A climbing harness is undoubtedly an essential part of your rock climbing gear and apart from affecting your overall safety it will also have an impact on your overall climbing performance. Consequently, it is imperative to find a harness that properly fits your climbing needs, style as well as experience level.
In the subsequent paragraphs, we will mention several things to consider when buying a climbing harness.
1. Comfort
It is indeed very crucial to choose a comfortable harness for your needs. Nevertheless, it is more than just getting the harness size correct. Not all harnesses provide the same type of padding; the sports harnesses will not provide virtually any padding at all since they are meant to be used for the shorter climbs and need to be light as well.
It is recommended to buy a harness which is more padded in case you are intending to climb for longer. Of course, these types of climbing harnesses will be much heavier than the sports harnesses.
2. Price
The cost of the harnesses depends heavily on their features and style. Usually, the least expensive harnesses are those with plenty of padding whereas the sports climbing harnesses are much pricier since a lot more technology is involved in making them for optimizing the weight, performance, and comfort.
The all-round inexpensive harnesses are better suited for the beginners due to their price as well as features which are provided.
3. Gear loops
Prior to purchasing a harness, it is better to think about what type of equipment you want to carry. You will not require a lot of gear in case you are performing a shorter climb, however, you will definitely require much more gear if you are doing a multi-pitch climbing.
Usually, an all-round harness will have 3 to 4 gear loops whereas the sports harnesses feature only a couple of loops.
4. Haul loops
In case you want to utilize the climbing harness for helping in transporting gear (for example, a backpack) then you will require a haul loop which you can rely on.
Since the sports harnesses do not feature high-quality haul loops, if you want to do a lot of hauling, it is better to choose a big climbing harness that has a top quality haul loop which will provide you with the assurance to lift the gear.
5. Safety features
This particular point is extremely vital and is being constantly adapted and upgraded by the manufacturers who are adding an increasing number of safety features on a regular basis to the harnesses which they produce.
According to many experts, the most crucial safety feature happens to be the self-locking adjustment strap on the harnesses which will always remind you to put the harness on safely. Make it a point to enquire the qualified personnel regarding the safety features of every single harness while choosing one for you.
After you have identified the type of harness for your requirements, you must try it on. Preferably, you will require a climbing wall for testing it fully and almost all the climbing shops at present provide you with this facility.
Always bear in mind that there is a wide variety of harnesses on the market. Therefore, it is imperative to try a few climbing harnesses before purchasing one that fits you.