The Black Diamond Chaos Harness. Our premier all-day, trad climbing harness, the Chaos is designed to offer even more comfort and features by using Kinetic Core Construction.
Fit:
- Small fits waist 27 - 30 in., leg 19 - 21 in.
- X Large fits waist 36 - 39 in., leg 25 - 27 in.
Lining and Layers:
- LCP strands are sandwiched between lightweight taffeta and layered with polyethylene foam inserts; a durable nylon shell and a soft, breathable lining complete the design
Fabric:
- 4 pressure-molded polyethylene gear loops are reinforced with nylon webbing to provide excellent racking space with high strength
- Kinetic Core Construction™ (KC²) employs a tri-laminate of liquid crystal polymer (LCP) strands distributed along the horizontal axis of the harness belt
- 3D polyester 3 mm AirMesh
- 450d nylon twill
- Bullhorn-shaped waistbelt built using Kinetic Core Construction
Padding:
- Breathable, padded lumbar insert provides lower back comfort
- Lightweight foam and padding aid breathability for long days on the wall
Ventilation:
- Soft, breathable 3D mesh and abrasion-resistant shell on waist belt and leg loops
Comfort:
- Bullhorn-shape waistbelt is ergonomically designed for all-day comfort
- KC² eliminates bulk and distributes the load evenly throughout the harness, offering excellent comfort while working routes
Features:
- 12kN-rated haul loop accommodates all your extra gear
- Pre-threaded Speed Adjust waist belt buckle
- Adjustable, releasable elastic rear riser
- 4 pressure-molded gear loops and 12 kN-rated haul loop
- Black Diamond Chaos climbing harness has a rear haul loop that is rated at 12kN
- Lightweight aluminum Speed Adjust buckle allows quick and secure single hand operation
Strip down an old favorite, remove extra padding, add strong, weight-balancing Kinetic Core Construction, and you have Black Diamond's 14-ounce Chaos harness, a sleek design that doesn't cause pressure points. Based on NASA technologies, liquid crystal polymer strands provide exceptional strength while alleviating pressure points, making it possible to use far less padding for the same amount of comfort in a super-lightweight harness.
Optimized for trad cragging and long days in the vertical, the Chaos harness balances comfort and features without weighing you down. We designed the Chaos’ lightweight, low-profile bullhorn-shaped waist with Kinetic Core Construction, which uses multiple strands of Vectran spread across the harness and sandwiched spread between taffeta and lightweight foam, and added a breathable padded lumbar insert to provide top-notch comfort on hanging belays and multi-pitch routes.
Pre-threaded Speed Adjust waistbelt buckle.
Bullhorn-shaped waistbelt built using Kinetic Core Construction.
4 pressure-molded gear loops.
12 kN-rated haul loop.
Breathable, padded lumbar insert
The Black Diamond Chaos climbing harness is a premier trad climbing harness for serious rock hounds. It offers comfort and functionality to keep you happy on all-day climbs.
Weight (see spec chart) is based on size Medium. See specifications below for size detail:
Imported.
This product can only be shipped to U.S. addresses.
| Activity: | Climbing |
|---|---|
| Adjustable Leg Loops: | no |
| Average weight - metric: | 400 grams |
| Belay loop: | Yes |
| Claimed Weight: | 400 g |
| Country of Origin: | Philippines |
| Droppable leg loops: | No |
| Fits waist: | 27 - 39 inches |
| Gear Loop: | yes |
| Gear loops: | 4 loops |
| Haul Loop: | yes |
| Haul Loop Strength: | 12 kN |
| Leg: | 25 x 27" / 64 x 69 cm |
| Leg loop size: | 19 - 27 inches |
| Material: | [core] Liquid Crystal Polymer, [shell] nylon, polyethylene, [buckle] aluminum |
| Padded leg loops: | Yes |
| Padded waist: | Yes |
| Recommended Use: | trad climbing |
| Type: | Waist |
| Waist: | 36 x 39" / 91 x 99 cm |
| Warranty: | 1 year |
| Weight: | 14 oz / 404 g |
| Weight [with packaging]: | Small: 0.01 lb, Medium: 1.05 lb, Large, X-Large: 1.1 lb |
| padding: | Closed-cell foam |
Related Categories:
- Black Diamond Climbing Harnesses
- Climbing Harnesses
- Everything from Black Diamond.
Black Diamond Chaos Harness Reviews:
Positive Reviews:
Best harness I've used!
great, but not as durable
Pros: nice and lightweight, gear loops good size for regular racking, full strength rear haul loop. fits well (I got a small and I am 5'6" 145, usually wear 32 pants but small fits me well. Cons: not as durable.
What I don't like, these are probably minor nitpickings: the connect between the gearloops to the harness has some goofy rubber housing things - purely asthetic, but they just get squished and deteriorate. The butt-strap attachment points have metal clips that sit under nylon fabric on the leg loops. Nylon over metal on harness means the nylon just shreds after uses in chimney and offwidth, perhaps even just scooting around on rock. Though I haven't had trouble with the butt straps disconnecting.
Finally, the fabric/webbing of the harness itself has started to have a few spots of threads loosening, although nothing structural. My last BD momentum harness I had for five years and it was burly, molded gear loops never had any trouble, and it was super durable. But that was before BD started manufacturing in China.
I was going to buy last year's model that was orange but this one came out just in time. I emailed a black diamond rep and he said there are 2 differences between this lime green new model and the older orange one. The yellow has hooks on the leg loops so you can drop your drawers if you need to and it is slightly stiffer with more support and burlier material in the leg loops. I have only climbed with it on about 10 climbs. At first it felt the same as my old harness and I wasn't too impressed, especially because I was comparing this expensive harness to my old mammut $35 harness. The more I climb with it the more I realize how much lighter and comfortable it is. The only complaints I have pertain to the gear loops and the speed adjust. The gear loops seem a little flimsy and when they have gear on them they tuck into your body so its hard to clip things to them. The speed adjust took some getting used to. Its speedy to get on, but its difficult to get off without a little practice. All said I love this harness and will keep it for years to come.
I had a chance to use an older version of this harness down at the Red Rock Rendezvous and loved it then, so I made sure this was my next harness. After having a chance to use the new version for awhile now, I love it. I have been climbing up at Sugar Loaf this winter where there is a mix of tr, sport, and trad climbs, and I like it for all three styles of climbing. This harness is so light weight and well padded I don't know I have it on most of the time, even while hiking. The waist belt has a great shape to it which makes for a better fit than other styles. Also, the speed adjust waist belt is nice because I don't have to worry about doubling back the harness, and in my opinion having less features is better.
The low profile gear loops took me a time or two to get use to, but I love them now because they are out of the way and not flimsy.
The one thing to thing to consider is that the legs are non adjustable. So, if you fit the dimensions I would recommend this harness
This harness looks sweet, but it doesn't fit my proportions and the sizing chart is way off. My waist measures 34 inches and my legs 25. The leg loops fit very nicely but the waist belt is way too big. I cinch it all the way down, and while it stays in place, I can move it around at will. If I put some gear on the loops it would slide right down. So much for a Large fitting waist sizes 33-36. Don't believe it. I wouldn't even try this harness in Large unless your waist is at least 35 inches. Unfortunately, I know from experience with the Ozone that my legs are too big for the medium,so I guess I'll be going for an Arcteryx R320A.
As for my rating, just based on the feel of the material and the look, this is still an outstanding harness. It's beefier than I expected, but is still light. 5 stars if it fits you.
Thats good stuff
-can take repeated 10- 15 foot falls and feel no pain
-I have used this for about a year now and have put it through the ringer squeezing through tight slots and scraping it in corners and it seems to be holding up very well. (happy with the durability)
-laminated/plastic coated gear loops make racking easy and carries lots of gear well
-I have a size 32 waist and the medium snugs down nicely with full padding around my waist. the small also fit but left about an inch gap of webbing against my waist.
overall it is a great all around harness for multi pitch trad routes as well as the occasional sport cragging harness.
Best Harness I Have EVER USED
I have the older version of this harness (Black Diamond says its only a different color, no other changes)
The harness is great and I like the fact that it is a molded shape. It fits very well and is great to belay, climb, and hang in.
I have also worn the high end Arcteryx R300 harness.
The R300 wins in comfort, but only by a bit
I prefer the Chaos gear loops, although not as big, they are better to clip
I also like the fact that the haul loop is burly and full strength on the Chaos
The Chaos wins for me, because it cost me less money, but if I were doing more alpine routes or long approaches I would have kept the R300
I first got the Chaos in a medium as I'm a 33 inch waist. It was really snug and the leg loops were crazy tight. So, I moved up to the large and the legs are still a bit snug but the waist is perfect. Moving from an old BD momentum harness I miss the adjustable leg loops but otherwise find this harness much more comfortable, lighter and equally utilitarian. The full strength haul loop in back was essential for me and this was the BD option that carried that feature without being an ice-specific harness. So far I've climbed on it about 7 days and I'm loving it.
the ONLY reason that I didn't give this harness a 5-star review is the non-adjustable leg loops. if I were using this strictly for the summer or indoors then this would have worked out great. the harness is ridiculously comfortable. the non-adjustable leg loops just weren't going to cut it for me though as i wanted to be able to maybe wear some warmer clothing at times. i ended up going with the BD Aspect instead. I'm about a 33 in waist and the waist sizing on the medium was just great. fully recommend this harness if you're not going to need to worry about the adjustable leg loops.
Neutral Reviews:
Comfortable harness with some drawbacks
1. First, it could be hard to fit right. I wear 30 waist/32 inseam pants and my small BD Chaos is too big. I have to tight it too much so it becomes really shifted and decentered. One of 4 gear loops is almost unreachable. Indoors it's not a problem at all, but outdoors it's a real drawback.
2. Second, it's hard to put on and (especially) off. Speed buckle is really all about speed. They forget to say that "speed buckle" means "slow speed buckle", not "high speed" for sure. It's slow to tight and extremely slow to loose. Leg loops are also awkward (too tight) when you are putting this harness on and off.
Final line: a comfortable indoors harness with an extremely high (for its quality) price tag.
