When to retire a climbing harness

[Montana_Sam]

I'm curious what the communities thoughts are on when to retire a climbing harness...

My current saddle is a 2011 Petzl Avao, which for all it's hard abuse shows very little wear and tear, no fraying of the stitching, everything is in great shape. The saddles I learned to climb in were easily 20+ year old leather/canvas contraptions that the Forest Service kept in wooden military surplus crates...

Thanks!

 

[KostasVolos]

I was a rock climber from when I was 14 years old until my mid thirties . We used to have as a rule that a harness should be replaced
either after a major fall or after five
years of heavy use .

Only exception was with a full dyneema Metolius Safe Tech harness which I kept for about 10 years and had quite a few major falls with it also .
It was built like a tank !
It could arrest a fall no matter where on it you had actually tied the rope .

 

[Montana_Sam]

Rock climbing harnesses and ropes are a whole different story...taking big falls and shock-loading the gear repeatedly...I wouldn't doubt you'd retire the gear after a few years.

 

[sean donato]

I've had my saddle for years, but I'm not hard on it and don't hardly climb trees anymore. My work harness gets inspected daily be me, and yearly by the company we get them from. Basically once they show signs of heavy wear, any bad stitching, frayed at where clasps connects, tares, thin fabric, or straps. Anything wrong with the d rings, or rope bridge they are trashed. Even the little loops to hook tools to. If they break and the inspector sees it, they get replaced. They can be over kill, but sometimes we basically live in them, and have a lot of gear strapped to them too. I'm sure insurance has a lot to do with it as well.

 

[Badspeler]

I was taught to never trust safety gear, I have cut loops off and have modified my equipment for hanging bags and providing extra spots for tools or wedge bags etc, a better place to use a loose tie rope you get the idea, But if i question my equipment its time for replacement. If you are questioning it, i would suggest a new rig.