machine23 wrote:i want a harness. this one looks decent. and i dont want to be too cheap, because i know i will have my life depending on it in some situations. anyone own this particular harness? pros? cons?
Your life will depend on your harness *every* time you use it!
I have used the Bod harness quite a bit for rock and ice climbing. It works well, though I believe there are now substantially lighter and more comfortable models of climbing harnesses.
But I will agree with those who have been saying that it is not a caving harness. In very wet, muddy environments, its padding will absorb water, puff up, and eventually come off. But more importantly, the Bod harness, like most climbing harnesses, is unsuitable for caving because it does not provide the expected redundancy. A caving harness should be constructed so that when the harness is worn properly, the complete cutting at *any* point does not result in the user being dropped. Harnesses that use a waist strap and two leg loops (there are other designs) must therefore have loading-bearing leg loops. Loops that do not merely hold your legs in the correct positions, but which can withstand significant forces even in the absence of a functioning waist strap. This way, if the waist strap is cut, or even if the junction between the waist strap and one of the leg loop is cut (leaving only the other leg loop functioning), something still holds you up. The Bod does not meet this requirement because the leg loops are not load-bearing in this sense (as evidenced by the cheap plastic buckles that are used to attach them, providing excellent convenience but not providing significant security beyond what is provided by the waist strap.
The Bod will specifically work poorly, as JoeyS, says, for a frog system, because you will have a very short step and will waste huge amounts of valuable energy getting up the rope.
I currently use the Gonzo Guano Gear Caver Seat Harness. I recommend it highly, though different harnesses will fit different people differently--try on a harness before buying it, if you can. The GGG Caver Seat Harness is pretty light and inexpensive, compared to most other vertical caving harnesses.