UKC

Hi all (and particularly the girls),

Mrs Landy_Dom is after a climbing harness and struggling to find one that fits well for 2 reasons:

1) She's quite high waisted and so the gap between waist belt and leg loops needs to be quite long

2) She's larger than most of the whippet shaped women climbers out there, so even the "large" sizes are a little tight.

Does anyone have any recommendations of suitable harness make / models?

Thanks!!!

Dom.

In reply to Landy_Dom:

Try the mens harnesses, might find some of them a better fit.

In reply to Landy_Dom:

I think the rise (?) on a female harness is bigger as they have higher waists..
I nearly started looking at female harnesses as I have L thighs and a M waist. I found the DMM Renegade to fit me well, as it has lots of length on the belts so I could get the waist tight and the legs loose.

As far as I remember the Metolius harness has an adjustable rise. But I have been wrong before.

In reply to Landy_Dom:

Definately don't go for mens!! Men have a larger waist and smaller thighs, women tend to have larger thighs and smaller waist, and then there's the rise issue. You will get much longer rise in a womens one. In terms of styles, in my bigger days I got on well with the BD primrose, but she will really just need to try lots on. Women are far more varied in shape than men, so me saying that a large primrose worked for me means nothing, as I may have been a different shape of large!!

In reply to girlymonkey:

That is a pretty narrow-minded response...It costs nothing to try and it's not that long ago that there wasn't mens or womens specific harnesses (or other equipment!).

My suggestion is based on the fact that the OP has tried womens harnesses already, is finding that large isn't large enough, and presumably running out of options (hence asking). A large mens will tend to be bigger than a womens large so has to be worth a go. I've fitted harnesses, and shopped for harnesses, for women so have an idea of the difficulties faced (including, seeing as we are making sweeping statements, how colour is more important than fit).

As I say, it costs nothing to try and they might find a harness that fits.

(PS - in my experience this also applies to footwear and various other items of clothing).

In reply to Martin1978:

It is true, it costs nothing to try, but he did say rise is an issue.
I really can't imagine colour being an issue, the only objection to colour that I find amongst outdoorsy women is that most won't wear pink!

In reply to Landy_Dom:
Provided she isn't going to be sat in the harness for a huge length of time, what about some of the "centre" type harnesses that don't actually have a rise issue caused by the belay loop,

e.g. http://www.v12outdoor.com/product.php/3579/dmm-centre-alpine-rock-climbing-...

or alternatively the alpine bod harness

http://www.v12outdoor.com/product.php/3578/black-diamond-alpine-bod-rock-cl...

In reply to Landy_Dom:

I found the DMM Renegade a good fit and has a good rise. It has adjustable legs.

In reply to girlymonkey:

I found the renegade fitted me better than the women specific ones.

In reply to Landy_Dom:
Another vote for the DMM renegade. I tried on half the shop but found that one the most comfortable. The women specific just weren't quite right.

In reply to Landy_Dom:

Thanks for all the replies guys and girls!

Currently she is using a DMM Brenin (their universal one with a conventional vertical belay loop rather than the alpine) which fits but the rise is a little short and obviously it's not the most padded or comfortable.

Any opinions on the BD Bod? Being an alpine harness it should be bigger to go over winter clothing?

Any other recommendations on which "large" might be bigger or smaller than other brands' "large"?

Cheers!

Dom.

In reply to Landy_Dom:

I've always had women's harnesses in the past - but when we came to get new team harnesses, I was surprised to find the Petzl Corax fitted me fine (and won over the women's ones because it had waist buckle that didn't need to be completely re-threaded every time). Might be another one that's worth a go - haven't noticed a problem with the rise, and I have a very definite waist, so probably would....

In reply to Landy_Dom:
Not sure about how the sizes stack up but the BD Lotus has a generous rise.

In reply to Landy_Dom:

The petzl corax large seems Larger than most.

In reply to Landy_Dom:

Thanks folks - we'll probably go to Llanberis and try as many on as poss, but thanks for narrowing the search

Dom.