The Mosquito is the lightest harness that Wild Country has ever made. It's designed to be a super minimal sport climbing harness - so how does it perform in the climbing wall, at the crag, and on routes?

Functionality

The Mosquito is designed specifically for sport climbing and this focus allows it to strip down its features - and weight - to the bare minimum: Wild Country have it coming in at just 220g for a size extra-small whilst our harness in a small weighs 247g. That's pretty light! To put that in context it would have been one of the lightest harnesses in our 2019 Lightweight Sport Climbing Harnesses group test, had it featured.

When you're climbing you certainly notice, or rather don't notice, the weight. Due to how light it is, and the ergonomic design, the Mosquito feels unrestrictive to climb in. This is all achieved whilst meeting the safety standards that you would expect, including features like Wild Country's wear indicator on the lower tie-in point. This shows red when your harness is so worn that you need to buy a new one - a feature it would be nice (but costly) to have on all my other harnesses!

The waist belt itself is fairly thin and features mesh on the inside to prevent it from becoming sweaty, as do the leg loops which are fixed. The leg loops are attached with elasticated cord which, whilst its length isn't easily adjusted, it's stretchy enough that this doesn't seem to matter.

Fit and Comfort

This is a unisex model, with fixed leg loops and few frills in terms of padding and adjustability. The size small fits fine for me, but it is on the tight side for my 30 inch waist. The Mosquito is perfectly comfortable to climb in, although if you're belaying a climber who is sitting on the rope for long periods of time, as often happens when your partner is working a sport route, the Mosquito digs in and becomes uncomfortable due to its skinny size. The same would be true of hanging belays. That said, this is precisely the kind of thing you might expect from a super-light harness: cutting down size and thereby weight sacrifices comfort - you can't have everything! For extended belay duty, pick a more padded harness!

Features

The Mosquito has two fixed gear loops plus two flexible gear loops and then a small loop at the back for a belay device. The main gear loops are really quite big for a lightweight harness which is excellent as this means you can carry as many quickdraws as you want. The gear loops are also all high quality and have enough stiffness to them that they're easy to use. One issue with lightweight harnesses is that often the gear loops are either a bit floppy and annoying to use or too small to be of much use, so the size and rigidity of the gear loops of the Mosquito is a big plus. There's enough racking space for sport multi pitching, and perhaps even the odd trad headpoint, although the discomfort of sitting in the harness for long periods would put me off the former.

Summary

The Mosquito is an excellent and super lightweight harness ideal for higher end sport climbing. It has all the features you need - including ample gear loops - making it a top performer in its class. The only caveat is that it's not comfortable for sitting in for long periods of time, so it's best worn for climbing rather than long belays.

Wild Country say:

This is the lightest harness Wild Country has ever made. Engineered specifically for sport climbing, its precise fit delivers super-lightweight comfort, agility and freedom of movement. The advanced, lightweight, laminated waistbelt construction features internal load-bearing webbing that distributes the load evenly across the entire harness structure, combined with super-light mesh padding and a robust, fast-drying and abrasion-resistant covering with seamless edges that is soft and smooth next to the skin. This harness is built specifically with freedom of movement in mind. Its sleek, stripped-down construction adapts to your body for full, unhindered, flexibility as you climb. An important stand-out safety feature is the wear indicator on the reinforced lower tie-in point – a feature used by Wild Country since the 1990s. To clearly indicate when it is time to retire the harness, it has red threads that only become visible after excessive wear and abrasion.

• Ultra-lightweight: 220g (size XS)
• Lightweight, smooth abrasion-resistant, ripstop fabric
• Engineered for full freedom of movement and to evently disperse load
• Integrated wear indicator at lower tie-in point
• Lightweight aluminium buckle for secure and confortable fit
• Four lightweight gear loops: two rigid front gear loops, two flexible, low-profile rear gear loops that won't interere with a pack 
• Fixed leg loops with elasticated risers 
• Rear haul/gear loop
• Supplied with a lightweight protective storage bag
• Unisex design