Harnesses / Belts

Alp Design Blitz chest harness. A very compact and light fully adjustable chest harness. Weight only 95g, but fits all sizes and is very effective. Consists of two parts: i. a thicker tape chest piece that fits around the waist or lower ribs to hold the caver closer to the rope (adjusted with a roll bar buckle), and: ii. a thinner tape (also fixed to thicker lower tape) that passes over the shoulders and pulls the chest jammer up the rope; this is closed with the same, very effective small buckle used on AV and MTDE chest harnesses. These two tapes can be tightened independently to allow for both frog and ropewalking styles of ascent, and in general to alter caver position for long journeys on rope. Not nearly so solid as the MTDE Garma, in terms of carring equipment for rigging - but effective and affordable nonetheless.

Aventure Verticale Tecnirapid sit harness. Lightweight, highly adjustable, 'bum strap' sit harness. Those who have missed the old Petzl Rapide harness will be glad to see the Tecnirapid. A simple design that is very comfortable and is particularly suitable for club use. Also comes in three sizes: Small: 75 - 95cm / Medium: 75- 115cm / Large: 75 - 135cm

Beast Products caver's belt, square buckle. A very solid buckle to close a very solid belt, made in broad nylon tape webbing. As with the roller buckle belt, it comes in two sizes. Please specify which you require, size 1 small (34" waist) and size 2 big (42" waist) It bears repetition "there is no such thing as a belay belt, and if you hang in one of these, it will hurt a lot, at least"

Half circle maillon, 10mm, steel. Classic screw closure link for modern caving SRT harnesses. Can be used with all sit harnesses sold by Starless River; only the Petzl Omni may be used in its place with safety. Supplied as PPE.

MTDE Club sit harness. Lightweight and simple sit harness of the belt and legloop type. Fully adjustable leg loops and belt with no padding or reinforcement (this can be purchased separately). Created for club / outdoor centre use, but also well suited for narrow and arduous caves, or those where horizontal passage predominates. 44mm tape throughout, with two thinner tape gear loops, one each side. Competitive price for a harness which is very solidly put together from excellent materials - as with all MTDE kit!

MTDE Nino full body SRT harness. Primarily designed for children and youngsters from the age of four years and upwards, but will also work for small adult cavers and especially slightly - built ones (at which point it becomes a rather good deal for a full SRT set up!) Fully adjustable, this is *not* just a climbing harness - it has a low centre of gravity, and the usual excellent MTDE quick-adjust chest harness. It also provides a safe suspension system...a caver on a rope should not easily invert in this harness, even if they become very floppy... Another nice point is that the gear loops are in 26mm tape, with full strength sewing; so if an inexperienced caver clips in to one with a safety line, it is not a disaster. As you would expect from this company - a well thought out, well made piece of kit.

MTDE Piri chest harness (women's). Solid and efficient chest harness designed especially for women, with straps arranged to avoid the chest / breast area. As with the Garma, tightening and slackening off the harness is easily carried out using a single well placed buckle. Supportive design, facilitating a vertical posture on rope which saves energy (especially in the arms). MTDE should be congratulated for creating decent female specific kit! - see also the Traff oversuit. BUT NOTE - this harness works perfectly well for men of up to average - size too...

Petzl Fractio caving harness. A design well known to British cavers, it is a good combination of durability and convenience. Its key points are the double belt feature, offering greater support across the lower back, and the aluminium central attachment points that make getting the central maillon / krab off the harness much easier in narrow or nasty passage. This gives a slightly higher centre of gravity - a little less efficient, but perhaps less strenuous for the 'top heavy' caver. The new version for '11 has dyneema equipment loops and the leg loop reinforcement is TPU, not PVC (no, me neither). Otherwise, the same ease of donning as ever. Please specify Size 1 (waist 60cm - 95cm), or Size 2 (waist 90cm - 105cm)

Petzl Super Avanti caving harness. A classic design popular with British cavers, it is a good combination of durability and low bulk. The new version for '11 has dyneema equipment loops and the leg loop reinforcement is TPU, not PVC (no, me neither). Otherwise, the same easy adjustability and low attachment point as ever. Please specify Size 1 (waist 60cm - 95cm), or Size 2 (waist 90cm - 105cm)

A full specification SRT kit suitable for: novices, those whose need is for a simple and uncluttered setup, or simply those looking for an excellent deal! Comprising: MTDE Club harness, AV Spelshoulder chest harness, 10mm cowstails, combined safety / footloop in 8mm cord, Croll and Basic ascenders, Simple descender, two keylock straight gate snaplinks, two Axxis screwgates, steel oval braking snaplink. Held together with a 10mm steel Half Round maillon. All high quality and durable gear, with no corners cut; no need to discard this kit to cope with expedition rigging, longer pitches, or practising rope rescue. Why these components? i. The Club harness is one size to fit all - no need to second guess what sizes a club might need. ii. The Spelshoulder chest harness costs little more than the simple tape strap... but takes a quarter of the time to explain and put on. iii. Simple descender is a very appropriate tool for those starting SRT (braking with both hands, no risk of 'clutch and plummet') - and those who have done a lot, too! iv. All our cowstail snaplinks are keylock - much easier to clip and unclip at rebelays as they eliminate the risk of the closure snagging on ropes. Also as a straight gate, they are even less likely to unclip accidentally from a P hanger, than a bent gate. v. Axxis oval screwgates are also keylocks, and large enough (used as the descender attachment and hand jammer connector)to facilitate descender hard locks, and simple rescue techniques, respectively. vi. Every caver should have a braking krab! If not for their own use, then as an auxiliary connector, to set up pulley jammer systems, or in case of mid rope rescue...