UKH

I'm looking for a lightweight mountaineering harness mainly for Alpine snow plods, glaciers, the occasional scramble, - I'm not looking beyond PD. I would not normally wear a harness, except when around crevasses, and I'm usually solo anyway.

In past adventures, I have happened upon big ladders, bits of via ferrata, etc, so I will have a lanyard  with me, but I was wondering if the Petzl Altitude Harness would be a better option than my current ancient heavy Big Wall harness.

Anyone with experience of the Petzl Altitude?
Is the slightly heavier Petzl Tour a better option?

Ta.

In reply to Fredt:

I use the Altitude for alpine stuff, it does exactly what you expect: super lightweight and packs down tiny, but is not super comfortable for long abseils. What exactly would you like to know?

In reply to Fredt:

These types of harnesses do exactly as advertised and nothing more. If you're expecting minimal use and only very limited hanging you will be very happy with the pack size. Love my BD Couloir for stuff like this.

If you need more comfort go with some of the slightly heavier but much more comfortable modern-day all-round harnesses. 

In reply to Suncream:

, Thanks for your reply, -do you reckon it would be suitable for via ferrata?

In reply to Fredt:

I don't think I would use mine if I intended to use a VF lanyard. Lanyards tend to be heavy and bulky (at least the ones I've used) and if I'm going to bother to carry one then I might as well take a comfortable harness. But then I'd never carry a VF lanyard on a fast and light alpine outing, you can always clip in directly to those random bits of ironmongery you find if you need to rest. Falling would not be a good idea, with or without a lanyard.

That said, I'm sure you could use the Petzl Altitude with a lanyard. I imagine the tie-in points would wear out more quickly than on a bulkier harness though.

Edit: there aren't really proper tie-in points. If I were to do it, I guess I'd put the lanyard through the belay loop (is this what people do anyway?) which would still wear out relatively quickly

In reply to Fredt:   I think that the difference between the Tour and altitude will mostly be durability so how much use are you really expecting to get.  

I've got a Hirundo I use for most everything and would prefer for VF. Surprisingly comfortable if it fits, and nice and light, simple.  The only thing it would be more hassle for is gettting on over crampons

In reply to wbo2:

Indeed, the Hirundos is a great do-everything harness! Could use larger rear gear loops though. 

In reply to Fredt:

Hi, I have a Petzl altitude I use it mainly for ski touring but I have done a few via ferrata in it (the longs just attaches to the belay loop. Its probably perfect for what you are looking for, its comfy to wear and not to bad to hang in for short periods. I don't think the tour is any better and heaver but gives you nothing for that weight. they also do the fly which is lighter but higher tie in. 

Cheers