Posted by BurghEx What criteria helps me decide what's right for me?
My plan is to get a two legged anchoring system to clip into what I'm climbing.
hips-only climbing harnesses:
Pro: weight, packspace, cost, multipurpose (SRT), comfortableness, Con: You could "fall out", but not if you adjust it properly.
full body construction harnesses: Pro: is somehow "safer", less painful on ze nuts when you fall.
Con: weight, pack-space, cost less low key ... (mine is bright fucking ..orange...)
You can buy a comfortable climbing harness for much cheaper than a well wearing up-to-spec tower certified one. But the climbing harness is smaller and easier to conceal and if you wanna do SRT in the near future you'll have to pick up a climbing harness, though I suppose you could modify a tower harness to do it but not comfortably. "No risk, no reward, no fun." "Go all the way or walk away" escensi omnis...
And that method of lobster clawing up something is slow as hell.
You can get a lad saf cable grab on ebay for under $100.
It will only work on cable equipped towers, but I think it's worthwhile to have one, especially for noobs. "No risk, no reward, no fun." "Go all the way or walk away" escensi omnis...
that. Anyone want to (retroactively) split it with me? $55?
I tend to just clip in to the cable with a quickdraw, i figure it'll keep the fall from being fatal (On most ladders the cable anchors itself every 15' or so), and it's a step up from free climbing.
I prefer climbing harnesses... but that might just be because I was rappeling before I was on towers. If you do get a climbing harness, consider padded vs webbing... the pure webbing ones get uncomfortable pretty fast if you have all your weight on it, but on the flip side they are more adjustable. I know that it's impossible for me to fall out of a climbing harness, but I'm pretty boney and tighten the waist band right above my hip-bones.
As a bonus, you can wear climbing harnesses under a long coat and no-one knows. Tower harnesses stick out a little more.
Cheaper than I thought it'd be. [last edit 5/20/2010 2:26 AM by MindHacker - edited 2 times] "That's just my opinion. I would, however, advocate for explosive breaching, since speed and looking cool are both concerns in my job."-Wilkinshire
Re: harness choice <Reply # 4 on 5/20/2010 3:00 AM >
Posted by MindHacker Good call. I just bought http://cgi.ebay.co...ash=item27b0913d24 that. Anyone want to (retroactively) split it with me? $55? I tend to just clip in to the cable with a quickdraw, i figure it'll keep the fall from being fatal (On most ladders the cable anchors itself every 15' or so), and it's a step up from free climbing.
I've never seen that model, I have the hinged one. Careful with those quickdraws ... the cables are made to pop out of the anchors.
As a bonus, you can wear climbing harnesses under a long coat and no-one knows. Tower harnesses stick out a little more.
Well you can always try this excuse ... "Skydiving. I overshot my landing, been walking 3 hours, only mile or so away from my car." all I could come up with when I thought I was about to be questioned, guess the cop had other things on his mind, he slowed down but kept going. The full body harnesses does look a bit like it could be part of a parachute, especially to someone who's never done it. "No risk, no reward, no fun." "Go all the way or walk away" escensi omnis...
It was the most comfortable one I could find. Sizing is also a factor. Those $40 harnesses require like 28" waist sizes. ;D "The extraordinary beauty of things that fail." - Heinrich von Kleist
What is a lion, king of the savannah, when hes at the south pole?
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Re: harness choice <Reply # 9 on 6/14/2010 6:46 AM >
A Swiss seat can be made from the proper rope if you don't plan on doing the climbing thing very often. I eventually went to a harness for ease, and the amount of rec climbing/repelling I was doing. Honestly I would go with a normal harness and tighten it up well. I saw a guy fall flip over and hang upside down in one. If you put it on right you will be good. If its a short 1-2 time shot a swiss seat is fine with the right rope. Gotta practice it get it snug and fell how hanging will be before going out on site though. "If the threat level goes up its probably because of me." "I am looking for a girl who enjoys headbutting beltbuckles"
I was just going to link to this, if you guys aren't doing much climbing, or just rappelling, these harnesses are a good choice. There is one from Black Diamond at REI that is like $20 I think, that is just as safe and nice as the other harnesses, minus the padding. So if you aren't going to be in it for long, then you'll be ok.
If you are at all serious about getting into climbing, check out the harness packages at acmeclimbing.com (I've bought almost all my gear from them, LOVE these guys and I don't think you can beat the pricing on their package deals or clearance stuff.)
All this for $65, they also have a package with all this and climbing shoes for like $30 more. I strongly recommend getting some shoes, they turn you into fucking spiderman instantly. http://www.acmecli...VIEWPROD&ProdID=24
I have that exact harness above. Two of them actually, my gf has one. Recently I upgraded and bought this one: Because the Small size of the Acme Climbing one was about an inch too big for me (I'm extremely skinny, 6'0" 120lbs, 28" waist, it's really hard to find gear that fits) Anyways look around Acme Climbing.
Pretty, snug, comfortable, and it does it's job properly. High quality, 50 USD
If you buy shoes, TRY THEM ON IN STORE! Climbing shoe sizes run odd, and preference is all very personalized.
Synthetic materials wont stretch, but will break in. They should be snug on your feet, no free space, toe box should be against your toes, and heelcup shouldn't allow excess movement.
Real leather/materials WILL stretch, they should be extremely tight when you buy them because after a few climbs, they will start to stretch and loosen on your feet. If they loosen too much your foot will be bouncing around inside them. [23:30:28] <Trap> Protip: Soylent Green is people [23:30:39] <badgerbadger> Best. Protip. Ever.
Black Diamond Bod Harness, $50 (though I think I got mine on sale for about $35).
This is harness is more comfortable for me than the padded, "nicer" harnesses that my school has at its gym or the ones I've borrowed on occasion. The wide webbing helps distribute the weight nicely. The padded leg straps of the "nicer" harnesses aren't as wide, and seem to cut into my thighs rather than offer any extra comfort. The fleece-like stuff on the waist is just enough padding to keep it from digging into my hips and being uncomfortable. If you're not positive on what size you need, go one up. You can always cinch it down tighter if need be.
If you get the chance to try prospective harnesses on, do so. That's going to be the best way to find out what you prefer. Some stores may have a setup so that you can actually sit in the harness suspended from a support (not very high off the ground, obviously). "bouncewiggle, now more entertaining than Jell-O"
If you spot a terrorist arrow, pin it to the wall with your shoulder.
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Re: harness choice <Reply # 13 on 8/25/2010 4:09 AM >
I got to spend a day climbing in the black diamond ?bod? (now that I think about it, I think it was the previous version of the bod, whatever that was called) harness last weekend, and it is much better than a traditional padded harness. A little tight on the junk if you don't get it seated properly before rappelling, but that's any harness.
And it has a pinch-plate buckle design, meaning it's that much more secure. [last edit 8/25/2010 4:10 AM by MindHacker - edited 1 times] "That's just my opinion. I would, however, advocate for explosive breaching, since speed and looking cool are both concerns in my job."-Wilkinshire
Maybe it was the Alpine Bod? That one doesn't have the belay loop or the padding on the waist strap, but is otherwise the same. "bouncewiggle, now more entertaining than Jell-O"
Posted by Sewer Urchin What are the benefits and detriments of hips-only climbing harnesses vs full body My plan is to get a two legged anchoring system to clip into what I'm climbing.
It'd be better to get a hold of a set of quick draws and bring a buddy. A lead climbing belay would be way faster and safer. "Aint nothin' to it but to do it"
Way faster, I don't think it would be safer though. Except for the fact that lobster claws get ignored because they are a pain to use. Assuming everything was used correctly, I'd say they are equally safe.. "That's just my opinion. I would, however, advocate for explosive breaching, since speed and looking cool are both concerns in my job."-Wilkinshire
Posted by MindHacker Except for the fact that lobster claws get ignored because they are a pain to use.
I guess that depends on the person but something that heavily repetitive is more open to mistakes. Plus its really, really slow and thus more tiring which makes it slightly less safe cause it might wear you out before the climb is over. I've done the two lanyard setup a few times and if you don't have the cash for quick draws and a good dynamic rope or don't have a belay buddy it is a good safeguard, just not the best.
I have the alpine bod harness and its uncomfortable as fuck, I recommend a more padded, heavier harness for those who will be mostly doing SRT. The alpine bod is made more for big wall climbers who need it to be light and also need the leg loops to be disconnect-able so they can pull their pants down and take a shit while still being tied in on climbs that take multiple days. [last edit 8/29/2010 10:05 PM by uLiveAndYouBurn - edited 1 times] "Aint nothin' to it but to do it"
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