Black Diamond Momentum Harness

9.5
9.5 score
[Editors rating (9.5)] = (Gearweare.net) score (9.5)/10

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Editor rating: 9.5 / 10
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Black Diamond Momentum Harness Review Facts

The Black Diamond Momentum Harness is ideal for both beginners and professional for indoor and outdoor rock climbing. It comes in the vivid solid colors of slate, blue, graphite, and Verde with an excellent design that is time-saving for all climbing styles. As part of the All-Around Series from Black Diamond is weighs just twelve ounces and has six various sizes that fit waists from 24 to 45 inches.

Both the waistbelt and the leg loops are adjustable and comfortably padded. It features the modern technology of Speed Adjust, trakFIT, and DualCore. The waistbelt is pre-threaded and the loops have adjustment sliders and no buckles. These mechanisms are easier to handle and save time in making necessary changes. This terrific harness is used as a safety feature when climbing multi-pitch, lead, top rope, or belaying. The Momentum has a high satisfaction rating with customers and plenty of positive feedback online.

Editor's Pros & Cons
Pros
  • Good for beginner to expert levels
  • Leg loops are highly adjustable
  • Slide adjusters are used instead of buckles
  • Automatically the diameter adjusts for a large range
  • Sizes are extra small to extra-extra-large
  • Offered colors are blue, slate, Verde, and graphite
  • Design saves time for all climbing styles
  • Good for multi-pitch, lead, top rope, or belaying
  • Comfortable and well-cushioned
Cons
  • Straps can be tight and cut into skin when hanging
  • Sizes are small for many people

Key Features

-Has DualCore construction and trakFIT adjustment
-Comfortable for extended periods
-Simple to take off and put on
-Has a padded waist and leg loops
-Waistbelt buckle is Speed Adjust and pre-threaded
-Waistbelt has easy loop customization
-Adjustable elastic riser in the rear
-Leg loops are highly adjustable
-Slide adjusters are used instead of buckles

Comfort

The Momentum Harness can attribute its quality of comfort mostly to the DualCore Construction. Users say that this product is terrific to wear for extended periods since it has good cushioning in the waist and legs. Both the leg loops and the waist are padded.

Buyers also take comfort in knowing that this climbing harness is simple to take off and put on too. This is why it is great for beginners because it will not twist on itself and become a problem. The waist strap belt will not dig into the skin of the person, plus the material is breathable. The majority of buyers agree with this assessment, but some others had a different experience with this Black Diamond product. They claim that the straps are thinner than some other brands of harness, making them quite uncomfortable to wear.

Some people had the straps cut into their skin when they were hanging for any length of time, and the harness can be tight on the waist and upper thighs. We will address this issue of fit in other sections because it is a constant theme throughout the customer feedback and the main concerns of this type of product.

Durability

Dual Core Construction is used for the waistbelt that has a bullhorn shape. This build consists of a foam insert that is supportive and a durable nylon abrasion-resistant shell that is versatile for your performance. If a harness for climbing cannot support your weight at a fall and be durable to catch you in such instances, it is not worth having.

As a matter of fact, depending on the equipment that is faulty is more harmful than not having safety gear at all. Without gear, you would know that you are on your own. Faulty gear gives you false comfort and protection. You will not have to worry about this with the Black Diamond Momentum Harness because every review we researched had nothing but great things to say about the dependability and durability of this gear. There are one haul loop and four gear loops that are pressure molded too. This type of attachment is to make sure they are the sturdiest for holding in difficult situations.

Flexibility

Both professionals and novices will appreciate the flexible features of this climbing gear. The waistbelt buckle is Speed Adjust and pre-threaded and has an adjustable elastic riser in the rear. There is easy loop customization of the legs with trakFIT adjustment, so the necessary adjustments you need to make in the field are quick and easy. Users will not experience any mis-threading or dangling webbing from trying to adjust the loops or waistbelt.

This wonderful product is part of the All-Around Series of the company that sports the exceptional quality it is known for. Even though this amazing harness is flexible to a large degree, it can still have issues for the buyer. The slide adjusters and offered sizes are the reasons for the negative comments concerning this product.

Having such an item in your gear pack will give you added flexibility in climbing because it is easier to use than some other harness types on the market. Its simplicity is what attracts advanced climbers to this model.

Responsiveness

As you will see as with any type of item that a person must wear, sizing is the main concern and area of complaint. A climbing harness is more difficult to fit the body than clothing because it must fit over the clothing that you wear when climbing. What makes this more difficult is if you are not consistent in the thickness of the clothing you use for climbing.

You may wear regular shorts or pants when climbing outdoors but use spandex or thinner materials for performing in the gym. When you purchase a harness and are trying to decide on a size, this must be considered. The bulk of the material has a great effect on how this harness, or any harness for that matter, will fit you and be comfortable.

From customers feedback, it seems to be the general consensus that if you are going to wear thin clothing such as spandex, then get the size that you usually wear. The harness will be close to the skin and have little bulk. If you are going to wear bulky shorts or pants, then you may need a larger size than normal to accommodate for the thicker clothing.

Size

Weighing just twelve ounces, the Momentum Harness for climbing has six offered sizes. The available sizes run from extra-small to extra-extra-large to fit waist sizes of 24 to 45 inches. We saw on some seller sites that the sizes only went to extra-large, which would be a 39-inch waist size. Both the manufacturer and buyers say that the sizes are true to size, even though the sizes ordered were too small for many people.

The circumstances of their situations are not clear, so we cannot comment much about why this climbing gear did not fit these users. We can only assume that the incorrect size was purchased for the person’s body or they bought a size to fit them as regular clothing but are trying to get the straps to fit over bulky clothing. Another issue is that the waist measurement could be correct, but the leg or thigh measurements are tight.

This is understandable as we do not all have equally proportioned bodies. Muscular builds are going to have thicker thighs that might not match in the measurement charts with the smaller waist. Makers of these items assume a regular build that is not out of proportion, thus creating a sizing problem for plenty of climbers.

Style

Even with the problems of size, this Black Diamond harness has a 4.6 rating with customers currently. This is an outstanding rating that shows most of the people who purchased it are very happy with the harness and would buy it again.

Offered in the colors of blue, slate, Verde, and graphite, the Momentum is a design that is time-saving for all climbing styles. It has sliders for adjusting the straps and loop instead of buckles which can be troublesome and costly with time. Errors are eliminated when you tie in for climbing and because the waistbelt is already threaded you save valuable time. It is economical, highly functional, and effective. This tough and sturdy harness provides a sense of security when climbing even if you do not need it.

Support

Several people had the unfortunate experience of really having to depend on this Momentum Harness for saving their lives or at least from a very bad fall. This is the reason why climbers wear such devices, but you hope that you really never have to use it during a climb. It certainly does catch you when you fall and supports the full body weight well.

Of the reviews we noticed that mentioned falls while wearing this Black Diamond Harness, all of them held and did not tear or rip during the process. Durability and reliability seem to be the main attributes of this excellent product. The strong gear loops are reinforced against failure since they are protected and have double stitching. You can count on this sturdy harness to do its job when the situation presents itself that it must catch you and support your weight when climbing.

Use

We all know that this terrific harness is used for climbing both indoors and outdoors, but it is suitable for doing different climbing tasks. It is used as a safety feature when climbing multi-pitch, lead, top rope, or belaying. This splendid item has a belay loop and four gear loops. The leg loops are adjustable too, as we have already established above.

We just want to get across the built-in flexibility of this harness to those in the market for such a product because it is very versatile for the user. The ability to hang gear and clip carabiners to the gear loops is increased because of the clear plastic coating they have. Some customers said they have about thirty pounds of equipment hanging from their clips when climbing outdoors.

Gear is easy to get off and put on when the loops are simple to operate and coated. We did find a few comments about the back strap tearing easily from a couple of people. They said they were fine without this strap and could continue to use the harness without it.

Ease of Use

This is one of the easiest harnesses available for both beginners and professionals, as we encountered positive feedback from climbers of all walks of life. Some just use the Momentum Harness for indoor climbing while others use it for both. If you have purchased other models of harnesses, you know how easily they can twist and be quite frustrating to get straight.

This one has less of a problem with that aspect, plus the straps are comfortable and the design is simple to wear.

Bottom Line

As we all know, clothing items bought online can cause an issue with size. Manufacturers use various cuts for their products and different size charts that can make buyers order the wrong size. A climbing harness is more difficult to purchase online since it must fit over the clothing that you choose to wear during the activity.

If you wear close-fitting garments, then you can go with a regular size, otherwise, bulkier clothing will require a larger size. This, as you can guess, was the main problem that buyers had with the Black Diamond Momentum Harness. A few people said that the straps were tight on them and that they cut into their legs when being used. As these are not flaws of the product and the majority of customers are thrilled with this product, we cannot blame the item or the maker.

There will always be issues with things we must fit our bodies because we all have different builds and size requirements. We are very familiar with Black Diamond products and their excellence of materials, design, craftsmanship, and technology. If you are in the market for a climbing harness for rock climbing, give the Momentum some serious consideration, as it is one of the best currently offered.