Mikeforelk

Well Santa arrived early at my house with a new Summit Goliath X4. This is my first climber so I figured I'd better learn to use it the right way with the 4 point harness and all. So here is my question. Playing with the climber around the house the strap off the harness seems to always rub my neck and pull as it comes over my shoulder when climbing. The harness also has two connection loops, one on either side of the hip belt. Is there any reason I cant connect the harness to the tree rope on one of those loops instead of the back strap? Will it provide as much safty?
Thanks in advance for your input gentlemen.
Mike.

slicendice

Mike,

I personally didn't like the harness that came with my Summit. It became easily tangled and messed up when i wasn't wearing it, and it was confusing to use at times. I personally bought a safety harness vest. It's easier to use, doesn't tangle as easy and can be used as a dragging harness. Well worth the money.

mrfritz44

Went from a Summit harness, to a vest, then back to the harness. Marking the inside of the back criss-cross with the word "IN" or something similar makes a remarkable difference in it's ease of use and actually I prefer it now.

I wouldn't hook up to the belt loops. The harness tether is desgined to act as a shock absorber and keep your head up away from things on your way down.

You should keep the tether under one of your arms anyway to use it properly. If you fall and that thing happens to get caught under you chin you're going to be dangling there with a broken neck. I'd watch the video, read the instructions, and follow them to a "T". Don't give up on the harness so soon. I did and ended up spending money I found I really didn't have to.

PABowhntr

Those loops allow to hook the rope around the tree and use the harness like a lineman's climbing belt. It is really handy when trying to install strap on treesteps but I would not use it as an alternative to the actual way that they harness is supposed to be utilized.

If you find that particular climbing harness troublesome then take a gander at some of the new harnesses that Summit has out. The Fastback harness in particular is a breeze to put on because of its particular design. Well worth it in my opinion. If you choose not to go that route though then I would suggest following MrFritz44's recommendation and watch that instructional video/DVD intently.

Mikeforelk

Thanks for the input guys.

ijimmy

Dont use the one on the belt , they are for linemans type use like pa said , and it would be dangerous to hook the stap to just one of them . Another sugestion for an aternative harness is the "hunters safty systems " vest , very easy to use .