Wondering how to make a climbing harness out of webbing? We were as well so we wrote a post about it.

Climbing is an amazing sport that helps you to challenge your mind and body by pushing your limits. Ever experienced this wonderful activity? If you are a professional climber then you will know to climb without any climbing harness.

However, most of us are not experts in climbing and need safety gear during it. Harnesses are used for safety during rock climbing and if you don’t have one you can easily make it by using webbing.

In this article, I will give you complete information on how to make a climbing harness out of webbing. So, let’s begin.

What is webbing?

Webbing is a piece of strongly woven cloth used for making supporting seats, straps, belts, etc. With that being said, it can also use to make a strong harness for rock climbing or rappelling.

Making a Climbing Harness Out of Webbing

Going on a climb and don’t have any harness for your safety? Or just noticed that your harness is in bad condition because of overuse or sunburn? Well, whatever the case maybe you don’t need to worry because you can easily make a harness out of webbing.

There are several steps that you need to follow for making a strong harness. Not to mention that, if you will not follow these steps carefully then you are putting your life in danger. But before going on it in detail let me tell you first the ways of making a harness.

Ways of Making a Harness

There are some ways of making harness and you can choose any of them depending on your situation. However, here I am going to discuss the following ways:

1. Simple Harness
2. Hasty Harness and Swiss Seat

Simple Harness

As the name indicates, it is the simplest way of making a harness and you can make it after some essential knots without any complexity. Note that, it cannot be used for emergencies and doesn’t provide you much comfort like a hasty harness and swiss seat.

Hasty Harness and Swiss Seat

Speaking about the preparation of a hasty harness and Swiss seat, it’s a bit complex than making a simple harness. But these provide you more comfort greater protection and could use easily for long durations.

Things to Keep in Mind

First of all, buy a strong piece of nylon and why we are preferring nylon? It is because nylon is best among all but note that the piece of nylon which you are using for webbing should in strong condition and without any sort of frayed.

The length of webbing will depend upon the height of the person for whom you are preparing this. However, to give you an idea 20 to 22-foot-long pieces of nylon will be enough to start with.

The second thing which you will need to keep in mind is that we will use water knots for tying the two pieces of webbing. Water knots are most commonly used and it keeps your webbing tight therefore, we will be using it in this article.

How to make a Simple Harness out of Webbing?

A simple harness is very basic and you don’t need to use long rappels for it. However, it is not for critical situations and you can only use it in normal situations.

Step One

Firstly, make a loose water knot by using a free end of the webbing. Now insert the free end of webbing into this knot and tighten it properly. Furthermore, do this in a way that webbing is coming out from the opposite sides of knots.

Step Two

Now simply place the webbing around your back and hips with one upper strand as well as with one lower strand. After doing that, pass the lower strand between your longs and gently pull it forward.

Step Three

After these steps, you will see that three strands are meeting at the front of your body. Use a locking carabiner for fixing these strands in place and it's done. This is how to make a full-body harness out of webbing.

Hasty Harness

Hast harness is not only useful for common usage but you can also use it for emergencies as well. However, you need to tighten the knots often and it’s not much comfort but it’s good for safety.

Step One

To begin with, divide webbing into equal two parts; attach it to the person’s pants between the bottom and zip. Now pull both strands from behind the legs, separate these and wrap them around each leg.

Step Two

Tuck the webbing from the right side, also tuck it into pants and pull it again. Repeat this process for the left side as well.  Now grab the two open pieces of webbing and tighten the loose ends properly around your legs.

Step Three

Hence, make a triangle around the crotch for setting the webbing around your body. For further safety, wrap the remaining webbing around your waist one or two times.

Step Four

In the end, tie the free ends of the rope with one overhand knot and two safety knots. Now gather and attach all the parts of webbing by using a carabiner. I hope now it will clear to you how to make a full-body harness out of rope.

Swiss Seat Harness

Although the Swiss seat is not easy to tie it works great for emergency and critical situations. With its help you can easily conquer the tough rocks however, it is not much comfortable.

Step One

From that 20 feet long piece of webbing, take 5 feet and make a loop of your thigh size. Now tie this around your one leg with an overhand knot. Move it down to 7 inches, make one more loop for your second leg and again secure it by using an overhand knot. 

Step Two

In this step, you just have to pull the loops over your thighs. Make sure it fits nicely around your thigh and will stay in place.

Step Three

Wrap the remaining webbing around your waist in such a way that its ends meet on your belly button. Tie them together tightly and tuck the loose ends.

Closing Thoughts

So, this was all about how to make a climbing harness out of webbing. I have described the three ways and no matter which way you are using it’s always good to check your knots properly before going on a climb.

I hope you will enjoy this read and if you have any queries, feel free to ask. Also, don’t forget to share your valuable opinion with me.

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