Climbing Harness Basics

Climbing harnesses come in a variety of styles, whilst full body harnesses are available the vast majority of climbers wear a sit harness (eg. no chest harness). This will generally consist of a waist belt (aka swami belt) and two leg loops. Harnesses will then generally have an attachment point for tying-in and belaying, most commonly this will take the form of a belay loop.

Needs to be edited to show harness features; belay loop, leg loops, gear loop, adjustable legs, ziplock buckles.

Climbing Harness Safety

Always tie-in through the correct tie-in points, always ensure your harness is completely on or off (including doubling-back all buckles if necessary). Attach carabiners to the belay loop, clipping carabiners through the tie-in points could cause them to be loaded improperly, particularly in combination with a figure 8 or gri-gri and this can and has caused fatal accidents. Know your gear well and inspect it before it use and retire it as necessary.