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I didn’t like the Konseal when it arrived in the mail. It had a weird design—no padding at the spine, hardly any wrapping around to the front—and its over-sized hips made it offensively large. Compared to harnesses like the AR-395a, which has the majority of its support around the spinal/lumbar area, the Konseal looked like a mistake. I packed it reluctantly for that evening’s sport climbing.
But I was wrong, of course. The Konseal looks a little unorthodox but it is the most practical and comfortable rock-climbing harness I’ve had the pleasure of abusing. Here’s why.
Arc’teryx has been making harnesses for a minute now, but the Konseal is the first time they’ve used such a radical waist-belt design. It’s a concept best worn to be understood: by removing the thick, lethargic material at the harness’s hinge-point the Konseal is significantly more mobile during contorted climbing movements. And, better yet, Arc’teryx swapped out the back padding for a simple mesh lining, enabling noticeably more air flow on hot crag days. But, in my opinion, the Konseal gets its Cadillac comfort from the indulgent butterfly hips. Arc’teryx took the unused padding from the spine and beefed up the sides—the area, of course, that experiences the full brunt of gravity after a big whipper or at a long hanging belay. The result is delightful. At this point I have spent literal days in the Konseal: hanging from Grade VI walls, sussing out RP placements on headpoints, throwing myself at yet another sport project, and carefully aiding up splitters that proved too far out of my league.
The harness’s gear loops were another feature I grew to love. Typically I prefer gear loops that have a stiff attachment point to the waist belt; you can smack a quickdraw or cam to your side and the gear loop forces the carabiner’s gate open. However, because I so appreciated the alpine comfort the Konseal provided, I decided to just deal with its flaccid loops. Lo and behold, a fully loaded gear loop mimics that same rigidity that I loved so, and I didn’t find re-clipping carabiners to be much of an issue.
After four steady months of testing I have no concerns about the Konseal’s durability. I’ve flailed up (and slid out of) multiple offwidths, shimmied through chimneys, grated down slabs, and stemmed across corners, more than once announcing that I couldn’t believe the Konseal was scuff-free.
But the Konseal is not a perfect harness. For me and my alpine proclivities, I wish it came with ice-clipper slots rather than forcing me to jury-rig my own. And I found the rear haul loop to be needlessly narrow; if it were two inches wider I could easily add approach shoes and water to the back of my harness, rather than to my gear loops on the side. On a (much more) minor note, I found the elastic straps connecting the waist to leg loops to be unreasonably long, but quickly rectified that with a pair of scissors.
But one attribute I will zealously defend is its gloriously thick padding. Not only did the comfort it provides enable me to climb pitch after pitch of hard-for-me terrain with only hanging belays for reprieve, but the Konseal isn’t even that heavy. That’s right. It may not pack down like the ski-mo lingerie you bring to your sport project, but the Konseal is deceptively light. In fact, when I ditched my previous alpinism harness, I shaved 10 grams. Not bad for a rock-climbing harness.