Best Climbing Harnesses for Beginner Climbers
Choosing a first harness is still overwhelming for the same reason: the differences between models are real and almost none of them matter to a beginner.
For your first harness, buy an all-round one and ignore the specialisms. Alpine harnesses shave grams you do not need to save; big-wall harnesses have padding you do not need yet. A general climbing harness from any of the established makers will take you from the gym through sport climbing and into your first trad routes.
The three things that matter:
- Fit at the waist, above the hips. It should sit on your waist, not your pelvis, and you should not be able to pull it down over your hips when it is done up. Two fingers of snugness, no more.
- Adjustable leg loops for a first harness, so it works over shorts in summer and over layers in winter.
- Four gear loops, which is enough for anything you will do in the first few years.
Safety points that are not optional: buy new, never second-hand, because you cannot see the history of a harness; check the manufacturer's retirement guidance, which is typically up to ten years from manufacture even unused and much less with regular use; and retire it after any significant fall or if the wear indicator webbing shows through.
Worth knowing: Black Diamond recalled part of its Speed harness line in 2006 over incorrectly threaded buckles that could loosen while climbing. Recalls in this category are rare and are taken seriously by the manufacturers, so register the product if the maker offers it and check for notices before using anything that has sat in a cupboard.
And the advice that costs nothing: get it fitted in a shop, hang in it on the shop's rope, and buy the one that is comfortable upside down.
Part of the guide to climbing and mountaineering.