UKH

I'm looking at buying a new harness. Ideally something designed for trad/hanging about in and something I can use as a harness for taking non climbing friends up easy trad (M-D range). My current harness is Mammut Ophir sport harness (4 gear loops, no haul loop, non-adjustable legs).

At the moment its between the Petzl Corax or the DMM renegade. Is the Renegade worth the extra money?

Also would the Petzl Corax be any good for scrambling? It seems quite bulky...

Thanks,

Jonah

In reply to jonah_cook:

The Renegade is a great harness (the only harness I've ever owned), but that's because it fits me perfectly and so its only ever been replaced with another Renegade. The prime consideration is fit, and for that you're going to need to go into a shop and hang about in them.

Spending £60 on a harness that feels like it's trying to amputate or squeeze orange juice from your testicles would be quite upsetting.

In reply to jonah_cook:

If you have enough gear to need the seven gear loops, then the money on the harness is small by comparison...

If you don't need the gear loops, there are cheaper DMM harnesses that will fit the same/similar. As stated, go by fit.

In reply to jonah_cook:
Used to use the previous generation Petzl Corax as my go to scrambling harness and it was fantastic for what I wanted, but the newer one which I have also, is just not the same - not as good a fit (for me), and stiffer/less flexible for me to consider using it for scrambling, and I always defaulted back to my old one when I was scrambling.

Go for fit and comfort of what is good for you. BTW, I use a Mammut Ophir 4 slide for climbing and would certainly consider using that in preference to the newer Corax if I was to re-start scrambling in future.

In reply to jonah_cook:

If it fits I'd go with the petzl they are very sturdy and great value at the money only down side is the sizing nether fit me, boooooooooooo

In reply to jonah_cook:
FWIW the two extra harnesses I have for taking friends or clients climbing who don't have their own harnesses are Petzl Corax. It's one of the best "one size fits most people" harness around.

For scrambling something really basic but massively adjustable like a DMM Alpine, DMM Brenin or similar (as used by lots of outdoor centres) is more than enough but for any proper climbing they are really poor. They are certainly cheaper but not massively so.

If you are willing to compromise on having a massive size range then the venerable Black Diamond Bod or Alpine Bod is a possibility. The wrap around design is especially useful for scrambling or mountaineering where they are easy to put on whilst still wearing hiking boots. However easily the best scrambling and mountaineering harness at the moment is the Blue Ice Choucas, essentially a dyneema version of the Bod design. Probably a bit specialised but it's a great bit of super lightweight kit

I certainly wouldn't be spending £60 each on spare harnesses and if I was, the DMM Renegade wouldn't be one I was actively considering.

My advice would probably be to either search around until you can find a good price on the Corax (IIRC I paid under £40 each) or look around for sale bargains. There is a fairly good chance of finding something with a similar double buckle design heavily reduced at this time of year.

HTH

In reply to Mark Stevenson:

I'd second this advice but throw into the ring the DMM super couloir which is essentially the bod design but with a belay loop.
I use mine as my winter harness nowadays but did use it for trad too for a good while and it was plenty comfy enough for indoor use and the occasional lob too.
I've a Renegade harness for general climbing duties now but if I plan to spend more time with the harness in the pack rather than round my waist then the super couloir wins everyone.