Black Diamond  Couloir Harness

I broke 3 of the leg loop buckles on the OLDER version; I hope the buckles on the new version are better, but they still look a bit wimpy. One break was on a practice fall, two were while prusiking on a hanging rope. If you break the buckles while prusiking, the leg loops come up into your crotch and it is quite painful. I suspect the break happened because I am short and the legs loops are too long unless I really cinch them down. I tested the buckles in a pull test, and they broke at 60 lbs if the pull was slightly diagonal. Otherwise I like this harness, especially the back loop which allows me to drag a rope.

The Metal buckle on the waist of this harness has an uncanny ability to sit right on my hip bones, where my pack sits and dig into them and cause sever bruising. While I was climbing in Alaska there was nothing more annoying than in the morning getting ready to go and trying to get this harness on with gloves, when its -25 out, taking off gloves is a huge risk, but getting this harness buckled with them on is nearly impossible with cold, bundled up hands. Overall this harness checks the boxes for light weight, but as far as feasibility in the field, falls very short.

I used this harness this season on Everest. It got me to the summit but were a few issues. Was able to find a cobbler to fix snap. Pros: light weight Easy to fit over down suit Leg snaps make for quick off and on Cons: leg snap broke on first fall waste rings are small and hard to find of feel for waist buckle is hard to get tight and hard to get loose

I’ve used this harness on several mountaineering climbs. It’s super light which is great for pack weight, but the loops get tangled and twisted easy which makes putting it on with just headlamp light more difficult.