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Safe Tech is the
culmination of a harness safety campaign that has been almost ten years in
the making! With Safe Tech Harnesses, we have all but eliminated the
concept of low-strength components on a climbing harness. In the
past, we tried to approach harness safety from an "inform and educate"
perspective. We used to think if we could just get everyone to use
their harness properly, we could eliminate harness-related accidents.
Well, we still believe education is a key element, but we are now
approaching the issue from an engineering standpoint. We are
building safety into the harness itself, so that when someone makes a
critical mistake (like belaying off a gear loop or tying-in improperly),
there is a backup system in place that will catch the mistake and nullify
it! While other manufacturers continue to try and make their
harnesses cheaper, we've gone the opposite way and continue to engineer
innovative, high-quality safety features. Metolius Safe Tech
Harnesses are manufactured with great pride right here in our cozy Bend,
OR shop!
All Safe Tech Harnesses are engineered to provide every possible extra margin of safety. Each component has been designed for maximum strength without excessive weight or bulk. Wherever possible, each component is engineered to withstand a load of 2250 lbf (10 kN). This is typically the maximum impact force rating of a modern climbing rope. All structural systems of the harness have been made as redundant and error-proof as possible.
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We heard (and witnessed) numerous accounts of climbers incorrectly using the haul loop to attach themselves to belay anchors. We also heard stories of climbers making various fatal errors and falling to the ends of their haul lines. A few lucky ones were saved by the full-strength haul loop on their harnesses. Safe Tech haul loops are rated to 3600 lbf -- as strong as the front tie-in points!
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After hearing stories of climbers who attached their
waist belts with the Velcro™ closure, then got distracted and forgot to
thread the buckle, we eliminated the Velcro™. The Safe Tech harness
won't stay on unless your thread the waist buckle.
Everyone
who has spent much time climbing has seen or heard about someone
forgetting to double-pass his or her harness buckle, often with
catastrophic results. Safe Tech webbing shows a different color
pattern when correctly double-passed. The Safe Tech waist buckle
shows the word "DANGER" if not correctly double-passed. If you ever
happen, despite the visual cues, to forget to double-pass the Safe Tech
waist buckle, it will STILL hold 2250 lbf! Never deliberately climb
with any of your Safe Tech buckles single-passed!
Stories
of gear loop failures are commonplace. Usually it's just gear that's
lost. Although, we've heard stories of dazed and exhausted climbers
on long descents mistaking a sling hanging from a gear loop for the anchor
sling through their tie-in points. They clip in with the wrong
sling, lean back, and go for the ride. Safe Tech Spectra gear loops
hold 2250 lbf.
We
saw so many cases of the rope, carabiner, or belay loop being routed
incorrectly through the harness tie-in points that we were convinced that
the tie-in points must be designed to maintain their strength even if used
incorrectly. A combination of Spectra rope locator and carefully
engineered construction yields strong, non-directional tie-in points -
even if they're not threaded correctly!
Many
accidents and injuries are the result of awkward falls where the climber
flips upside down. A correctly fit harness that is fine-tuned to
your particular physique will keep you upright and in balance in a fall.
That's why we designed the patented 3-D system to adjust waist, legs
AND RISE, giving you maximum safety and support.