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rock_fencer
Mar 20, 2011, 4:10 PM
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So i went out for a day of multi-pitch cragging out at whitesides in NC. I pulled into the lot before my partner and was doing a one over on my gear and noticed that the lower tie in point (the one that holds your leg loops) on my Arcteryx fancy shmancy R-320 harness was worn to the orange indicator thingy. I've only had it for two years and have put it through its paces.
So its time for a new harness. I mostly do multipitch gear routes but aid as well on occasion. If you have experience with any of these models i'd like to hear it.
I'm a skinny guy with very little padding. The R-320 has been comfy enough, but at long hanging or stance belays it still comes up short i feel. I used to have a BD Momentum i climbed in for six years but it left me with bruises after long days hanging.
Misty Mountain:
Cadillac & Titan
BD:
Chaos
Big Gun
Arcteryx - 360a. its even wider and maybe more comfy.
Edit:
Yates:
??? never seen these guys in a store on the East coast
Cheers
T
(This post was edited by rock_fencer on Mar 20, 2011, 4:17 PM)
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moose_droppings
Mar 20, 2011, 5:08 PM
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rock_fencer wrote: So i went out for a day of multi-pitch cragging out at whitesides in NC. I pulled into the lot before my partner and was doing a one over on my gear and noticed that the lower tie in point (the one that holds your leg loops) on my Arcteryx fancy shmancy R-320 harness was worn to the orange indicator thingy. I've only had it for two years and have put it through its paces. So its time for a new harness. I mostly do multipitch gear routes but aid as well on occasion. If you have experience with any of these models i'd like to hear it. I'm a skinny guy with very little padding. The R-320 has been comfy enough, but at long hanging or stance belays it still comes up short i feel. I used to have a BD Momentum i climbed in for six years but it left me with bruises after long days hanging. Misty Mountain: Cadillac & Titan BD: Chaos Big Gun Arcteryx - 360a. its even wider and maybe more comfy. Edit: Yates: ??? never seen these guys in a store on the East coast Cheers T
I don't think you could go wrong with any of those. They are all good harnesses and will fit differently on different people. You really need to try them on to find the one that will work for you.
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rock_fencer
Mar 20, 2011, 5:25 PM
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i agree and i will. but im not going to go hand in a store for an hour and a half to see if the harness handles long hanging belays well. user input in this regard would be good. The yates and Titan for example have a really wide swami. wondering how this effects free climbing comfort.
T
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yodadave
Mar 20, 2011, 5:58 PM
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speaking as a skinny fella myself (29 inch waist)
I would go with either of the Mistys or the Big gun.
Arc stuff is sexy as hell but way too expensive to be replaced every other year.
BDEL keeps me unbruised but the Misty stuff is local, affordable and built to withstand a lot. My next harness will probably be a Caddy.
I currently use a BD Blizzard for its flexibility
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potreroed
Mar 20, 2011, 6:43 PM
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I've been using Yates big wall harnesses for years--not only for aid but for long multi-pitch free climbing and recommend them highly. Second choice would be the Cadillac.
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jo247
Mar 21, 2011, 8:18 PM
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the new Petzl Calidris !!!!!!!!!!!!!
it's fucking amazing! Breaths like crazy, and it's really comfortable !
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socalclimber
Mar 21, 2011, 9:02 PM
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I'll second the Yates Big Wall. It's a great harness.
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csproul
Mar 21, 2011, 9:21 PM
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Contrary to all the other NC Misty worshipers, I hate Misty harnesses. Nearly every one I have worn or have seen other people wear always ends up sitting lopsided, with the tie in point rotated to one hip and a gear loop right in the middle of the back. I'm not sure why this happens, but it seems to be a theme. Love my Misty pad though.
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jeepnphreak
Mar 21, 2011, 10:30 PM
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I can personally like the misty mountain Cadillac.
It one of the best harnesses I have ever owned. Their custy service is tops. I have a belay loop caught and got shredded in a car door. The misty guys replace it in less than a week for just the cost of me shipping it.
the BD big gun is nice too I had one of these a while ago. Its comfortable for all day and the double belay loops are a great feature for mulit and aid
(This post was edited by jeepnphreak on Mar 21, 2011, 10:31 PM)
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jeepnphreak
Mar 21, 2011, 10:32 PM
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csproul wrote: Contrary to all the other NC Misty worshipers, I hate Misty harnesses. Nearly every one I have worn or have seen other people wear always ends up sitting lopsided, with the tie in point rotated to one hip and a gear loop right in the middle of the back. I'm not sure why this happens, but it seems to be a theme. Love my Misty pad though.
yer doing it wrong. I have had two misty harness now and I have never had that issue. So you are doing it wrong.
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csproul
Mar 22, 2011, 1:09 AM
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jeepnphreak wrote: csproul wrote: Contrary to all the other NC Misty worshipers, I hate Misty harnesses. Nearly every one I have worn or have seen other people wear always ends up sitting lopsided, with the tie in point rotated to one hip and a gear loop right in the middle of the back. I'm not sure why this happens, but it seems to be a theme. Love my Misty pad though. yer doing it wrong. I have had two misty harness now and I have never had that issue. So you are doing it wrong.
(This post was edited by csproul on Mar 22, 2011, 1:40 AM)
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currupt4130
Mar 22, 2011, 1:21 AM
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Misty harnesses don't do it for me.
My choice, Wild Country Syncro Ziplock
http://www.wildcountry.co.uk/Products/SyncroHarnesses/SyncroZiplock/
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tower_climber
Mar 22, 2011, 1:50 AM
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I'm with csproul on this one. I like Misty as a company and love the fact that they're based in NC. But I have not liked any of their harnesses that I've tried.
Check out the Metolius Waldo. I just bought one for inspections and maintenance of challenge courses, and it is GREAT for long hangs. I cannot speak to the free climbing performance, because courses and towers don't require much in the way of technical climbing. But it is super comfortable.
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chilli
Mar 22, 2011, 2:57 AM
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i gotta agree with currupt. i theoretically like misty, but the problem i had with the cadillac was that the webbing that they cut with the hot-knife on the waistband rubbed against my hip/stomach, and that was not kosher for long at all.
i also have to agree on the wild country harness. i have had the other one for a while now. i forget the name, but it has 5 gear loops instead of 7/9 and i get the whole multi-pitch rack on there fine. SUPER comfy. the only thing that took a little adjusting was the loop that goes around the webbing near the buckle of the leg-loops (just look at the buckles in the pic and you can see it). it kind of pt a littel extra pressure on the outside aspect of my thigh until i seated the adjustment a little better, so it's something to look out for i suppose.
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wallwombat
Mar 22, 2011, 3:14 AM
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I have the older Wild Country Synchro with 9 gear loops. I love it for multipitch and aid (which I don't do a lot of at the moment). Seems like massive overkill when climbing sport routes, so I was thinking of getting a lighter, trimmer harness to supplement the Synchro and to use as a spare.
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brokesomeribs
Mar 22, 2011, 4:55 AM
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chilli wrote: i gotta agree with currupt. i theoretically like misty, but the problem i had with the cadillac was that the webbing that they cut with the hot-knife on the waistband rubbed against my hip/stomach, and that was not kosher for long at all. i also have to agree on the wild country harness. i have had the other one for a while now. i forget the name, but it has 5 gear loops instead of 7/9 and i get the whole multi-pitch rack on there fine. SUPER comfy. the only thing that took a little adjusting was the loop that goes around the webbing near the buckle of the leg-loops (just look at the buckles in the pic and you can see it). it kind of pt a littel extra pressure on the outside aspect of my thigh until i seated the adjustment a little better, so it's something to look out for i suppose.
I'm 99% sure you're talking about the Syncro Ultralite (as opposed to the regular Syncro as pictured above). I actually just ordered a Syncro Ultralite maybe 2-3 days ago on closeout so I'm glad to hear you like it.
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bearbreeder
Mar 22, 2011, 5:19 AM
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talk to dead bird ... 2 years is pretty fast a time to wear out a harness IMO
they might do something for ya
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sp115
Mar 22, 2011, 11:52 AM
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bearbreeder wrote: talk to dead bird ... 2 years is pretty fast a time to wear out a harness IMO they might do something for ya
Yeah, I would definitely see what they say. Maybe you can get them to replace it with one of these:
http://arcteryx.com/...Climbing_Gear/B-360a
edit to add: I just noticed that it was already on your list...oh well I tried.
(This post was edited by sp115 on Mar 22, 2011, 12:01 PM)
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j_ung
Mar 22, 2011, 12:50 PM
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The Yates looks pretty awesome. I've been climbing for years in various Metolius Safe Techs, and I can't say enough good about them. I have pretty serious lower back issues and they suit me well. They're very adjustable. Plus the extra beef in the gear loops is reassuring for aid climbing, drilling, etc.
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airscape
Mar 22, 2011, 1:28 PM
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Petzl calidris or corax are pretty comfy.
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hyongx
Mar 22, 2011, 1:33 PM
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rock_fencer wrote: I used to have a BD Momentum i climbed in for six years but it left me with bruises after long days hanging. BD: Chaos Big Gun Cheers T
T,
I have the BD Chaos and think it's pretty nice. I too used to have Momentum that I had for ~5 yrs before the belay loop got rather frayed.
A year or two ago I got the Chaos and it has served well. Comfortable on big routes, long hangs etc. But I may have a different body type, so like everyone else says, try it on.
At first I was worried the gear loops would be too small, but that has never been an issue, even w/ good rack/runners etc.
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shoo
Mar 22, 2011, 1:54 PM
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I am honestly mystified as to how you could have worn out your harness in 2 years. I bought my dead bird harness 3 years ago and have proceeded to try to beat the shit out of it at every possible opportunity. I am constantly amazed at just how well mine has held up over the years, averaging 3ish days a week of hard use. Talk to dead bird. They may even replace it with the new version!
Honestly, the only thing that isn't good as new on my harness are the elastic straps for the leg loops. Otherwise, that thing has held up INSANELY well.
Looks like they have made quite a few minor, but very helpful, improvements on their most recent line, including better sized and positioned gear loops, a better drop seat clicky thing (technical term), and a few different shapes to the harness overall. If they made one that included all of the above plus ice clipper loops, I'd buy one in a second. Unfortunately, the only harness they make with those slots and 4 gear loops hasn't yet been upgraded.
While it's FAR more comfy than you would imagine, I agree that my 320 a bit of a pain for long hanging belays. I'm not yet sure how I feel about the big wall version. Seems a bit too much harness for me, but I don't do much (or any) aid, so ymmv. Also check out the R-300, as it has a bit of a wider belt, but not as wide as the B-360a
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csproul
Mar 22, 2011, 2:11 PM
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tower_climber wrote: I'm with csproul on this one. I like Misty as a company and love the fact that they're based in NC. But I have not liked any of their harnesses that I've tried. Check out the Metolius Waldo. I just bought one for inspections and maintenance of challenge courses, and it is GREAT for long hangs. I cannot speak to the free climbing performance, because courses and towers don't require much in the way of technical climbing. But it is super comfortable.
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rock_fencer
Mar 22, 2011, 2:17 PM
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thanks guys, really appreciate the suggestions. I had forgotten about Wild Country altogether.
I'll see what deadbird has to say, but i've done alot of climbing in 2+ years so not really sure its a manufacturer's problem
T
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tower_climber
Mar 22, 2011, 2:25 PM
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I made up for my ill-speaking by purchasing one of their rather expensive packs. Worth every cent.
I actually spoke to the Misty rep about what didn't fit me on their harnesses. He hinted that they have a prototype sport harness in the works right now that might work better. We'll see.
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