| Harness guide | Harness use | Aspiring home page |
Our Adventure harness is the industry standard in New Zealand outdoor activities, with a number of variations for specialised operations such as canyoning and cave guiding. We have also developed other harnesses such as the Duplex harness and Full harness with front and rear attachment points for ropes courses.
Adventure harness
Quick-adjusting Adventure harness
Duplex harness
Chest harness
Full harness
Special activity harnesses
Anchor strops See the harness Sizing Table for size fitting.
Aspiring Enterprises developed the Adventure harness specifically for use in outdoor education, though it has proven versatile enough for a multitude of uses, including all manner of adventure activities - abseiling, top-roping, climbing walls, etc. This harness is designed to make the outdoor instructor's job easier, by simplifying sizing and fitting. It is ideal for both abseiling and rock climbing activities.
NOTE: There is no "large" size in the Adventure harness. The medium size fits up to 110 cm waist size, which covers the normal large size.
The attachment point is simple and unmistakable, and is positioned as high as possible to give maximum stability to the novice climber or abseiler. The Adventure harness has long been the standard harness for outdoor education and adventure activities in New Zealand.
During the seventeen years that the Adventure harness has been in service, we have made minor improvements to increase the durability and functionality of the harness. Several years ago we improved the buckle edges to reduce wear on the leg loop webbing, and added a thick piece of webbing under the attachment point to increase the amount of wear this part of the harness will handle.
Gear loops can be fitted to the Adventure harness on request.
The attachment points are colour-coded as follows:
| small | red | ||
| medium | yellow | ||
| X.L. | green |
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Other features and the sizing of the QA Adventure harness are
the same as the standard model, and the same colour-coding is used
on the attachment point.
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The Duplex harness is a unique harness with both front
and rear attachment points. It is designed for high ropes
course activities, where a front attachment would be inconvenient
because of the safety rope hanging in front of the person on
the activity, such as pamper pole/leap of faith.
The attachment point at the front of the Duplex harness means that the same harness can be used for abseiling and other activities. The harness is provided with quick-adjustment buckles to make fitting each person quicker and easier.
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Chest harnesses are used in various activities to ensure more stability for the participants. In abseiling a chest harness is often used to attach the belay rope, thereby keeping it separated from the descending system.
Most chest harnesses create more problems
than they solve, by having to be linked together, as well as
connected to the sit harness.
Because of this we have designed a chest harness that has a
single attachment point of its own, but is connected to the sit harness
with a karabiner.
Putting the harness on is much like putting on a jumper.
The Aspiring Chest Harness has been tested to 20 kN without failure, when connected to a sit harness. Adjustability is provided, and there are three sizes. The standard colour is blue, with belay loop colours distinguishing different sizes.
| NOTE: Chest harnesses must always be used in conjunction with a sit harness. A chest harness used alone is highly unsafe, because it does not support the body adequately and tends to constrict breathing. Also it is possible for a chest harness to pull off if the arms are raised. |
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The rear attachment point is a steel D-ring fixed in the high dorsal position,
to ensure that a stable hanging position is achieved. There are two sets
of webbing attachment points at the front, which are connected together using
a karabiner.. Normally the lower loops are used as the abseil connection
point, as this gives a relatively unstable position which makes it easier
for clients to lean back while negotiating the edge. The upper loops are
used for the belay rope.
The Full Harness is fitted with shaped leg-loop pads to improve the comfort
of the harness, particularly when used with the rear attachment point. There
are quick-adjusting buckles on the shoulder straps and leg-loops for fast
and secure adjustment.
The harness is available in four sizes, small to X.L., to enable fitting
a full range of body sizes and shapes. There is considerable overlap between
sizes.
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The development of diverse outdoor and adventure activities in the last
decade has led to a demand for more specialised harnesses for guided canyon
excursions, guided cave trips, heli-skiing, and climbing gyms. Nowadays
we have a plethora of variations on the Adventure harness to cater for these
varied needs - as well as a few other completely different styles for certain activities.
For canyoning we generally provide the standard Adventure harness, fitted
with a durable PVC seat which protects the wetsuit. We also have a
different version, as illustrated, which is fitted with a D-ring attachment
point and is used by canyon guides.
Caving is extremely tough on equipment, so we offer an even more durable
version of the standard Adventure harness for cave guiding companies. This
uses a stiffer and tougher webbing on the leg loops and is fitted with overlaps
under the legs.
The rear straps are made of a heavier webbing to increase their durability also.
The cave guiding harness is available in the usual Adventure harness sizes.
Also used in climbing gyms, as well as on some guided cave tours and even some easier canyons, is the belay belt, as a simple and cheap alternative when a harness is not required. Commonly this is used by people who are belaying but not climbing - often parents or group leaders who are helping by belaying - as a simpler and cheaper alternative to a harness.
The belay belt has been re-designed recently so that the attachment point
protrudes from the front of the belt, to make it easier to connect to the
belt.
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Normally an instructor uses the same site or sites for abseiling and climbing repeatedly, which speeds up the set-up time. If there are standard anchor placements on your site, anchor strops may be worth considering as bomb-proof and simple set-up method. Usually two good anchors are linked together (each may be a set of camming devices or bolts, etc). In this case separate strops for each anchor can be linked using a steel ring sewn into the two strops, which can be made to custom lengths to suit your site. Usually the two arms of a double strop are different colours. This gives a fool-proof, redundant, nearly indestructible anchor set-up.
Copyright Aspiring Enterprises, revised 22 April 2008.
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