Belt or Harness? In 2023. Pros/Cons.

[hannahb]

mile-wide sense of entitlement to..

What?

 

[Fulk]

Yes, hannahb, I was a bit puzzled by that remark.

 

[Loki]

What?

🤣

 

[Graigwen]

I had to vote for the balertwine option because there is not a waistlength option.
.

 

[Fjell]

I use ones like this because you can get them for a fiver on the market. There is generally an upper size limit limit though.

 

[caving_fox]

As above - depends. No vertical component, definitely a belt - I'm thin, my oversuit less so, and it's always useful to clip something to.
Ladders: probably just a belt, but depending on the group and belaying options potentially a harness. SRT harness obviously.

Price doesn't really matter as I already own both.

 

[phizz4]

We use belts, Petzl, all the time when leading level 1 caving trips with Scout groups. Keeps ther oversuit legs/crotch up, useful for assisted hand lines and spotting, as somewhere non-personal to ‘handle’ when needed.

 

[Hunter]

Still got my original Caving Supplies belt From 1983.
A little frayed on the edges and seems to have shrunk in length over the years but still use it to hold my 30 year old Oldham battery which still gives about 5 hours light on main beam on the odd trip I do these days.

 

[me]

Belts always on children as a minimum (as phizz4) "Keeps their oversuit legs/crotch up, useful for assisted hand lines and spotting, as somewhere non-personal to ‘handle’ when needed."
Add a Harness for any cows-tails or rope / ladder work.

 

[JasonC]

to hold my 30 year old Oldham battery which still gives about 5 hours light on main beam on the odd trip I do these days.

Even if you only do two trips a year, get rid of the Oldham and get a proper Fenix light! Your ageing eyes will appreciate being able to see properly, and your ageing back will so appreciate not having a brick on it, that you might even manage three trips a year!

 

[Hunter]

Even if you only do two trips a year, get rid of the Oldham and get a proper Fenix light! Your ageing eyes will appreciate being able to see properly, and your ageing back will so appreciate not having a brick on it, that you might even manage three trips a year!

Eyes & back are fine, it’s the knees that are the problem.
besides, if I get rid of the Oldham I won’t need the belt😳

 

[Cantclimbtom]

Probably not for much longer; belts cost more than harnesses. By a significant margin, too.

From Inglesport... Warmbac caving belt £36.10 and Lyon "lamp" belt £31.40
Where are you finding harnesses significantly cheaper than that?

 

[cap n chris]

We bought (IIRC) (at retail price) something like 12 Beal sit harnesses for £31.50 each from Dick's Climbing in Bristol; they're currenty listed at a higher price but we like their discounted lines and have bought quite a lot from them over the last few years or so. I understand Warmbac prices have increased in recent times so the disparity will be greater now. We are still using them as they haven't worn out yet, so the purchase was pretty recent.

 

[badger]

A quick hunt on the interweb and you can find many harness's for under 35.00. less than 10 years ago we bought petzl gym harness's for about 28.00 I think. But like others for most level 1 caves belts mostly to hold up the suits. Level 2 caves harness. Will possibly will replace belts with harness's when we replace them.

 

[Cantclimbtom]

... ... ... ...

Does level 1 cave mean no srt and level 2 cave means srt? (If so, is Level 3 therefore diving?)

 

[cap n chris]

There isn't a Level 3 award for cave/mine leadership; there is the CIC award though.

 

[JoshW]

Does level 1 cave mean no srt and level 2 cave means srt? (If so, is Level 3 therefore diving?)

Badger is referring to the commercial local cave leader awards.

Level one (now called local cave leader) is for all intents and purposes ‘horizontal caving’ - it can have elements that might require some vertical assistance like assisted handlines, but not full lifelining

Level 2 (now called vertical local cave leader) includes lifelining on abseils and ladder climbs of simple pitches up to 18m in length.

As cap’n points out level 3 would be the CIC award which extends to SRT and non-simple pitches etc

 

[Cantclimbtom]

Thanks, Googling this (in my poorly phrased manner?) was only returning results about accuracy of surveys, which obviously wasn't what was meant