Black Diamond Momentum Review

Likes
This Black Diamond harness has it all: comfort, great gear loops, sleek design, full strength trail line loop, and beefy belay loop. The gear loops are nice because they are rigid, stick out from the harness, and are easy to clip. They are also right next to each other; there is not that annoying gap for that special plastic biner for ice climbing protection (sorry ice climbers). The leg loops are easy to release, actually much easier to release than on the higher end Black Diamond harnesses. The material inside the waist and leg loops is cozy and comfy.

Dislikes
The main dislike is that there is no self-locking (speed adjust) buckle for the waist belt. There is the Black Diamond Momentum SA model (which stands for Momentum Speed Adjust), but to get the speed adjust waist buckle you also must get buckles on the leg loops (a deal-breaker for us) and pay an extra $15. Another $15 doesn't break the bank, but it downgrades the harness from "ridiculously good deal" to just "good deal." Hopefully Black Diamond will simplify everything by adding a speed adjust buckle to the waist belt of this basic model and then get rid of all their non-speed adjust models.

Best Application
This is a great all around harness. It works well in the gym, at the sport crags or on multi-pitch climbs. Chris McNamara would even take it on El Cap and probably really like it.

Value
This is hands down the best value in harnesses. In fact, it is even cheaper than the Black Diamond Bod Harness, something we still can't figure out. The Bod is way less comfortable or usefuland costs more??

Other Versions
There are six versions of the Momentum line including the Black Diamond Momentum, Black Diamond Momentum SA, Black Diamond Momentum AL, Black Diamond Momentum DS and the women's versions: Black Diamond Primrose SA, Black Diamond Primrose AL. They all share similar padding and gear loops but use different waist and leg tightening systems. They are vary widely in cost.