Get the Right Climbing Harness For You

Climbing Harnesses often come with a lot of technical information, and navigating it can be difficult.

Here are some of our top tips, but we would always recommend, especially if it's your first harness, to head to a specialist dealer to try on a range of different brands and styles to find the right climbing harness for you. 

With that in mind, here are some things to bear in mind, and our top tips to finding the right climbing harness to keep you climbing comfortably, and most importantly, safely.

See our range of climbing harnesses here.

1. We are all different shapes, not just sizes!

But so are the climbing harnesses!

Wearing a harness can be an uncomfortable experience if it's not the right shape for you. In a harness, it isn't just the waist and leg loops that matter, but also the rise.

The rise is the length from the top of the waistband vertically down your front, basically the crotch length in a pair of trousers.

Different brands will have different rises, and this is the key difference between men's and women's harnesses, so it is important to try a few brands on to help find the most comfortable for you.

2. Harnesses should be worn around your natural waist

When we say put something around your waist, that seems obvious, but everyone wears their trousers slightly differently, and usually where it is most comfortable.

Where you think your waist is might not actually be where it is!

Your natural waist is the narrowest part above your hip bones. For most people, this is in line with their belly button, but not always. Think of high-waisted trousers, that's where your natural waist is. 

3. Tight, but not too tight

Harnesses come with fixed and adjustable leg loop options.

Adjustable leg loops often have buckles on the front that allow you to loosen or tighten the leg loops to your preference.

This feature is often found on ‘trad climbing’ or ‘alpine climbing’ harnesses for use on days out where you may be wearing extra layers, so you need more adjustability throughout the day when you're outside and the temperature or weather changes. 

Even though these are designed for outdoor use, they are a great option for climbers with more muscular or bigger legs.

So if you find your harness is pinching and too tight in the legs, you may want to consider a climbing harness with an adjustable leg loop.

Even if you're only using it indoors, it will make the harness much more comfortable. 

4. All climbing harnesses are suitable for climbing in

There are many different types of climbing harnesses, from Alpine to kids' harnesses, and selecting the right one can be difficult. But all harnesses are, at the end of the day, climbing harnesses.

If you're looking for something to simply get some vertical miles in at the wall, you’ll probably want to look for something simple with just a couple of gear loops (the big loopy things on the back).

If you're planning on heading outside for some sport climbing or trad climbing, there are specific harnesses for this that have special features like extra loops or reinforced loops in case you're using ice axes.

However, with or without the special features, it is still a climbing harness, so look for the one that is most comfortable for you and is also suitable for what you're doing.

Top tip, if you're looking for something comfortable, trad climbing harnesses may have a lot of loops, but they also tend to have the most padding!

5. Yes, a flat hand should fit in your waistband

A waistband test to check if it’s tight enough is to put a hand flat on your belly above the waistband where the buckle is, and slide it down.

It should slip under the edge of the harness and sit comfortably.

However, if you repeat that and start with a fist (keeping it in a fist), run it down again if it slips under the buckle, your climbing harness needs tightening.  If your fist cannot get under the buckle, it is tight enough.

6. Your harness should never be on the extremes

As long it it is a legitimate climbing harness that has been bought from a legitimate dealer, then it will have gone through stringent safety checks to ensure that it is a safe product that meets strict safety criteria.

With that in mind, it still isn't designed to be used on its extremes, especially the waistband. You should not need to have it on its absolute smallest or its absolute largest size.

There is a lot of crossover in the sizing by design, so you should be sitting in the middle of the length with almost the same amount of adjustable waistband tucked back into the harness when only wearing one layer underneath.

Some harnesses, like the Black Diamond Momentum 4S or more classic adventure centre harnesses, are designed to fit multiple people, so you may find your clasp to one side or the other, but for a standard harness, the middle of the road principle applies. 

7. You should replace your harness 10 years after manufacture or if any webbing starts to show damage

The webbing used to make climbing harnesses is the main weight-bearing component; this degrades like any material and has a shelf life of 10 years.

Nearly all climbing harness manufacturers recommend changing your harness after 10 years of use, as the webbing will go brittle and is more likely to snap.

It is recommended to check out the manufacturer's guidance pages on when to retire gear, as it's useful knowledge to keep you safe!

If a harness has had a lot of UV exposure or looks faded in colour, it's also important to test the harness and give a good tug on the webbing before using it. If there is any crackling sound (like Rice Krispies in milk) when you move the webbing around, the fibres have gone brittle, and it is unfortunately at the end of its life.

Equally, if there is fraying, nicks or visible damage to the webbing parts of the climbing harness, it's also time to replace it.

Remember, adventures are only fun if we go home afterwards.

 

Here at Depot Climbing, we pride ourselves on having the most comprehensive climbing shops in the indoor climbing market, and we carefully select only the best products for our retail offering.

Find the harness for you with our extensive range of the best climbing harnesses on the market.