The Finest Climbing Harnesses for Girls in 2024

At first look, harnesses could seem easy, however their particular elements make a world of distinction for a climber’s wants and preferences.

Relaxation assured, these prime picks from our knowledgeable gear testers will show you how to really feel secure and safe whereas additionally assembly your climbing aims. We’re right here that can assist you discover one of the best climbing harness in your particular wants.

Our testers embrace an American Mountain Guides Affiliation-certified rock information, an intro-to-outdoor mountaineering information, a former Yosemite Mountain Information, and a talented leisure climber. All informed, we examined each main women-specific climbing harness in the marketplace.

Whereas testing, our staff of consultants fastidiously thought of match, options, sturdiness, and total worth. These harnesses supported our cams, swings, rappels, belays, and rests on a variety of North American rock from Canada to Colorado and throughout California. Our ultimate listing of suggestions represents a whole lot of pitches climbed, dozens of hours of hanging at multi-pitch belay stations, and numerous after-work fitness center classes.

Under, we define our favourite climbing harnesses for ladies in quite a lot of distinctive classes. When you want extra assist deciding, try our comparability chart and browse our purchaser’s information for a full rundown of what to think about when buying a harness.

Editor’s Notice: Recent for the Fall sending season, we gave this information an replace on August 9, 2024. We added two new harnesses to the lineup, together with the Mammut Consolation Quick Regulate for these on the lookout for leg loops that may accommodate chilly climate layering. We additionally cowl the premium Arc’teryx Skaka.

The Finest Girls’s Climbing Harnesses of 2024

The Finest Climbing Harnesses for Girls in 2024

Girls’s Climbing Harness Comparability Chart

How We Examined Girls’s Harnesses

Miya Tsudome is likely one of the major gear testers of this evaluate. A seasoned gear reviewer, she makes use of her decade of climbing expertise and background as a climbing information for the Yosemite Mountaineering Faculty that can assist you take advantage of knowledgeable buying selections in your climbing harness wants.

Dwelling in Bishop, Calif., on the flanks of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Miya spends all of her free time in a harness — whether or not that be sport climbing within the Owens River Gorge, trad climbing in close by Yosemite Valley, or alpine climbing within the Excessive Sierra. Miya has world-class climbing of each stripe at her fingertips — the right proving floor to strive each harness in the marketplace and separate the wheat from the chaff.

She and the opposite testers on this evaluate spent weeks assessing the consolation, adjustability, match, weight, and options of all 11 harnesses on this evaluate that can assist you take advantage of knowledgeable determination in your subsequent climbing harness buy. Total, we’re assured these are one of the best climbing harnesses for ladies.

Purchaser’s Information: The best way to Select a Climbing Harness

All physique sorts are distinctive and have various proportions. One climber’s waist may be slender or boxy whereas the identical individual’s quads are built-out or straight. Harnesses don’t are available in “one dimension suits all,” particularly the harnesses with out adjustable leg loops. Due to this fact, it’s finest to go to a retailer and take a look at on quite a lot of harnesses earlier than making your buy, so you may you should definitely discover one that matches your physique sort finest.

As you select a harness, think about deciding on one which’s absolutely adjustable just like the Black Diamond Momentum, Petzl Luna, or the Metolius Secure Tech in the event you plan on climbing in varied climate situations and environments the place you might wish to add or subtract layers.

Adjustable leg loops may also help accommodate layers for cold-weather climbing, and likewise help you dial within the match and really feel of your harness to only the way in which you prefer it.

Whereas some individuals would possibly like cosy leg loops, others will favor them to be looser round their thighs for consolation and mobility. Once more, that is all a matter of private desire, so attempting before you purchase turns into that rather more necessary.

What Makes a Climbing Harness Girls’s-Particular?

Fairly often, girls have uniquely totally different physique shapes than males, which is why many harnesses principally are available in each girls’s and males’s variations. Girls’s waists are typically narrower than their hips, with an extended rise between their waist and legs.

Males’s fashions are typically geared towards straighter our bodies, and people harnesses will sit nearer to the hips in consequence. The important thing to discovering the correct harness for you is to guage your physique sort. When you have a extra slender, straight torso, a males’s harness would possibly really suit you higher. In case your physique sort is extra hourglass in form, then a girls’s harness is designed only for you.

Different options that make a harness extra female-friendly are simply removable leg loops, as discovered within the Petzl Luna, Sitta, and Selena, in addition to the Edelrid Helia, Jayne, and Autana. With a quick-deploy buckle, you may detach the leg loops and take a squat to make use of the toilet with out having to take off your entire harness. That is particularly good when on a multipitch climb the place taking off your harness shouldn’t be an choice for security causes.

Girls’s waists are typically narrower than males’s, whereas their thighs are typically bigger. That is one other factor to think about when buying a harness, as a result of harnesses with out adjustable leg loops would possibly match nice within the waist however be too small across the thighs, relying in your physique sort. That is one more reason why it’s finest to strive before you purchase.

Totally different Harnesses for Totally different Kinds of Climbing

One other factor to think about before you purchase a brand new harness is what model of climbing you’ll principally take part in. Harnesses range extensively of their weight and options, making some extra appropriate for sure forms of climbing than others.

Sport Climbing

If you’re primarily a sport climber, then you will have a lighter, extra minimalist harness, as you solely want sufficient house in your gear loops for fast attracts, and don’t wish to be weighed down when you find yourself going in your arduous redpoint makes an attempt.

The lightest harnesses we examined are the Black Diamond airNET and the Petzl Sitta, that are good decisions for essentially the most critical sport climbers. However the Black Diamond Resolution, Petzl Selena, and Edelrid Autana are all nice sport climbing harness choices as nicely.

Trad Climbing

You’ll inevitably be carrying much more gear in your harness when trad climbing versus sport climbing, and due to this fact it’s a good suggestion to get a harness with massive, sturdy gear loops, with 5 loops as a substitute of 4 being preferable, and a harness that’s snug and supportive.

The Black Diamond Momentum is a good entry-level trad climbing harness, with its inflexible, plastic-coated gear loops which are sturdy and abrasion-resistant. The Edelrid Helia and the Metolius Secure Tech are additionally wonderful decisions for the psyched multipitch trad climber, with the Helia having 5 gear loops for final gear racking and a pouch for storing necessities in your waist.

The Secure Tech has all its elements power rated as much as 10 kN, making it the most secure harness within the lineup and due to this fact nice for giant wall trad or assist climbing.

Health club Climbing

If you end up extra of an indoor plastic grabber, a newbie climber, or a prime rope hero, then it’s finest to purchase a harness that’s cheap and simple to make use of. You received’t want the frills of ice screw attachments, haul loops, or double belay loops. As an alternative, search for a snug, purposeful harness just like the Black Diamond Momentum, Petzl Luna or Selena, or Edelrid Jayne.

These harnesses come at a lower cost level, are snug, and are well-equipped to remain within the fitness center or go to the crag. Till you want a extra specialised harness, any of the above choices will do exactly the trick.

Ice Climbing or Mountaineering

Lastly, in the event you favor cold-weather or massive mountain pursuits, there are harnesses on the market that may be higher suited to your specialty than others. You need a harness that’s light-weight and packable, as you’ll already be carrying and sporting extra gear.

You additionally need a harness that has attachments for ice screws or loops for ice instruments, haul loop for additional gear or a tagline, and a harness that’s versatile sufficient to maneuver nicely together with your physique when you find yourself sporting cumbersome layers.

The Petzl Sitta is our best choice on this class, because it meets all of the above necessities, plus it’s mild sufficient to additionally operate as an ideal sport climbing harness, justifying its excessive price ticket.

Components of a Climbing Harness

The essential elements of each climbing harness are the waist loop, leg loops, belay loop, and equipment loops. Each harness on our listing consists of these basic options, regardless of which climbing self-discipline it’s designed for. Past the necessities, harnesses can also have further options corresponding to a haul loop and ice clipper slots.

Waist and Leg Loops

The waist loop of a climbing harness ought to match snugly round your waist and sit simply above your hip bones. Most waist loops will be adjusted utilizing a system of webbing and buckles. Many harnesses include the same buckle adjustment system on every leg loop.

Harnesses with fastened leg loops are often constructed for high-end sport climbing. It’s essential that your waist and leg loops match correctly, and we suggest attempting a harness on earlier than buying.

Belay Loop

The belay loop is made from very sturdy nylon or Dyneema webbing and connects the waist loop to the leg loops. Whereas belaying or rappelling, this loop is used to connect your self to the rope and the larger climbing system.

Light-weight harnesses for sport climbing or mountaineering may have thinner belay loops, whereas all-around and trad climbing harnesses may have thicker loops. Many big-wall harnesses, just like the Metolius Secure Tech, embrace two belay loops for additional versatility. As a result of your belay loop is a key a part of the climbing system, it’s best to examine it recurrently for put on.

Gear Loops

Each harness will embrace at the very least two gear loops the place you may conveniently dangle objects together with quickdraws, cams, a jacket, a water bottle, and so forth. The extra gear-intensive and technical the climbing, the extra gear loops you’ll want.

A harness with fewer than 4 gear loops is a specialty merchandise and might be designed for high-end sport climbing or mountaineering. Most all-around and entry-level harnesses include 4 gear loops, which is loads for fitness center climbing and single-pitch climbing.

For multipitch climbing, the addition of a fifth gear loop or haul loop is commonly helpful. Massive-wall climbing requires a number of gear, and plenty of big-wall harnesses have greater than 4 gear loops.

Haul Loop

A haul loop is a small attachment level positioned behind a climbing harness. This characteristic shouldn’t be essential for fitness center climbing or single-pitch climbing.

For multipitch or big-wall climbing, search for a haul loop rated to full power so you should use it to haul heavy hundreds. Whereas actively climbing, a haul loop could be a handy place to retailer an additional layer or a water bottle.

Ice Clipper Slots

Harnesses with ice clipper slots are particularly designed for mountaineering. They’re primarily used to hold ice screws.

Supplies and Building

As of 2024, climbing harnesses have advanced into light-weight, snug, and exceptionally sturdy items of drugs. Nonetheless, as new supplies and expertise come to the forefront, harnesses proceed to enhance. In right this moment’s market, there are two major forms of harness building: foam and break up webbing.

Foam Harnesses

Foam harnesses are constructed on a single piece of high-strength webbing embedded in layers of soft foam. Whereas the webbing offers this sort of harness its load-bearing capability, the froth offers assist and luxury.

A well-constructed foam harness successfully disperses your weight whereas falling or hanging. Foam gives ample padding, and it’s nonetheless the usual for harnesses constructed for consolation, together with most entry-level and big-wall harnesses. On this listing, the Petzl Selena is a good foam harness.

Nonetheless, foam and webbing building does have some disadvantages. Foam is an insulator and doesn’t breathe nicely. In heat climate, these harnesses can really feel scorching and sweaty.

Foam additionally wears out over time, and the extra you climb in it, the much less snug it’ll turn out to be. For knowledgeable sport and trad climbers, foam harnesses are now not the most suitable choice in the marketplace.

Break up Webbing Harnesses

Although foam and webbing harnesses have been the usual for a number of a long time, an increasing number of climbers are turning to separate webbing harnesses.

As an alternative of a single piece of webbing lined by foam, break up webbing harnesses characteristic a web-like matrix of high-strength supplies. By spreading out the load-bearing supplies, these harnesses are in a position to distribute strain extra evenly.

On break up webbing harnesses, little or no padding is required to create a snug match. Break up webbing harnesses are likely to last more than foam choices, and plenty of climbers discover they provide a consolation benefit too.

The tradeoff is break up webbing harnesses are significantly dearer. Nonetheless, break up webbing is clearly the way forward for harness expertise, and plenty of of our favourite harnesses match into this class. The Black Diamond airNET is a high-quality break up webbing harness.

Harness Sizing

It’s essential that your climbing harness is correctly fitted. In the end, one of the best ways to discover a good match is to strive a harness on earlier than buying. Each harness and each individual has a novel form and dimensions, and the method of figuring out the right match can contain some trial and error.

A correctly fitted harness will really feel cosy and sit simply above the hips. The harness ought to be tight however not uncomfortably so. It’s okay to have the ability to match a finger or two between your physique and the harness.

The leg loops ought to sit semi-snugly round your mid-thigh. It’s good to take care of a bit of wiggle room in your leg loops, as they will lower off circulation if they’re too tight. Whereas all harnesses embrace adjustable waist loops, not all embrace adjustable leg loops.

When you plan to climb in alpine situations the place you’ll want to vary your decrease physique layers typically, adjustable and/or detachable leg loops are a should. Leg loops include skinny elastic straps that connect to the waist loop alongside the bottom of the thighs. These are sometimes releasable for straightforward lavatory breaks.

Sturdiness

Relying on what sort of climbing you do — and the way typically you do it — a harness can final anyplace from a number of months to a number of years. As a result of sport climbing tends to contain much less contact between your harness and the rock, sport harnesses will be comparatively skinny.

Trad and assist climbing contain strategies corresponding to offwidth and chimneying, which require direct contact between your physique and the rock. Most trad and assist harnesses are constituted of burly supplies. For instance, the Black Diamond airNET is constructed with an additional abrasion-resistant outer materials.

Although the ultralight improvements sweeping the climbing market are thrilling, it’s necessary to recollect lighter supplies do usually include a lower in sturdiness. When you select to purchase a brilliant low-profile mannequin, you also needs to remember it in all probability received’t final so long as extra strong choices.

When to Retire Your Harness

Identical to a climbing rope, a harness ought to be recurrently inspected for indicators of wear and tear. Pay additional consideration to the weight-bearing elements, together with the tie-in factors, belay loop, waist loop, and leg loops. Look fastidiously for fraying, fuzziness, or any indicators of abrasions. The belay loop or tie-in factors are often the primary elements of a harness to wear down.

When you’re undecided whether or not your harness must be retired, search for the producer’s directions for care and upkeep. Usually, we advise conservative selections relating to whether or not a harness remains to be secure to make use of. When you have doubts in regards to the situation of your harness, buy a substitute.

Weight

Whether or not you’re sporting it or hauling it in your pack, you’re going to spend so much of time carrying your harness round. Light-weight harnesses are usually related to elevated efficiency.

For entry-level climbers, weight shouldn’t be as necessary as consolation. Nonetheless, for climbers working to push themselves and enhance — particularly within the sport climbing self-discipline — minimal weight is most well-liked.

Although light-weight harnesses work nice for sport climbing and mountaineering, different disciplines name for one thing a bit of heavier. Massive wall harnesses, with their quite a few gear loops and maximal consolation, are rightfully heavy.

On this listing, we’ve included extremely mild harnesses just like the Black Diamond airNET, which weighs 9.2 ounces. On the opposite finish of the spectrum, we additionally suggest the thick and burly Metolius Secure Tech Deluxe, which weighs nicely over a pound.

Value

Climbing harnesses range considerably in worth, and it’s a good suggestion to find out your finances as you store round. Usually, entry-level and all-around harnesses are essentially the most reasonably priced, and good choices can be found for round $80-100.

The most costly fashions, just like the Petzl Sitta ($175) and the Arc’teryx Skaha ($180), provide load-distributing expertise and are exceptionally light-weight. If weight and packability are necessary to you and also you don’t wish to compromise consolation or options, these premium harnesses are a good selection.

Within the center worth vary sits our total favourite harness, the Black Diamond Resolution. If you may get match from the Resolution, we predict it’s one of the best ways to go. It’s a sturdy, no-frills mannequin with simply clippable pressure-molded gear loops. At $80, it’s additionally a cut price. We’ve shimmied up chimneys on El cap and clipped loads of bolts whereas the answer simply retains on keepin’ on.

When you’re brief on money otherwise you solely often get out climbing, one of the best finances harness we’ve examined is the Black Diamond Momentum ($65). It’s not absolutely the most snug harness or the lightest, but it surely has adjustable leg loops, and it’s actually not going to cease you from sending your venture. The excellent news is that each one the harnesses in our information are rated secure whatever the worth level.

Steadily Requested Questions