Streamlined comfort

Minimalist-harness fans are going to wonder why they spent so many years cutting off circulation to their legs by hanging in rigs that skimped on material to cut weight. Edelrid took a different approach by using textiles that were inherently lighter so a larger amount could be included without weighing the whole thing down. They call it 3D-Vent technology, but it’s more or less a layer of thin foam wrapped in mesh, with supportive, stiff webbing strips that wrap around your torso and legs, adding some rigidity and only a little bit of weight. Both the hipbelt and the leg loops are ultra-wide to maximize the contact zone, which prevents pressure points, but the mesh and perforations in the foam keep the harness extremely light and breathable. “It feels more like sitting in a padded chair instead of a complicated pattern of webbing, like other harnesses,” one tester said. Another factor that contributes to comfort is the ergonomic shape of the hipbelt and leg loops: They taper out slightly at the top and the bottom, so they wrap around your flesh when the harness is weighted, instead of digging in. Four stiff, plastic gear loops are suitable for racking whatever your route requires, and a zippy single buckle closes and opens fast.