If you want to enjoy your rappel, a good harness is essential for both safety and comfort. I went online to find out what the best harness for rappelling is.
The Edelrid Orion (or Solaris, if you’re buying for a woman) harness offers the best all-around combination of comfort and versatility to act as the best rappelling harness currently on the market.
Extended hanging can often get uncomfortable, but the Orion uses wide, padded straps and an ergonomic design to mitigate this and allow your rappels to be as comfortable as possible. In addition, the harness has four gear loops, a rear haul loop, and two ice clipper slots. The Orion is more expensive than some other harnesses on the market, but it more than makes up for the price tag with its wide array of features.
Judging a Rappel Harness
As with most pieces of gear, the criteria for a rappel harness is slightly different than those of a climbing harness. Weight means less when rappelling, and comfort becomes significantly more important if you’re hanging for long periods of time.
Safety, as always, is a primary concern, but there’s actually little to differentiate one harness from the next in terms of safety. All companies must meet industry regulatory standards in terms of the safety of their harnesses, so as long as you’re buying from a reputable company (anything you can find at MEC, REI, etc), you’ll be just fine.
Because of that, I mainly focus on the following criteria in this review:
- Comfort of fit
- Additional features
- Durability
Let’s get in to it!
Comfort of Fit
Comfort is probably the most important criteria when you’re looking for a rappel harness. Most— if not all— of the time you’ll be in a hanging position, with your weight distributed between the hip and leg loops. Staying like this for long periods of time can easily get uncomfortable, and a sub-par harness will make it difficult to truly enjoy your rappel.
In this area, the Orion really shines. It’s 3D-vent technology helps to keep you cool while evenly distributing weight across the entire harness. The elastic mesh ensures that it fits snug, while the tapered waist prevents it from rubbing against your clothes. In this category, the Orion is a definite winner.
Features
Features aren’t as important for rappelling, but they’re still something to consider. The Orion comes with four gear loops, meaning that no matter what you need to carry— be it anchor materials, spare carabiners, or even climbing gear— you’ll have somewhere to clip it. The two snow loops are helpful for wintertime, and the haul loop is handy if you ever need to perform some kind of tandem rappel.
Durability
If you’re spending $100+ on a harness, you want to know that it’s going to last.
This can obviously be difficult with climbing gear, because you spend a lot of time around rock and other materials that can rip, tear, and snag your gear. Thankfully, the Orion is made with abrasion-resistant materials that help protect it from the worst of the wear and tear it will endure.
Durability means more than just saving you a few bucks, however. When a harness is suspending you hundreds of feet above the ground, you don’t want to have to worry about whether or not it’s going to break. The Orion is tough enough that you can use it for years and not have to worry about its integrity.