Best Chest Rig / Harness for Rope Solo (TR or Lead)

[@YannCamusBlissClimbing]

NOTE: the chest rig is NEVER in a safety use but only as a way to keep the system working properly. If it unclips, it will never be life threatening in an immediate way. Makes sense?

[@yegoryelgeshin6090]

Thank you Yann. There is a trick to avoid ( as much as possible ) the "hanging" effect in such system. If you first tie up the slings to each other with a kind of reef knot or so - on the back side - then put the harness on and tie your carabiner hitch on the chest it will help this carabiner not to slide much high when it is pulled in up direction.

[@YannCamusBlissClimbing]

Interesting!

[@christophh9477]

The chest rig for TRS and LRS doesnt need to bear any weight. In fact id say its safer if its made out of something weak. Just take some thin cord or bungee and adjust the length till you get the height you desire. Saves money, hassle, is safer and is adjustable to any height you desire.

[@Mlanding1]

webbing and a hair tie or rubber band is a recommendation I see a lot. They are strong enough to keep the progress capture device (micro trax) in the right orientation but if you fall the band breaks so the energy is transferred to the harness instead of decapitating the climber.

[@ssaw3008]

nobody is making these videos!! very good man!! thanks Can you show a video doing the chest harness with the 120cm slings which are even more common to have??

[@YannCamusBlissClimbing]

@@ssaw3008 I never climb with 120cm slings. (Very seldom) I don’t think you can make such a convenient and comfortable chest rig with them. Sorry to let you down on this!

[@1234qwerlmao]

I kinda understand the reasoning behind using 2 60 cm slings 'they're always there anyways', but when I rope solo I bring a bunch of stuff I'd otherwise leave at home. One designated sling is no great addditional weight. After a bunch of testing I've settled on a single sling made out of thick nylon webbing finished with a beer knot. MUCH more comfy than thin dyneema and the beer knot allows you to adjust it to the right length without having to resort to tying knots. I also only make an 'X' in the back and have bights of the webbing meet a my chest. That helps the carabiner stay flat which in turn keeps my device (Soloist) in its proper orientation, plus it keeps the sling further from your neck which in turn reduces chafing.

[@YannCamusBlissClimbing]

I don’t know where my answer went. In short you seem to have a great idea for the Soloist. I like the Petzl Torse for the Soloist. What is your choice of connector for the top of the Soloist? Do you use any sort of limiters like the Petzl Tanga?

[@1234qwerlmao]

I went with the Mammut HMS Smart as the top biner. It was difficult to find one that had the right geometry - tried around 15 before setting on this one! Many modern biners are much smaller and you want a big diameter one to allow the rope to run smoothly and also fit the relatively big hole of the Soloist. Many biners (even other with some anti crossloading device) had a tendancy to flop around or get trapped 90 degrees off and side loaded. I could've gone with a regular big HMS biner with some limiters such as o-rings, washers, tape or Petzl tanga to keep it from sliding sideways in the device but then the harness could get trapped instead! I tried the Petzl Torse for the chest harness but the straps felt annoying and it also would twist the device sideways slightly. I also use the Notch Quickie for the bottom connection. Feels safe and helps keep the device straight!

[@YannCamusBlissClimbing]

@@1234qwerlmao I found only 4 perfect carabiners for the top of the Soloist and you found one of them!! AND you found the only connector I own that works on the bottom of the Soloist!!! Have you checked my Connectors_vs_devices file??? Congratulations!!

[@johannaw1192]

Thanks for the video! I’ve been struggling to get the chest harness high enough and comfortable. I ended up doing the double wrap method on both sides, because the extra loop on the other side was not enough. A lot of loops to get through the carabiner. 😂

[@YannCamusBlissClimbing]

Recently I used and liked the Avant LRS Chest Harness and I like it! I should make a video about that accessory! avantclimbing.com/products/lrs-chest-harness

[@JimPavoldi]

LRS and TRS are getting popular quick. After 30 years of exerimental mistakes i count my blessings. Take nothing for granted. Thinking you know what you don't is an actual disorder. Take the Bliss classes, Yann really has written the book on this

[@YannCamusBlissClimbing]

Wow thanks Jim for the praise! “Thinking that you know what you don’t” is a good way to put it. “Thinking you know everything you need to, but obviously you don’t” is how I put it. It is interesting that there are still so many blind spots in LRS and TRS. I am out to discover them with the help of the 15k+ community partly in my Facebook groups!

[@labidouille67]

Thanks for your help

[@YannCamusBlissClimbing]

Very welcome!!

[@xiankiefer]

Thanks for this!

[@SuperChrisssssssss]

Negatives of using something breakable like thin cord or bungee? I feel like it could help mitigate the risk of getting hung up on something.....

[@leonardomoretto7793]

Hello from Canada Yann! I love your videos thank you very much! I aid LRS with a gri gri and I keep it upright using my metolius big wall gear sling ( the one with the little backpack at the back) I am pretty happy with the functionality of my system but I am looking to find a way to secure my back from folding backwards when I take hard falls. In a normal climbing scenario (2people) a regular harness and a chest harness would work perfectly! I wonder if you have any suggestions to achieve the same results with a LRS set up! Thanks a lot! (let me know if you come to Squamish Canada!!!) Leo

[@YannCamusBlissClimbing]

Hi Leo!! Thanks for invite to climb in Squamish! I have no plans to go there soon right now… About the method to reduce the potential to fold your back, I have never thought of it or seen discussions about it. I will think of it. Andy Kirkpatrick has an image in his book me myself and I with the attachment point closer to the chest when soloing. A lot of people is more wary that the device hits your face during a fall… Makes sense? About LRSing on aid with a HUR (held up right) grigri: have you seen this failure mode? It happened to a friend and I believe it is better that you know it exists: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jme8qqewlqZ_n8k

[@die_hertz]

I'm probably too short (172cm), 60mm slings end up under my belly button I haven't tried making it shorter yet but it seems like only option number 4 or 5 might work

[@YannCamusBlissClimbing]

Let me know if it was reasonable for you in the end or if not! Thanks for the constructive comment!

[@fernandosanz4422]

Great vid. I always use a locking biner for any device, either my main one or the back up, there is something in my head that screams against a back up with a non locking biner. Back ups are for that moment when everything else fails, in that moment i want to see a locking biner holding my system. Personally I use a multichain, so I have the different heights already set. The rest of the multichain goes over my shoulder and I clip it to a maillon rapide that I have in my rope hauling ring, since I always have the multichain attached to my harness. Having the multichain with a locking biner attached to the hauling loop make clipping and unclipping far more easy, and all the rings in the multichain are full strength, in case the mum all fuck ups were to happen I still have the strongest of the back ups. Thank you for all your efforts and for the knowledge you share with the rest of us

[@YannCamusBlissClimbing]

Not sure of your exact setup but I feel I need to add this NOTE: the chest rig is NEVER in a safety use but only as a way to keep the system working properly. If it unclips, it will never be life threatening in an immediate way. Makes sense? I would always use and recommend a locking connector to attach yourself to a device!

[@fernandosanz4422]

@@YannCamusBlissClimbing Thank you for answering my comment. With the point you have made I have understod your point. thanks again

[@loveliesbleeding23]

any reason not the petzl torse for all systems?

[@YannCamusBlissClimbing]

The Petzl torse is not fun to wear when nothing is attached to it (it wants to “strangle you” a bit). Also sometimes one of the shoulder slings of the Torse want to come off my shoulder and it is annoying. Also the extra sling coming out of the buckle is annoying. Also the Torse has a unique use. The slings are super multi uses if I need them. Sometimes less is more… 2 slings: 40g, Petzl Torse: 90g. GREAT!!

[@mineadventures7938]

If i was an experienced climber, i wouldn't need this video. i do climb ladders in mines and thought this might be a nice safety feature, chest to rope with say and rollnlock. but heck if i don't really understand this video.

[@slocoloradan9723]

You seem to be mixing up clove hitches and girth hitches. Which are you using where or are you just using clove hitches all around?

[@YannCamusBlissClimbing]

Probably all girth hitches... Sorry for that!!

[@PathofCultivation]

Why can't you just clip a microtraxion to your harness belay loop?

[@YannCamusBlissClimbing]

Well it goes like this: you want a backup to the device you use ideally because all devices can fail (and have failed). So you might want a second device on a single strand. (Two strands is a different discussion) But you want to keep devices apart to make sure they don’t fail by collision. Hence the chest attachment to keep the top device up. Also you don’t want your device between your thighs that could cause a failure. Makes sense?

[@truthdefenders-]

Accept the risk "yes" 😆😆😆.

[@Kingdom0324]

Why not just tie a 550 cord with a square knot and use that instead of 2 expensive dyneema slings for something that doesnt require strength for a rope solo chest rig? And that way, you can customize the length of the cord to the climber's size.

[@YannCamusBlissClimbing]

@@Kingdom0324 550 cord would cut the skin. Lately I preferred the Avant Climbing Innovations Lead Rope Solo chest harness.

[@Captaraknospider]

So test it now🤷

[@YannCamusBlissClimbing]

Test what??

[@williampierce2558]

Here is a logical question......instead of being cheap with your material, buy a chest harness that is specifically designed for that use?.........this line of teaching in this video will get novice climbers who are on a budget killed.......

[@YannCamusBlissClimbing]

Killed using 2 slings instead of a Petzl Torse for example? How would you see that happening?

[@williampierce2558]

You missed the whole point.

[@YannCamusBlissClimbing]

@@williampierce2558 That is what I thought... That is why I ask you for clarification! Do you mean that a novice could misuse 60cm slings and put themselves in danger? So recommending a proper chest harness should be safer? Thanks!