Climbing harness

I also disagree. There has never been an incident of a rope breaking that was not caused by a sharp object of some type.

my last 9.5mm lasted for 5 years and i still use it for gym leading since i had to cut off a core shot so it's only 56m. my 9.8mm had wear issues and Mammut replaced it. my new 9.5 is starting it's 2nd season

i am on my 3rd harness in 13 years of climbing.

Time almost has no bearing on quality of softgoods. stuff will wear out far faster than it 'breaks down'

Todd Skinner was a professional climber and guide.. he put more wear on his harness than any of us could imagine. he recognized that it was worn out but did not replace it, time had nothing to do with it.. belay loops are insanely bomber.. they don't 'break down' it wore out and it cost him. many new harnesses have a red layer stitched into them so that if the outside sheath wears out then the red will show through and you can judge how much it is worn.

Edit: how don't they store their stuff properly? who do you climb with? Most people i climb with keep their rope in a rope bag as i do. my harness stays on a shelf in my basement along with all of my other climbing and camping gear. How much climbing do you actually do?

"about as simple as a harness can get. the snap-opening leg loops are great. no belay loop, but i manage fine without it. Don't think i'd want to hang in it for an extended period of time. i have never tried the bd couloir, but i have heard lots of good things about it."

I took my normal BD padded harness and cut the belay loop off as it saves weight, but I wanted the padding. I want a complete tie in of hte waist loop. The leg clips are nice on the alpine bod and use it when going up north. Don't think I would want to rock climb in it though.

PS. I grew up on 2" old car seat belt stitched webbing harnesses. When I actually bought a harness with a belay loop, I was like, what the heck is this for? Didn't trust it. Well not really, but when you are not used to it. =)

belay loop is for belaying and rappelling.

tie in loops are for tying in with.

doing the opposite is not how the manufacturer intended and is not recommended.

I love my BD Couloir. It's super light, simple, and packs down into a tennis ball. For alpine/mountaineering, it's great. For cragging and actual climbing, I take a padded harness, as the Couloir is painful to fall in. The BD Bod (or Alpine Bod) would be a good compromise, and super cheap.

I have a Whillans Sit Harness that I purchased in the 1970's. It still works good, except that my waistline is about three inches too big to fit it.

–B.G.–

get one of the newer UL harnesses … buy it from REI … much better than one of those "alpine" harnesses if youll be doing actual rock climbing in it ….

as to replacing equipment … the number given by some manufacturers is really to cover their azz …. the UIAA has tested even old ropes and found they would take at least one factor ~2 fall … as long as you keep it away from chemicals and store it decently, ropes dont break they get cut …

i climb 150-200+ days outside a year and i dont replace my ropes/harnesses every 6 months … or even every year … unless they actually wear out

as to belaying off the tie in loop, as long as you tie in with a fig 8 backed up with a stopper its fine and even recommended in certain circumstances … check the BMC literature …