How to Use a Climbing Harness
Outdoors activities, especially wall or rock climbing and rappelling, require you to take all the necessary precautions. One piece of safety equipment you should learn to use is a climbing harness. Improper use of this tool will put you at risk of serious injuries. Here are some tips you can follow on how to use a climbing harness.
Wearing a Climbing Harness
Undo the tangles and buckles. Hold the harness up. The belay loop should be in front of you.
Locate the front and back of the harness. Look for the leg loops.
Put on the harness. Remember that the leg loop should be over your thigh.
Wrap the waist belt and insert the strap through the buckle. The belt should be right above your hip bone.
Make sure that the harness is wrapped snugly. It shouldn’t be wrapped too tight that you feel uncomfortable with it or too loose that it may slip when you start moving.
Reinsert the belt through the buckle. Doing this twice would ensure that it doesn’t go loose when you start to rappel or climb.
Using a Climbing Harness
climbing harness
Make a figure 8 knot with your belay loop when doing a top-rope or lead climb.
The rope and belay device will be attached to your belay loop.
Use your gear loops on the sides of your harness to carry necessary equipment such as ice screws, nuts, and cams.
When rappelling, sit like you’re sitting on a chair.
When lowering yourself, lean forward on the waist belt and make sure that your feet are flat on the wall.
Feed the rope through your belay device and carefully start lowering yourself down.
Tips:
When climbing, you can use your harness to put other gears. A harness is your protection in case you fall, but don’t totally rely on your harness. Never sit on your harness unless you’re rappelling.
There are harnesses you can buy that have plastic loops. Use these loops to carry your other light equipment.
When buying a harness, choose one that best fits you. Go for quality and not the price. There are harnesses that are priced lower but have good quality.
Before engaging in any outdoor sports, remember that safety always comes first. While a harness serves as a protection, it’s still important to check your other equipment. Make sure that you’re not using faulty gears. Replace worn out ropes; check your locks and loops. Always follow guidelines when climbing and rappelling. After learning how to properly use climbing harness, its for you to learn how to rock climb and as a bonus, read how to climb Mount Everest .