Black Diamond Flight

The Black Diamond Flight harness (women’s is the Siren) easily met our requirements for a superb sport climbing rig: lightweight (11 oz.), comfortable, and little fuss. Our testers used this harness from Spain to the Red River Gorge, and praised the clean, auto-doubled-back design on both the waist belt and leg buckles. “It’s a big plus that there’s no extraneous material hanging off like on other adjustable harnesses,” one tester claimed of BD’s trakFIT slide-adjustment system. The elastic and adjustable leg loops worked well for climbers of different sizes; adjustable back riser straps helped customize fit as well. After about five months of steady use, the Flight showed almost no signs of wear. Falling proved comfortable, with a waist belt that distributes pressure across two bands of webbing and a mesh panel, so there are no points of irritation. However, the thin padding was not enough for long belays or hangdogging. Testers’ main grievance was the “mondo” gear loops: They’re stiff and sturdy, but the connected loops made racking clumsy.