How to Use a Harness for Rock Climbing

Co-authored by Erika Noble

Last Updated: June 9, 2022 References

A harness is one of the most basic pieces of climbing gear, but that also makes it one of the most important. Your harness is an attachment for your climbing rope and belay device. Before you can begin climbing, you have to fit the harness on your waist. Then you knot your climbing rope to it, along with a belay device if you're climbing with a partner. Before heading out to the rocks, inspect your harness to ensure you have a safe climb.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Putting on a Harness

1
Lay the harness out with the buckles and leg loops in front of you. Place the harness on the ground or hold it in front of you as you prepare to put it on. Your harness has a waist belt with a pair of buckles, which go over the front of your body. It also has a central loop, or belay loop, connecting the waist belt to the leg loops hanging underneath it. Rotate the belt so the belay loop is in front and faces away from your body.^{[1]
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- Positioning the belay loop correctly also orients the leg loops. They are all attached to one another, so you don’t need to worry about moving them around individually.
- Make sure the straps aren’t tangled. Also, note any spots where the straps have come out of the buckles.
2
Step through the harness by putting your legs through the leg loops. It’s like putting on a pair of pants. Make sure the leg loops are underneath the waist belt so you can step through both of them at the same time. Then, put your left leg through the left loop and your right leg through the right loop. It’s easy, and if you make a mistake, pull the harness down, untangle it, and try again.^{[2]
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- Always step through the waist belt first. If you only get into the leg loops, you won’t be able to wear the harness correctly.
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3
Pull the harness up until the waist belt is above your hips. The waistband needs to sit right above your hips so your hip bones hold it in place. After you get the waistband up, adjust the leg loops as needed. Position the leg bands at the top of your thighs, right underneath your groin.^{[3]
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- If you can’t get the waistband up, loosen the leg loops by pulling the straps out of the buckles holding them in place.
4
Tighten the waist loop by pulling the tail ends of the straps. Newer harnesses are adjustable like many other types of clothing. If your harness is adjustable, look for the buckles to your left and right. Pull the straps away from your body until the belt feels tight but not suffocating.^{[4]
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- Test the waist belt by taking a deep breath and trying to slip 2 fingers underneath the strap. The belt may feel a little uncomfortable the first time you put it on, but it's necessary for a safe climb.
EXPERT TIP

Erika Noble
PCIA Certified Rock Climbing Instructor
Erika Noble graduated from Stanford University with a BS in Management Science & Engineering. After competing in collegiate rock climbing competitions as part of the Stanford Rock Climbing team, Erika worked as a Rock Climbing Instructor in Lake Tahoe. She continues to boulder and climb throughout California and the Southwest.

Erika Noble
PCIA Certified Rock Climbing Instructor

Rock climbing instructor, Erika Noble, adds: "To test if your harness is tight enough, pull down on the waist loop or gear loops. The harness should stay high on your hips and not slide down at all. If it does slide, it's too loose and needs to be tightened!"
5
Double back the belt loop if yours is loose. Older harnesses have loops that come undone and need to be tied manually. To do this, take the strap all the way out of the loop, then pull it toward the center of your body and through the belt buckle. Reverse direction, pulling the strap over itself and back through the buckle a second time. Then, pull the tail ends of the straps away from the belt buckles to finish tightening the harness.^{[5]
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- If you see the word “warning,” “danger,” an “O” for open, or something similar, that means you need to double back the loop. These words are only visible when your harness loop isn’t tied correctly. Take care of it before scaling a wall!
6
Repeat the tying and tightening process with your leg loops. The leg loops function the same way as the waist belt. Many harnesses have adjustable straps, but some older versions have ones you need to tie yourself. If you need to tie them yourself, double back them by pulling the straps through the buckles and back again. No matter what kind of harness you have, pulling the tail ends of the straps tightens them.^{[6]
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- You don’t have to tighten the leg loops as much as the waist belt. At the right setting, you can slide a hand underneath each strap. Make sure the straps rest comfortably against your legs.
7
Feed the tail ends of the straps through the belt buckles. You most likely have some excess material dangling from the front of your belt. Since these distractions get in the way of a climb, tuck the strap ends into your belt buckles. Some harnesses also have secondary buckles or plastic loops on the sides you can use to pin down the straps.^{[7]
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- Give your harness one final check before your climb by inspecting it and trying to pull it off your hips. If it's ready for use, you won't be able to pull it off your hips.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Tying a Climbing Rope to a Harness

1
Measure about 3 ¹⁄₂ in (8.9 cm) from the end of a climbing rope. Tying in means knotting a load-bearing climbing rope to your harness. To tie in, you first need to get a climbing rope about 200 ft (61 m) in length. Then, measure the distance from one end. The measurement doesn’t have to be precise, and you can easily estimate it using your arm.^{[8]
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- The length of rope you need is a little longer than the length of your arm. Hold out one arm, then stretch the rope from the tips of your fingers to your shoulder.
- The rope you knot to your harness is what keeps you off the ground if you fall, so it is just as essential as the harness.
- Climbing ropes and other tie-in supplies are available online and at outdoor sporting stores. Any place that sells harnesses most likely has ropes too.
2
Twist the rope around on itself twice to form a bend. Pinch the rope at the point you measured, letting the ends hang side by side. Then, twist the ropes around each other to form the loop, also called a bight. The shorter length of rope you measured is called the working end. This is the part you need to finish the knot, so note where it is.^{[9]
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- The opposite length of rope is the standing end. This part is the length you tie to an anchor point, such as a solid rock or a suspension system at the gym.
3
Insert the working end of the rope into the loop you made. While holding the loop in one hand, move the rope with your other hand. Pull it all the way through the loop to create a figure 8 knot. You still need to use the knot to finish tying in, so tighten it just enough to hold it together.^{[10]
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- Figure 8 knots can be difficult to undo if you tighten them too much. Keep some slack in the rope and hold the knot in place to prevent this from happening.
4
Pull the working end under the belay loop on your harness. Once you have the figure 8 knot done, hold it off to the side to begin tying the rope to your harness. Find the pair of tie-in loops around the belay loop on your harness. Bring the rope through the lower tie-in loop, behind the belay loop, and through the upper tie-in loop. Then, pull it through until the figure 8 knot is about 2 in (5.1 cm) away from your body.^{[11]
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- Make sure the rope fits securely between your body and your harness loop. It’s a very important part of safe climbing!
5
Feed the rope through the bottom part of the figure 8 knot. Hold the figure 8 knot horizontally in front of your belay loop to make the process a little easier to visualize. Then, bring the end of the rope down between the knot and your body. Pull it all the way through the bottom loop in the figure 8 to begin the second knot.^{[12]
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- Sometimes this part gets a little confusing. As long as you follow the rope from your belay loop to the knot, you can locate the bottom part of the knot.
6
Pull the rope through the bottom loop a second time. Don’t bring the end of the rope back underneath the knot yet. Instead, hold the knot still and locate an opening between the knot and the pass-through you just made. Push the rope through the loop and underneath the edge of the original knot.^{[13]
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- If you’re confused about where to take the rope next, follow the rope length from your belay loop. To complete the tie-in, you follow the steps you did for the figure 8 knot in reverse.
7
Bring the rope through the top loop to create a second knot. Basically, you’re creating an identical figure 8 knot. To finish the second knot, move the end of the rope toward you and underneath your original knot. Look for a small opening in the top loop of the knot. When you find it, pull the rope all the way through it to tie the double figure 8 and tighten it.^{[14]
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- Check your work. If your knots look off, undo the second knot to tie it again. The knots look identical when they're perfect.
8
Tie the remaining rope down with several overhand knots. Tying the rope leaves you with about 3 in (7.6 cm) of extra length on the working end. Take the opposite length of rope you’ve ignored up to this point, the standing end, and hold them side by side. Knot the working end to the standing end as many times as you can.^{[15]
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- The remaining length of rope is for your anchor point, so don't tie the working end to it. Instead, tie it to the length past the figure 8 knot.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Attaching an ATC Belay Device

1
Make a bight in the middle of the climbing rope. Take the standing end of the rope the other climber used to tie-in their harness. Pinch it about 1 ft (0.30 m) from the end, creating a bend like you do when you tie-in. This bight is what you use to attach to the belaying device, so make sure you have plenty of length to work with.^{[16]
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- Check online or at an outdoor activity supply store if you don’t have a belay ATC or locking carabiners.
2
Push the bight into an ATC device. You need a belay device called an ATC if you plan on hooking your rope to another climber. Most ATCs have a wire loop sticking out of one end, which is a guidance system for securing the rope. To use it, push the bight through the metal part of the ATC. When the bight comes out the other end, align it with the wire loop.^{[17]
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- The rope loop you make needs to be the same size of the wire loop. When it is the proper size, it rests over the wire loop.
- Belaying ATCs allow you to hook to another climber. It's like in the movies where one climber catches their falling partner. Each climber needs their own ATC for this to work.
- If you’re climbing alone, you don’t really need an ATC. Keep in mind climbing alone is more dangerous since you have no one there to catch you or help you if you fall.
3
Clip the ATC to the belay loop on your harness. The ATC clips to the same loop you used for the tie-in. You connect the loops using a locking carabiner. To open the carabiner, you spin the gate component counterclockwise and push it forward. Then, all you have to do is hook the carabiner around the wire and rope loops you made.^{[18]
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- The carabiner locks automatically when you push the gate back into position.
4
Pull and let out the rope as needed to create slack. When you’re the belayer, or the climber lower on the rock, you’re in charge of the rope. Hold the long end of the climbing rope with your weaker hand and the shorter end with your dominant hand. Pulling down on the shorter end “brakes,” or prevents the rope from moving. Letting it go adds more slack to the line so your partner can move up the wall.^{[19]
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- If you are unfamiliar with belaying, sign up for an instructional class to learn some techniques that keep you safe while climbing!

Community Q&A

Question

Is it ok to hang upside down in a climbing harness deliberately?

Brett Gilbert

Top Answerer

It isn't often done, but it is possible. You may see some overhang climbers hang from their legs like bats to give their arms a rest. If your harness is tied correctly, it will stay on you no matter what.
Question

What knot is used to attach the rope to the harness?

Community Answer

The knot used to attach the rope to the harness is called the figure-8 follow through or rethreaded figure-8.

Warnings

Climbing is inherently dangerous, but taking proper safety precautions reduces the risk a lot. Always test your harness and inspect your gear to make sure everything is set up correctly.

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