Submited By: Luke S on 10/09/2010
For comfort, this harness is truly unbelievable, especially considering its very light weight. The support at the back is high, while around the sides the 'waist belt' follows the hips. This seems to spread the load really well, and makes the harness feel very natural while walking around. Getting it on and off is a cinch. After you've got yourself properly secured with the funky buckle-up and tie-in points, and got used to the low-slung feel, you pretty much forget about it. It's very light, and soon becomes unnoticeable. Hangs and falls are much, much comfier than in any harness I've used before (Petzl, DMM, BD, Metolius), to the extent that I dread falling less: I'm fairly porky for a climber, weighing-in between 12 and 13st, and falls tend to squish my harness around my waist. Not with the Loopo!
Belaying is less demanding on the arms and shoulders thanks to the low position of the tie-in point; it's also easier to take in slack quickly. The dual tie-in loops are a little on the small side for someone used to having acres of space on a belay loop. You can get your belay device's krab in there if you really want, but frankly it's easier to tie in and belay off the rope loop. More incentive to try your mate's hard project. Maybe lark's-footing a short sling into the loops could provide a quick fix when belaying single-pitch stuff with lots of changeovers e.g. at the local wall.
The leg loops have a generous amount of stretch, and hold up the standard of comfort very well. I've had no cause to miss an adjustable buckle here, they do the job brilliantly. Be careful (generous) on the waist sizing - I ordered a medium (for my 32.5in waist) and I really needed a large. It was exchanged with no problems at all from BF (thanks go to Nick), nevertheless a sizing guide on BF or the Edelrid website would have saved the hassle.
There are only 2 integrated gear loops. They work well for sport climbing: 'draws fall nicely toward the front for ease of access but don't get in the way, and only having two loops means a total lack of faff. You can get extra gear loops if you want (Edelrid Slide-Rail), but I suspect most will be buying this as a dedicated sport harness, and won't bother.
To sum up, this harness really is perfect for sport, and works wonderfully indoors too. If you're climbing near your limit, taking lots of falls it's the one to get: its weight is remarkable, and its comfort is unmatched.
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