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Climbing Harness

A climbing harness is perhaps the very most important piece of climbing gear you will use. All of your gear is important but if your harness fails, then nothing else matters. There are three basic types or harness: the sit-harness, the chest-harness, and the full-body harness.

The sit harness is the most common harness in rock climbing and most sport varieties. This climbing harness has a loop around the hips and a loop around each leg. These loops are padded for comfort and usually also have additional loops to clip gear onto. It is important to make sure all of these loops are tight and doubled-back, if your harness needs to be (most do.) The leg loops not only provide additional support but may keep you in your harness if you fall upside down.

The chest climbing harness can be used in recreational settings or in professional ones. They offer a bit more support and may consist of either two harnesses used in unison or one single harness. The full body harness is mainly used in rescue operations although young children learning to climb often wear full body harnesses.

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