it for binding an improvised splint.  It's the multi tool in my kit but on a multipitch climb it's probably in my pack.

3 lockers with a 120 cm sling stay on my harness at all times. My 'oh shit' carabiner is also a locker that has a tibloc, knife, petzl reverso (ATC) and prussik on it. Grigri. These do not leave my harness, ever.

The non locker I use to keep my chalk bag, crack gloves and shoes goes on my harness too. Nut tool. A petzl connect adjust if not in the alpine.

Microtrax if we're 1:1 hauling the follower pack or on a wall.

Cordelette or preferably just an additional 120 cm sling for tall routes or a separate rap route. If doing a multi pitch I haven't done, 6-8 alpines and/or 4-6 draws are coming with depending on the length of pitches, difficulty, etc.

Out of curiosity what's the micro for? Also, no belay device? 

Fellow over preparer here so I like the extra cams and lockers. 

Drop the lockers and the cord/sling, bring a Prussik instead. 

Personal Gear:

• Grigri on a dedicated locker
• Pivot on a dedicated locker
• Prussik on a dedicated locker - now usually clipped to the Pivot biner to save space
• PAS
• Nut tool
• 2-3 extra lockers
• Shoe biner/ approach shoes
• Triple length dyneema sling
• Double length nylon sling
• NEW - a Camp quick link that has a Trango Piranha knife and a shorty bit of cord to replace rap anchors if necessary - this will be situation dependent, but had a sketchy rap off old tat and think I'm going to make it relatively permanent for most multi-pitches. It can also be handing as a second prussik for getting your belay device back from a guide mode belay. 
• Micro/ Nano - picked one of each of these up last year for simuling but haven't gotten into the alpine yet. One will probably come with for either potential rescue scenarios or simuling easy ground. I haven't been carrying them on front country multipitches.

For gear, I also don't mind being over prepared. Usually doubles in BD .2-3 and a set of nuts. Half are mine, half are my partners. 12-15 alpine draws with 1 or 2 dedicated double length dyneema slings. No quick draws, no loose non lockers. Could I go lighter? Sure. Drop some loose lockers, put the Pivot and the prussik on the same biner until rap time. I rarely use the nylon sling, but I could drop the PAS and use the sling, but I like the convenience of the PAS. The triple length sling has been great, though if we're swinging leads, I'm a big proponent of rope anchors. 

All this to say, the weight doesn't seem outrageous. If it makes you feel more comfortable, go for it. To me, the convenience of certain things outweighs the downside of more weight. I do agree with others that adding a prussik would be a great idea, not only for rapping, but for ascending a rope in space, and a bunch of other uses. I would say have a somewhat specific use-case in mind for some of this stuff, but I don't necessarily have one for some of the stuff I carry so maybe I can't say that lol

Steven Gonzalez wrote:

Out of curiosity what's the micro for? Also, no belay device? 

Fellow over preparer here so I like the extra cams and lockers. 

I forgot to add the atc. That eats up a locker I mentioned in addition to the one I use to rack it. The micro is for simul or hauling up bags or oh sh!t situations. I also have a tib and knife on my chalk bag that never come off. I think ditching some of those lockers and non lockers will help. The slings are helpful for wondering routes, threads and horns. Loving this conversation, thanks everyone! 

+1 to dropping all the random carabiners. Aside from the lockers on my belay/rap/tether stuff, I'm not bringing any carabiners that aren't already part of an anchor sling/alpine/draw. If I need a locker for something, my belay/rap/tether lockers get shuffled around (since you're never using all of them simultaneously). 

• Pro
• Draws (mix of alpine and lightweight QD's)
• Triple dyneema sling with carabiner
• ATC Guide with locker plus another locker for guide mode
• Connect adjust with locker
• Locker with a tibloc, prusik loop, Trango knife, and a very small roll of tape. 
• 1 carabiner with my shoes on it
• 1 extra mini carabiner

I carry whatever rack I will need plus 6-8 alpine draws.  one 120cm and one 240 cm dyneema sling, each with two small lockers.  one locker with my belay device, one locker with my prusik and one 'extra' locker, usually for my clove.  

That's pretty much it,  maybe some cordalette and a knife for long ice routes or descents in the backcountry with many rappells.  Occasionally a microtraxion but haven't really put it into much use other than simulclimbing 

If you're bringing a grigri, don't bother bringing at ATC. You can rappel with a grigri, you just need to set up single strand rappels. You can always use a munter or biner break rappel if you unexpectedly need to do a lot of rappels and would rather do them as 2 strand rappels.

If you know you're gonna need to do a lot of double strand rappels, just bring one grigri and one ATC for the whole party aka you and your partner. This is my system: first person rappels down on 1 strand with the grigri using a biner block, then second person undoes the biner block and rappels down on 2 strands with the ATC, so there's no knot to get stuck when pulling the rope. This is the ideal system for many double strand rappels: minimal extra stuff to bring, and no knots to get stuck when pulling the rope.

Bringing a spare belay/rappel device in case you drop one really shouldn't be a thing. Tie your grigri/ATC to the biner it's on with some cord to make it drop-proof. And if you do somehow drop it, you should know how to belay with a munter hitch, and how to rappel with a munter hitch or biner break.

Also, this is what I commonly carry on my harness for multipitch climbs, besides the pro (cams/nuts/draws/not tool):

• Grigri with locking carabiner
• locking carabiner for clove hitching into belay anchor
• 1-2 nonlockers for anchor building (eg if I need to clip a nut as part of an anchor, or some bolts).
• If I an NOT swapping leads: then either 20ft of 5mm titan cord (if gear anchors), or a double length sling (if bolt anchors), for anchor building. If I am swapping leads then I just use the rope and don't bring any extra cord. For bolt anchors, if I have a sling then I only need 1 nonlocking carabiner, because I just girth hitch one end of the sling to one bolt and clip the other end of the sling to the other bolt.
• 1 tibloc on a nonlocker. This is useful to get back up if you fall on a traverse or overhang. You could get it done with a prusik, but the tibloc is so light and small that I don't mind carrying it. Also useful in case you find yourself accidentally needing to simulclimb.
• If I am carrying things on my harness I absolutely do not want to drop (eg approach shoes, water bottle [that could kill someone if it fell on them], puffy on a cold day), then I will clip those to me with a locker.

This totals 2-3 lockers and 2-3 nonlockers on top of what is already on the pro I'm carrying.

If I might have to leave tat at anchors, then I bring some tubular webbing, usually left at the bottom of the follower pack. The cord/webbing you attach your chalk bag with should also be sufficiently strong to leave as tat if necessary.

Craig Lueben advocated for having the gear necessary to ascend the rope on you at all times in Advanced rock climbing.  That also comes close to covering escaping the belay and basic rescue scenarios.  So, that makes me feel just fine about having a cordolette and a some extra lockers I don't "need" riding with me.  That said, I neglect that guideline when sport climbing.

For me:
DMM pivot with 2 lockers
double length sling with locker
cordolette with locker (willing to sacrifice for rappels)
autoblock with locker
2 extra lockers (willing to sacrifice for rappels & bailing)
Chalkbag with 7mm cord belt, trango knife, crack gloves and tiny headlamp

Kyle MacKrell wrote:

 My 'oh shit' carabiner is also a locker that has a tibloc, knife, petzl reverso (ATC) and prussik on it. 

Drew A: Locker with a tibloc, prusik loop, Trango knife, and a very small roll of tape. 

Chris Johnson: Prussik on a dedicated locker - now usually clipped to the Pivot biner to save space

Y'all know that you can prussik with a sling?

For the 1 in 1000 pitches where you might, maybe, need a prussik?

For multi pitch I carry my Grigri with its own Locker, rap device with one small locker.   One shoulder length nylon sling with two lockers that doubles as a PAS, a third hand on a non locker.  
Two extra biners, one locker and the other non locker.   That’s it.   I feel like that’s too much stuff much of the time, I hate clutter on my harness or stuff that is used “”just in case”.    I’ve been climbing 45 years and have never had to escape a belay or some other rare scenario.    No triple or double length slings, I use the rope for 99% of anchor building.  

Nkane 1 wrote:

Y'all know that you can prussik with a sling?

For the 1 in 1000 pitches where you might, maybe, need a prussik?

Rated cord for friction hitches. Slings get the job done, for a klemheist. For a prussik or autoblock, i'm using nylon accessory cord, which is what I'm using for double stranded rappels, which is why it's on my harness with an ATC. Ascending a rope with a sling via a klemheist, sure. Take a rescue course. To each their own.

Nkane 1 wrote:

Y'all know that you can prussik with a sling?

For the 1 in 1000 pitches where you might, maybe, need a prussik?

Sure, but I use my prusik for all raps. Dyneema sling will wear out quickly in that application and can have trouble biting. Nylon sling is way more bulky (and I don't own anything smaller than a double length). For me, it's worth it to have a dedicated prusik. Add in the fact that you can (and I have) used it to extend pieces when I've run out of slings, and there's basically no difference.