Choosing Your First Climbing Harness: Gear Loops, Adjustable or Fixed Leg Loops, How to Fit It, and 7 Current Models Compared

🌏 中文版

In the shop you pick up a harness, step in, pull the waistbelt to where it "seems about right" and tighten it. The staff ask if you'd like to hang in it to check. You say no; the gym's rental harness goes on the same way.

This is post 3 of the Climbing Gear series. Post 0 explained that a harness is personal protective equipment, with standards and labels. The UIAA's 2026 buying advice singles out harnesses (and helmets): fit affects their ability to protect you. Try before you buy where possible, and since sizing varies a lot between brands, use the manufacturer's size chart rather than S, M or L. This post answers two questions: how to tell whether a harness suits you, and which current models are worth trying first. Tying in and partner checks are in gym top-rope belaying; helmets have their own post, post 6. By the end you should know how many gear loops you need, whether you want adjustable leg loops, and how to try a harness on in the shop.

The five parts of a harness

Names as used in Petzl Taiwan's harness guide (in Chinese, published 2026-07-16):

• Waistbelt: goes around your waist, adjusted with a metal buckle.
• Leg loops: go around your thighs; adjustable or fixed.
• Belay loop: the loop at the front joining waistbelt and leg loops. REI's harness guide calls it the strongest point on the harness; your locking carabiner goes here when belaying or rappelling.
• Tie-in points: two small loops on the waistbelt and leg loops that the rope passes through. Petzl Taiwan stresses that both must be threaded, never just one.
• Gear loops: loops on the sides for carrying gear. Petzl Taiwan says gear loops must never bear body weight; they only carry equipment.

There are also elastic leg-loop straps at the back, which hold the leg loops in position on your thighs.

To see it on a real harness, the sport-climbing intro that Ryan of HowNOT2 filmed with Ben of Hard Is Easy gets to harnesses at 6:34: a waistbelt and two leg loops meeting at the front in a single belay loop. Ryan's one warning is that some gym harnesses sew everything into a single master point; when you buy your own, get one with a real belay loop. The segment covers only the overall structure, so for how to use the tie-in points and gear loops, go by Petzl Taiwan and REI above. From 9:40 it's an ad for the HowNOT2 shop.

Four criteria

1. Type and gear loops: choose by what you'll climb

REI sorts harnesses into several types:

For gear loops, Petzl Taiwan's rule of thumb is easy to remember:

• Indoor top-roping: you only carry a belay device, so 2 are enough.
• Outdoor sport, single pitch: you only carry quickdraws, so about 4.
• Trad and multi-pitch: more gear, so 6 is more comfortable.

Almost every harness on sale has at least 4, so the count is rarely the problem; size and position are. That's what the "Gear loops" column in the model table below compares.

Something you can do tonight: write down what you're most likely to climb in the next year: only the gym, outdoor sport, or starting trad. Use that to decide how many gear loops you need, so a "do-everything" harness doesn't tempt you into buying something you won't use.

2. Leg loops: adjustable or fixed

Petzl Taiwan says adjustable loops let you fit over thicker winter layers outdoors; fixed loops are lighter and skip the buckles. Fixed leg loops are usually a band with some elastic, so they stretch a little, but not far.

Both are safe. The difference is whether you have a way out if you pick the wrong size:

• Fixed leg loops: GearJunkie's 2026 harness guide puts it plainly for the BD Solution: the leg loops are fixed, so try it on before buying, because they can't be adjusted later.
• Adjustable leg loops: Switchback Travel finds them "almost mandatory for muscular legs".
• Not sure yet what you'll climb: in a 2024 WeighMyRack video, a Mammut presenter says a four-buckle harness, two on the waist and one on each leg, makes it easier to find the right size; add a layer at the gym or crag and a single-buckle harness can end up off-centre. That's the brand's own pitch.

Something you can do tonight: put on your thickest winter trousers and measure around the widest part of your thigh, then measure again in shorts. If the two numbers differ a lot and you plan to climb outside in winter, put adjustable leg loops first.

3. Fitting: waistbelt above the hips, tight enough not to slip out upside down

Two Taiwanese sources seem to put the waistbelt in different places:

• Petzl Taiwan (in Chinese): wear the waistbelt above the hip bones, tightened fully so it sits firmly on them and you won't slip out the top if you end up upside down.
• Adventure Taiwan (in Chinese): pull it up to roughly belly-button height, tight enough that you can slide a flat hand between body and belt but can't easily turn it.

REI connects the two: put the waistbelt slightly above your iliac crest, which is near belly-button level for most people. REI's tightness check is no more than a two-finger gap between waist and belt. So the two descriptions mostly agree; where your belly button sits varies, so go by your hip bones, and your harness's manual takes priority.

Leg loops matter less. Petzl Taiwan says comfortable and snug is enough. REI says tighter leg loops are more comfortable when hanging but restrict movement, looser ones the opposite; both are safe, so it's personal preference.

Hang in it in the shop

REI says you can't know whether a harness is comfortable without hanging in it or weighting it. Some shops have a test station or a wall where you can hang on a rope. Once you're hanging, check:

• Can you sit upright? Like sitting in a chair, without using your core. If you have to work to stay upright, shorten the elastic straps at the back of the leg loops; if that doesn't help, try another harness.
• Does the waistbelt shift? If so, tighten until it stops. Before weighting it, also try pulling the waistbelt down over your hips; you shouldn't be able to. If the shop allows it, slowly invert to test for slippage.
• Any pressure points? If so, consider another model.

In this Japanese video, Kuriyama of the mountaineering school Kuri Adventures demonstrates how to put a harness on. From 2:56: check that the leg loops aren't twisted before stepping in, because strength drops sharply where webbing twists. The waistbelt goes above the hip bones; set below them, it slips right off when you end up head-down. From 3:59 he checks that the rear loop sits on the spine and the belay loop sits straight in front; if it's off-centre, fall forces don't land where the maker designed them to. From 4:47, the leg loops: not too tight, not too loose, with room to slip one flat hand in easily. From 5:04 he pulls the belay loop upwards, and leg loops and waistbelt should share the load as if you're sitting. Waistbelt tension is at 3:44: once cinched, two flat hands side by side should only just slide in at the front, without the belt squeezing your waist. That's a different check from REI's two fingers; follow your own harness's manual. It's the school's own channel, the end of the video promotes its courses, and no sponsor is mentioned.

Don't ignore the elastic straps at the back of the leg loops either. From 0:42, a short 2025 video from Edelrid's Knowledge Base channel shows leg loops sitting too low on the thighs: most of the fall force goes into them, flips the legs up, and the climber rotates head-down. Tighten the leg loops and the rear elastics so the loops stay high on the thighs; then the force is shared between waistbelt and leg loops and you stay upright. It's the maker's own channel.

Women's, men's, and how sizes line up

Petzl and Black Diamond both make women's and men's versions. Petzl's SELENA page says the women's model differs in waistbelt shape, rise (the distance from waistbelt to leg loops) and the ratio of waistbelt to leg loops. OutdoorGearLab's women's guide notes that athletic bodies don't always fit the "narrow waist, bigger thighs" assumption, so men's or unisex models are worth trying too. Fit matters more than the label.

Sizing also changed in 2025. In a WeighMyRack video, Petzl America's marketing manager Ben Eaton says the 2025 Sama, Selena, Adjama and Luna keep the same size ranges. What changed is where the belay loop centres: it used to centre when fully cinched, and now it centres with about 2 cm left before fully tight. He went from a large to a medium himself and suggests owners of the old version consider sizing down. But he also says to pick the size that fits and is comfortable first, and worry about centring second.

Something you can do tonight: put on your harness (or your next rental), check the two-finger gap at the waistbelt, then try to pull the belt down over your hips. If it goes, it's too loose.

4. Buckles: does yours need doubling back?

Adventure Taiwan says newer harnesses usually don't need doubling back, but some do: the webbing is threaded through the buckle and then back again. To tell, look at the buckle's design, or for a word like DANGER printed on it; if it's there, double it back. REI's fitting steps also say to make sure every buckle is doubled back (not needed on self-locking buckles).

A rental harness and your own may have different buckles, so the first thing with any new harness is to check how its buckle works. The partner-check routine is in gym top-rope belaying.

From 5:50 in this HowNOT2 try-on video, Ryan uses an aid-climbing harness that needs doubling back (the Misty Mountain Titan) to show what to look for: if you can see an "O" at the buckle it's open; once you can't see either side of the top buckle and only a "C" is left, it's closed. His point is that because most harnesses are self-locking now, the odd one that needs doubling back is easier to forget. It shows only one buckle design, so follow your own harness's manual; the harnesses in the video are also sold in the HowNOT2 shop.

Something you can do tonight: look at what's printed on your harness buckle, and check the manual to see whether it's self-locking or needs doubling back.

7 current harnesses compared

Only models still sold on the manufacturer's site on 2026-10-24 and recommended by at least one 2025–2026 review list. Prices are the manufacturer's US list price that day (USD); weights and sizes are from the manufacturer's pages. "Suits / drawbacks" is drawn from specs and written reviews, with the source named in the cell.

Things to watch for when reading reviews:

• The BD Solution was updated in 2026. UKClimbing's 2026 review says the new gear loops are much bigger than the old ones, and besides the four side loops there's a fifth at the back. Older reviews (including Switchback's 2026 list) that call its gear loops small are most likely describing the old version. The UKClimbing page notes that its review samples are supplied free by brands.
• The negative Mammut review is of a different model. Climbing.com's 2026 list found a Mammut harness among the most uncomfortable, but it tested the three-buckle Ophir 3 Slide 2.0, not the four-buckle Ophir 4 Slide 2.0 in the table. Separately, the "Mammut 4 Slide" that won an award in OutdoorGearLab's women's guide has neither "Ophir" nor "2.0" in its name and may be the previous generation.
• Petzl's 2025 update changed how the Sama, Selena, Adjama and Luna size up; see "Women's, men's, and how sizes line up" above.

Another budget option: Switchback's best budget pick is the CAMP Energy CR 3 (women's Energy Nova), with adjustable legs and 4 gear loops, listed at USD 54.95 by REI. We couldn't open CAMP's own product page, so its specs come only from retailers, and only that one list picks it; it's a backup rather than a table entry.

In Taiwan, Petzl Taiwan's site lists the Corax, Sama, Selena, Adjama, Luna and Sitta, and BD's Taiwan distributor lists the Momentum. We didn't find confirmed Taiwanese retailers for the others.

Test and review videos

Five videos from 2024 onward that name specific models, each checked against its subtitles. Several are made by retailers or brands, which is noted for each.

UKClimbing's Rob Greenwood reviews the 2026 BD Solution and Zone. From 0:40 he covers the Solution's gear loops: much bigger than the old model's, with room front and back for a big trad rack. He says it's what he wore on most routes in 2026; if you buy just one harness, he'd choose the Solution, while the Zone suits sport-climbing specialists on redpoint. UKClimbing's written review page states that review samples come from brands.

UK mountain instructor JB Mountain Skills puts three harnesses side by side. The Corax is "the one we all need": wide waistbelt, thick padding, a chunky belay loop, and two waist buckles to keep the belay loop centred; he says it would work for everything. From 3:00 comes "the one you shouldn't get": an off-brand harness bought online with no CE marking and numbers on it that mean nothing. From 4:20 it's the Sitta: much lighter and comfortable to hang in, but with fixed leg loops and everything thinner. He says Petzl sent him the Sitta to test.

This Japanese video from the PUMP2 climbing gym compares several Petzl harnesses. From 2:30 he says that if you don't know what to pick, start with the Sama/Selena: usable from gym to crag, thickly padded, comfortable to hang in. The Adjama is the Sama plus more and bigger gear loops and adjustable legs, suited to crags where you carry lots of gear. From 20:20 he compares them while actually hanging, and the Sama's padded leg loops let him hang a long time without discomfort. Note that the harnesses in the video were from a Petzl Japan try-on event held at PUMP2, so this is a brand collaboration.

This WeighMyRack video introduces Petzl's 2025 update, presented by Petzl America's marketing manager, so it's a brand presentation, not an independent review. From 0:35 he explains what differs in the women's models; from 5:20 comes the sizing change mentioned above: the belay loop now centres at a different point, and he moved from a large to a medium.

Kellen Erickson wore the 2025 Adjama for months, mostly developing dry-tooling routes, which means a lot of hanging. From 3:20 he describes the rear soft loops: the two overlap, and since you can't see behind you, he often clips both at once. From 9:13 he covers sizing: he wears a medium in other Petzl harnesses and in this one too, finds it true to size, and a little roomier than another new Petzl harness he has. The catch is that with extra layers the gear loops sit off-centre, which makes reaching for ice screws awkward, and that's why he stopped using it much. So he suggests ice climbers between sizes go up, and everyone else stick with their usual size. That doesn't contradict the Petzl presenter: Petzl is talking about owners moving from the old version to the new one, where the changed centring may mean a size down; Kellen is talking about ice climbers in winter layers. Both also say what fits and feels comfortable comes first. No sponsorship is disclosed in the description.

Among Chinese-language videos, we found one by a Taiwanese creator about two BD harnesses, but it has no subtitles and the description doesn't name the models, so we couldn't check it and left it out.

Choosing for three situations

Gym only, not sure about going outside

• Make your first harness one that adjusts at waist and legs: the BD Momentum or Petzl Corax.
• If your size is uncertain, or you may share with family or a partner, the Corax's two sizes cover a wide range.
• There's no need to buy a trad harness just because you "might climb trad one day".

Mainly gym and outdoor sport

• Look at fixed-leg harnesses like the BD Solution or Petzl Sama/Selena, lighter and slimmer than the entry models.
• Always hang in one in the shop; the leg loops can't be adjusted after you buy.
• If you often climb outside in winter or have big thighs, look at adjustable leg loops instead.

Getting into trad or multi-pitch

• Look at the Petzl Adjama/Luna, with 5 gear loops and adjustable legs.
• Rack the quickdraws and protection you'll actually carry and reach for them, checking you can find the rear loops.
• Save lightweight models like the Sitta for when you know you need to cut weight.

Inspection and retirement

• Check the year of manufacture: EN 12277 requires every harness to be labelled with it. With a borrowed or second-hand harness you don't know its history; as post 0 noted, Petzl lists "you do not know its full usage history" as a reason to retire gear.
• Check the stitching: load-bearing stitching contrasts in colour so you can see when it's worn through.
• Check the belay loop: it takes the most abrasion. In a 2024 WeighMyRack video, a Mammut presenter says the Mammut harnesses it covers have red indicator thread inside the stitching of the tie-in points and belay loop, and once you can see red it's time to retire the harness; he adds that you should inspect it every time regardless (from 1:20).
• Check the buckles: watch for bent or corroded buckles and elastic that has lost its stretch.

Full inspection and retirement rules are in the last post of this series, How to inspect and retire climbing gear.

Practice: four scenarios

Answers are under each question. Think first, then look.

1. You try a harness with the waistbelt on your belly, but you can pull it down past your hips by hand.

2. You only top-rope in the gym. The staff recommend a trad harness with 6 gear loops and adjustable legs, "so you can use it outside later."

3. A friend lends you an old harness with "DANGER" printed on the buckle and says, "Just thread it through."

4. In summer you try on a sport harness with fixed leg loops, and in shorts it fits just right. You plan to climb outside a lot in winter too.

Next

With a harness sorted, the next thing to go on your belay loop is a belay device: tube or assisted braking, and how to match it to rope diameter. That's post 4: Belay devices.

Further viewing: gear-testing and instruction channels

Several of the videos embedded above come from these two channels. If you want to dig further, start here, and keep each channel's limits in mind.

• HowNOT2: run by Ryan Jenks. It started in 2016 as highline safety instruction and grew into breaking climbing, caving and canyoneering gear, plus the Bolt Busters series that pulls bolts out of real rock. Its value is in the cases beyond the rated number: knots, wear, old gear, bad placements. Limits: most tests are slow pulls on a home-built rig with one to three samples, and Ryan himself calls it entertainment, not science; the channel is backed by an online gear shop, and some tested items are sold there.
• Hard Is Easy: run solo by a climber who signs as Ben, a former software developer. After watching a hard catch slam a climber into the rock in Tonsai, Thailand, he designed his first experiment; the channel now focuses on experiments and physics explanations about belaying, ropes, carabiners and belay devices, with several recent episodes filmed in Mammut's lab. Limits: most experiments are his own design, not EN/UIAA standard tests.

References

Manufacturer product pages and prices (checked 2026-10-24) are linked in the table above.

• UIAA Advice: Ten things to consider when buying climbing gear (UIAA, February 2026)
• How to choose a climbing harness (Petzl Taiwan, 2026-07-16, in Chinese)
• Wearing and choosing a climbing harness (Adventure Taiwan, in Chinese)
• How to Choose Climbing Harnesses (REI Expert Advice)
• EN 12277/UIAA 105 Harnesses pictorial (UIAA, 2020)
• The Best Climbing Harnesses of 2026 (GearJunkie, 2026-05-14)
• Best Climbing Harnesses (Switchback Travel, 2026-05-28)
• Best Climbing Harnesses (OutdoorGearLab, 2025-04-04)
• Best Women's Climbing Harnesses (OutdoorGearLab, 2025-08-26)
• The Best Climbing Harnesses of 2026 (Climbing.com, 2026-10-07)
• Black Diamond Solution and Zone Harness review (UKClimbing, 2026)
• Intro to Sport Climbing ft. Hard is Easy (HowNOT2, 2025-01-09)
• I tried these on so you don't have to (HowNOT2, 2024-07-27)
• How to choose and wear a mountaineering harness (Kuri Adventures, 2025-08-27, in Japanese)
• Why it is important to adjust the Bum Straps on your climbing harness? (EDELRID Knowledge Base, 2025-04-03)
• Mammut sport climbing harnesses 2024 (WeighMyRack, 2024-07-31)
• Solution or Zone? Black Diamond's 2026 Harnesses Reviewed (UKClimbing, 2026-10-23)
• The Harness you want, the one you need and the one you shouldn't get! (JB Mountain Skills, 2025-03-26)
• How to choose a harness, with reviews (PUMP2 Climbing ch, 2025-07-29, in Japanese)
• NEW Petzl Sama Selena Adjama & Luna harnesses (WeighMyRack, 2025-05-27)
• The Petzl Adjama Climbing Harness (Kellen Erickson, 2025-10-21)
• Gym top-rope belaying
• Rent or buy: the order to buy climbing gear