News Blog

6th Sep 2008

Arc'teryx report on Harness Testing

Together with Rock and Ice and US retailer Mountain Gear, in 2007 Arcteryx launched a used-harness testing initiative to look at the reliability of used harnesses - an area with little information available. 227 harnesses were tested in total.

Nathan Van Volkenburg reports on this in September's issue of Rock and Ice and there are a couple of extracts from his article 'Busted!' below.

The introduction reads: "Your climbing harness is a critical link in the protection chain. If it fails, your rope, pro and belay are instantly irrelevant. Nothing underscores this tenent like the tragic death of Todd Skinner, in 2006, when the tattered belay loop on his harness broke while he was rappelling. Though harness testing occurs during a companys’ research and development phase, and usually during manufacturing, scant (if any) information is available regarding the reliability of used harnesses. We have a general sense, backed by a healthy fear of when it’s time to replace a harness, but do we really want to operate off a hunch?"

Further on it is somewhat worrying to read: "After examining participants’ responses and inspecting and strength testing their harnesses, testers found that many users were unaware of the true age or history of the harnesses they were currently using. A number of individuals said they had obtained their harness second-hand from other climbers, climbing facilities, or even guides. Many climbers are using harnesses that are well past the manufacturers’ recommended guidelines. A large percentage of users never inspect their harnesses or apparently do a poor job of it."

and as part of the conclusion "As testers we saw some particularly scary incidences of harness degradation—basically, accidents waiting to happen. By and large, most harnesses proved safe, but based on what we received and tested, harnesses are in use that are suspect, and their faults are not always visible. Users need to educate themselves as to acceptable lifespans, condition, care and use of the climbing harnesses. Inspect your harness on a regular basis."

For the full article checkout the September 08 issue of Rock and Ice.