Edelrid claim the Moe 3R is the first sport climbing harness made "almost entirely" from recycled materials. Taking recycling beyond clothing into safety-critical products does seem a pretty significant advance, and something to celebrate.

The vast majority of the material that makes up the harness has been recovered from other earlier plastic usage. And just in case you didn't realise what the 3R stands for, they have embroidered "reduce, reuse, recycle" around "3R" on the back of the harness - a nice touch.

In recent years Edelrid have spent a lot of time considering how to lower their environmental impact. This #ClimbGreen collection includes ropes that are made of leftover yarns from other rope manufacturing, un-anodised karabiners, a helmet made of recycled material and now a harness also made predominantly of nylon enjoying a 'second life'.

• We looked at the Zodiac 3R helmet in our 2023 Group test of Recycled Gear. It's great to add a recycled harness to these options:

So the Moe 3R gives you a little bit of a good feeling for keeping plastics out of landfill. But beyond its sustainability credentials, how does it work as just a climbing harness? Simply put, very well. It's not that fancy or high tech, but it's a good, clean, sturdy design. Probably the best compliment I can give it is that on the first day of use I put it on at the start of the day, got on with climbing, and didn't really think about it again.

Climbing comfort and performance

It is comfortable and it performs well!  It's comfy taking the weight of a partner when lowering them or giving them a rest on top rope. It's comfy in the little falls I've taken in it or when hanging on a bolt and when lowering off or abseiling down. I've worn it on a long-ish scramble above Steall in upper Glen Nevis with no issues. The scramble turned out to be relatively straightforward and no one in the party wanted a rope, but we kept harnesses and helmets on until we were on the descent path. There was no pinching or rubbing from the Moe 3R in a couple of kilometres of rough hiking and moderate scrambling. If needed I would happily wear it for multipitch rock or for glacier crossings and the like.

Comparing it to the Edelrid Sendero (mine is the 2020 version, there is now an updated version), the padding of the Moe feels a bit firmer and slightly more substantial.

Edelrid say they use "a special polyester felt" rather than foam as this allows a higher recycled content. There is more padding on the Moe's leg loops, but they are fixed, whilst the Sendero has adjustable legs. Laying the harnesses out next to each other, the waist belt padding of both is essentially the same length and shape - this is a good thing because I've found the Sendero to be a very comfortable harness. The webbing of the waist belt of the Moe is 25mm wide, compared to 20mm on the Sendero, so the Moe's padding is wrapped around a slightly wider 'skeleton' to the harness. Although Edelrid no longer make the model, the support offered by the Moe 3R reminds me more of the very supportive wide leg and waist of the Edelrid Orion, more than it does of the Sendero.

Features

The belay loop on the Moe 3R has, according to Edelrid, a kernmantle construction. I believe what they mean by this isn't that it is made from an old bit of kernmantle rope, but rather that the inside of the loop, the core or kern, is covered in a sheath or mantle. In appearance it is still a relatively narrow loop of stiff webbing, but wrapped in an outer layer of thinner nylon material. The join is very low profile so you won't get your belay HMS caught under it from where it can pop up suddenly to the top of the loop as would sometimes happen with old school harnesses, giving you a fright for a fraction of a second!

The sections of the leg loops and the waist belt where the belay loop are attached are reassuringly reinforced and sturdy looking. The arrangement looks very similar to the Sendero, and that harness has had three and a half years of heavy use; the tie-in and belay loops still show essentially no wear. Edelrid know how to build these bits to last.

The other important feature on a harness is its racking provision. On the Moe 3R there are four large, symmetrical stiffened gear loops. On each side, between the two gear loops, there are also two tabs to take two ice screw clippers - Edelrid don't appear to make their own clips anymore but the common Petzl ones definitely fit.

The four loops are all a good size, but there are only four of them. They take everything I've wanted for single pitch sport, and I have put a good sized trad rack on them, but using the Moe 3R on trad routes I'm reminded why I prefer harnesses with five loops, because I generally like to use the side loops for racking gear that will be used on the pitch, and then clip my belay device, nut key, prussiks and so on, to the rear loop of any harness that has one. It's not the end of the world, and it's something you'd get used to, but it's one reason the Moe 3R is better for sport than trad.

Sizing 

This is the fourth Edelrid harness that I've been lucky enough to review over the last decade. I've always used size medium and found they have all been a good fit, regardless of whether it has fixed leg loops (Leaf) or adjustable ones (Orion, Sendero). Hence, I asked for a medium in the Moe without actually checking the sizing guide. It isn't too small around either my waist or thighs, but I am on the upper end of the fit range I'd say. The leg loops have a big piece of elastic giving good adjustability for differing thigh-circumferences, but with my legs, the elastic is close to its full extension. The Moe 3R definitely feels a bit smaller in size than the previous three Edelrid medium harnesses. Trying before you buy is always ideal but not always possible so, if you can't, I'd suggest you pay more attention to the fitting guide than I did! Having said that, I've still been perfectly comfy belaying, lowering off and falling in the Moe 3R, it's just a bit more snug putting it on.

Weight

My size medium Moe 3R weighs, on the kitchen scales just, 369g. Edelrid says 10 grams more on their website, so nice to see a manufacturer's claimed weight erring on the side of caution. It's not particularly heavy, although lighter harnesses are definitely available. The non recycled version of the Moe is about 50g lighter in the same size, so perhaps the recycled polyester felt is slightly heavier than the foam alternatives, but it's hardly a major trade-off against the environmental credentials of the 3R.

Wear

So far, besides dirt, there is no visible wear, but I've only been using the Moe 3R for about the last seven weeks, in which time I've done about 20 routes outside in it, and probably a similar number at the climbing wall. I've noted above that the Edelrid Sendero has been one of my favourite ever harnesses, but it has also worn more than any other harness I have used. None of that wear has been in safety critical areas, but more the material they chose for wrapping the waist belt and leg loop padding seemed rather vulnerable to abrasion and a number of holes or rips have been the result. The polyester used for this purpose on the Moe 3R feels a bit tougher - a bit rougher and not as soft, closer to a Cordura type material than the softer fabric on the Sendero, and so far that seems a better choice with no signs of wear. But it's early days, I'll keep an eye on it and update the review at a later point.

Price and value

The RRP for the Moe 3R is £60, but a number of well known web shops are already selling them a bit below this. Since it's not uncommon these days to spend well over a hundred quid on a harness, a solid, well-designed all-rounder like the Moe 3R at half that cost seems excellent value. It is definitely at the lower end of the cost range for harnesses, so between that, its solid and confidence inspiring performance and it being made of recycled material, it's an easy one to recommend.