on archerytalk I have been reading a lot about hunters moving to rock climbing harnesses instead of the traditional hunter type body harnesses. The climbing harnesses have some real advantages.

-lighter weight (my HSS treestalker weighs 2 lbs, Black Diamond Vario 15.9 ounces)
-less chance of suspension trauma
-easier to recover in a fall
-rope is in front of you, not hanging you like a puppet
-easier to re-position for a bow shot with the rope being lower

anybody using one?

What do you think?

There has been a lot of discussion about the rock climbing harnesses over on bowsite too. Haven't tried one yet but might consider it. My only issue or question with it, is the front-center position where the lanyard hooks up, as opposed to the high-back tie-off on a regular safety harness, keeping it out of the way for shooting.

http://forums.bowsite.com/tf/bgforums/thread.cfm?threadid=467127&messages=32&forum=2

I have been using one for the past four seasons now. Both of my daughters use them too. I will not go back to a regular harness. I have also now fallen in both a regular harness (while hunting) and a rock climbing harness (while hanging/adjusting a double stand set) and no question, the rock climbing harness hurts less and is easier to recover yourself in the event of a fall. The rock climbing harness also does not get in your way in any way shape or form while hunting. I don't know how many times with an old harness that it would inhibit my draw arm. With a rock climbing harness it simply does not get in the way at all.

I use the Black Diamond Vario Speed Harness. To that I attach a 75cm Dynaclip which gives me freedom of movement, yet decelerates in the event of a fall. A carabiner clipped to the end of it and attach to my static line/prusik setup. I never unclip and am safe from ground to stand and back again.

DEC,
Thanks for the details.
Are you able to use a lineman's belt with this setup?
If so, can you explain the setup or post up some photos of your setup?

Yes ... kind of ...

So what I have done is rather than a lineman's setup at each hip, I go around the tree with an 8' long Summit static line (the same one in the video link below) and clip right back to the front. It isn't as secure from a side to side perspective, but it does work. I don't know that you will find anyone who truly endorses this approach but for me in the limited times that I need to utilize a linesman setup, it has worked well.

I need to do a current video. But here is one that I did a couple of years ago. My system now has changed in that now in MOST of my stands, I never unclip from the static life line. I do have some camera stand setups where I have no choice but to unclip and then reclip onto a different line like the video shows simply because I am no longer close to the static line from my camerman stand. But this gives you a general flavor of how the setup works. I don't recommend the unclip to the reclip if you can avoid it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNRVPjszuT8&t=260s

Thanks for posting the video!
To be 100% tied in at all times I suspect you would need 2nd tether.
This year I want to do some preset ladder stick / lifeline setups and just carry my lonewolf alpha with me and attach it to the tree when I climb up so I really need to have a lineman's belt for this approach. I think I have seen someone on archerytalk with a lineman's setup on their RC harness.

Yea there are a couple of guys over on AT that have done lineman's setups as well. Lots of good info on RC harnesses over there once you wade through the bs arguing. I cannot believe that a topic like RC harnesses gets so many over there fired up. It is stupid.

Good stuff. I AM a lineman. 25 year lineman. Been saying for years that people are going to die in a harness. Trust me, it's going to happen. That circulation thing is real and it'll kill you in minutes.

I like the Rock Climbing set up. BUT, I've gotta emphasize that when you FALL, not ease out like these guys are doing, I mean FALL, like if the stand breaks...you will put an unbelievable amount of Shock Load on the equipment. I know nothing about rock climbing rope strength but I know that a seat belt style harness will snap pretty easily if you free fall more than 3 feet. We have shock absorbing lanyards that will ease the shock load on our straps if we fall because it will break ropes and straps that would blow your mind. I fought this stuff...Thought it was ridiculous until they demonstrated it for us. Guy took our equipment and stepped off a truck tethered to a tower he brought and our harness broke. A MUCH HEAVIER HARNESS than you use deer hunting. It also shredded a lanyard thick enough to use as a tow strap to pull trucks out with. If you're a little 145 pound guy, you might be ok. But if you're 185-200+ you will snap some straps guys. If you're using those cheap harnesses that come with a tree stand I beg you to make sure you to keep the strap as tight as you can stand and tied above you. AND make sure you have a way to let yourself down so your buddy doesn't find you hanging there dead.

I'm not an expert, but I saw this with my own eyes. You can google this stuff for days. It's real. My feeling is, if a rock climbing rope would save us, that's what we'd be using because it's much less cumbersome than the gear we use. Also, don't forget that if you fall and the rope goes across a piece of your stand (very possible) not only will you put a couple thousand pounds of shock load on it but also drag it over a sharp edge.

Guys check out the video's I posted in the Safety awareness section a few years ago.

In those video's you can see the energy that HS Strut is talking about.

Hunt safe and HUNT ON !

I have fallen twice and been saved. In both instances it was not a gentle fall either. Both times the stand went out from under my feet. The first was in a Summit SOP hunting harness tethered to the tree with the Summit supplied rope like in that video. I had the tether set too long and fell probably 4 feet or so before I came to a stop. It hurt like ****, but I was able to recover myself safely. The second time was a couple of years ago, this time I was wearing the exact rock climbing harness in that video and the exact rope tether in that video. I was hanging a double tree stand set at the time. I had both stands up and went to adjust one of them. The stand that I was adjusting had compressed the strap of the one that I was standing on to the point that it came unhooked. I didn't notice it. The moment that I loosened the ratchet to adjust the one stand, the one I was standing on fell 20+ feet to the ground. I had the tether short (as it should be) so I fell probably 2 feet is all before I stopped. Zero pain, very comfortable actually to hang there. Would I want to do it again, no. Would I want to test it and fall 3 or 4 or 5 feet first, no. But it saved my azz.

I won't argue anything that HS Strut has posted. Falling is serious business. I have spent my career as an engineer in the world of industrial construction. I have been around my share of fall incidents involving OSHA rated fall restraints on construction sites. Falling from anything is no joke, even with the best of fall protection gear. But I will argue as someone who has been saved twice in a hunting situation, that if you use a hunting harness or rock climbing harness, if you use static life lines, and if you keep your tether lengths short, that it will save your life and it will prevent serious injuries in most all situations.

Always replace your harness, tethers, static lines, etc after a fall as well.

This is a sheet that I always share during tree stand safety discussions when I teach a Hunter Education class. Really puts the forces into perspective.

Can you still climb using your life line with one of these.

Yes, even easier because the connection is right in front of you.

So do you move it to back once you get to height you want?

I guess I don't understand what you are asking. I hook onto the static line at the base of the tree, climb to the stand, hunt, and climb back down. I don't unclip at all. The 75 cm dynamic lead is long enough to give me full range of movement in the stand. In that video it kind of explains it. In that video I show both the static line setup and in the event that I need to re-clip to another line. For example, if I am the camera man and my stand is on the other side of the tree from the static line then I have to clip to a different safety line once in the tree. But for all of my individual hunts these days, I never unclip from that static line.

Wait ... Parrot Head ... are you talking say in the event of using a climbing tree stand? I hunt mainly out of fixed stands. BUT ... I do have an old Summit Cobra climber that I use from time to time. And yes, you can still use a rock climbing harness, the 75 cm dynamic lead, and say an adjustable tether rope like Summit makes. Same deal, just adjust as you are going up. Get to your desired hunting elevation, re-position your tether and hunt with out ever un-clipping. The difference between the hunting harness and the rock climbing harness is where you position your tether to the tree. With a hunting harness you position it at about head height or slightly higher so that you don't fall more than a couple feet in the event of a fall. With a rock climbing harness and a 75 cm dynamic lead, I position the tether (for a climbing stand) or my prusik on my static life line at about waist high. The furthest that I would fall is about 75 cm (less than 2 1/2 feet).

Really the rock climbing harness setup has been for me the simplest, least intrusive, most comfortable, and I would argue safest system that I have tried.

I have life lines up. I attach at bottom of tree also it makes it easier to climb when they are stretched tight. You said you attach in front of climbing harness. So I climb up with it in front. When I get to desired height will it stay attached in the front?

With my Summit harness it is attached in back so I get to desired height and turn around in stand it is at top of my back out of way.

Yep. It is so much more freedom. I know that it is counter intuitive, because it is hooked in the front, but it just is. I struggled to understand it as well until I tried it. Both of my daughters will tell you the same thing. They hate the rear attached harnesses. You can see in that video the complete range of movement. I need to do a new video on it with all of the tips that I have learned over the years. I have never once felt restricted or had a tether strap get in the way.

good discussion. Thanks for the info DEC. Confirmed my decision. I have the exact same setup as you.

Black Diamond Vario
Dynaclip (ordered)

Good deal. Let me know if you have any questions. It honestly is a pretty easy and slick setup. When the weather finally stops being stupid up here, I will get out and make a new video and share it.

this post sums it up!

Got a couple of the Black Diamond Vario Harnesses this year. My 15 year old and I tried them out this weekend on the first hunt of the season. Super easy for him to clip right into the prussic knot and climb up safely.

https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/web-specials/vario-speed-harness-BD6500720000ALL1.html

Really like them compared to the HSS we used to use. They also feel so much less constrictive on your upper body compared to the HSS, especially for bowhunting.