Black Diamond Couloir

The Black Diamond Couloir harness has all the features you need for a glacier travel or mountaineering, and none of the features you don't.

I have used this harness for about 40 days for glacier travel and mountaineering and it has held up to use and abuse well.

The harness is lightweight with no padding, which is ideal for glacier travel and mountaineering when you only would need it for a rescue scenario. You'll be wearing it almost the whole time so you want it to be lightweight, low profile (so it fits under a backpack strap), and have it pack down small for when you don't need it.

It can be uncomfortable hanging from this harness due to the lack of padding, but since you're not planning on hanging from this harness, the padding would just be extra weight/bulk.

This harness is easy to use once you figure it out. If you're a girl, you can go to the bathroom without taking it off.

The harness has two thin gear loops which I found adequate for putting extra biners, prussiks, anchor cord, webbing, and the occasional ice screw on. Black Diamond also sells ice clippers, which are basically plastic caribiners that stay on your harness on special attachment points just to organize your ice screws.

The only gripe I have with it is you have to double back the main strap which can be hard, especially if your hands are cold, wet, or have gloves covering them.

I guess it depends on what you're using it for. If you want something to keep you comfortable while hanging around in the rock climbing gym, this is really too light for regular use.

While I do a bit of that, the main reason I bought the Couloir is for glacier travel, and for fall rescue and recovery in an emergency. As a hiking guide in the Rockies, there is sometimes a chance that someone will slip or fall, and I need to carry a kit, including a rope and harness.

Because this one is so light and compact, I can actually carry it without it being too much of a nuisance. Packs down to about the size of a pop can.