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Gear - Harnesses
Harnesses are really useful when you want to use a rope, providing the critical link between canyoneer and cord. There are a lot of pretty good harnesses out there, so a lot of your purchasing decision should be based on what fits your body. Harnesses are a lot like blue jeans - different brands fit different shapes of people better and worse.
Features canyoneers should look for in a harness include fit, durability and adjustable leg loops. Comfort is useful, but has a lot to do with fit. Lightness and compactness are helpful, but there is not a lot of variablity among the offerings available.
Like many things, harnesses get chewed up pretty good by canyoneering. The subtleties of expensive climbing harnesses will be lost on canyoneers, so stick to the variety of good, inexpensive harnesses available to most stores.
Stick to a harness with adjustable leg loops. This allows one harness to fit when you are wearing skimpy shorts, a wetsuit, or a dry suit.
In canyons with not much rappelling and a lot of skinny stuff, it is nice to have a lightweight, low-bulk harness. One can tie a Swiss Seat or other webbing harness, or carry a simple harness like the BD Alpine Bod. Unfortunately, the US versions of the Bod and Alpine Bod lack a belay loop - a substantial liability for canyoneering.
Fitting a Climbing Harness
Fit a climbing harness wearing lightweight outdoorsy-type clothing, as one would wear canyoning in summer. Do NOT wear bluejeans. Wearing a wetsuit or dry suit is not necessary.
The waistbelt should fit snugly around your waist. There should be at least 7" of waistbelt tail when the buckle is properly threaded. Wearing a wetsuit or dry suit will add 1" to 4" to your waistline - and 3" of tail is the minimum considered acceptable for safety.
The legs loops will be adjustable, and are normally worn with about 1" of looseness around the legs - or enough to easily slide your hand in between the leg loop and your leg.
Hang in any harness you are thinking of buying. Most climbing shops have a rope available for hanging, or find a place to hang free in the back yard. The harness should be comfortable to hang in for a few minutes, and should not have pressure points or hot spots. You should be able to maintain a comfortable sitting position with a minimum of effort.
The hang test is important because different harnesses have different geometries that fit your body, well, differently. Try on a couple different models from different companies to see how they feel. While comfort is not the MOST important attribute of a harness, you really should canyon with a harness that is comfortable to hang in.
BASIC
A perfectly acceptable harness can be tied out of 1" tubular webbing. Several styles of "tied harness" are common. The Swiss Seat is fast and convenient, but falls down when hiking and has a point-of-suspension that is too low. Better is a tied harness with tied leg loops. Directions for tying these can be had in Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills. However, it takes some skill to tie these things, so use common sense and make absolutely certain they have been tied correctly.
Probably the least expensive harness that works pretty well is the BD Alpine Bod. However, it is not particularly comfortable, and the next step up, to a harness that IS comfortable, is only a few bucks - probably worth the green.
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