Black Diamond Technician - Women's Review
Compare prices at 3 resellers Pros: Extra gear loop, ice clipper tool slots, lightweight for a trad harness
Cons: Adjustable leg loops are uncomfortable, no padding in the waist or legs
Manufacturer: Black Diamond
Our Verdict
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Black Diamond Technician - Women's | |||||
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| Awards |  |  | |  | |
| Price | $84.90 at Amazon Compare at 3 sellers | $90 List | $99.95 at Backcountry Compare at 3 sellers | $59.93 at REI Compare at 3 sellers | $49.88 at Amazon Compare at 3 sellers |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | Extra gear loop, ice clipper tool slots, lightweight for a trad harness | Lightweight, comfortable, and versatile | Comfortable, very durable, five gear loops, simple design | Lightweight, breathable, comfortable, and highly mobile | Comfortable, easy to clip rigid gear loops, great value, adjustable leg loop system is light and easy |
| Cons | Adjustable leg loops are uncomfortable, no padding in the waist or legs | High-rise might not fit everyone, less durable than other harnesses | On the expensive side, a bit bulky, stiff leg loops | Uncomfortable if leg loops don't fit you | Waistbelt doesn't have the best ventilation |
| Bottom Line | Good options for multiple disciplines but poor hanging comfort | The best all-around harness in our test group that is not specialized for any one thing but good at a lot of things | Our go-to for trad climbing and multi-pitching thanks to its durable design and accommodating gear loops | A sport climber's dream harness; comfortable, breathable and easy to move in | An excellent all-around model that is also affordable |
| Rating Categories | Technician | CAMP Supernova | Black Diamond Solution Guide | Solution | Momentum |
| Hanging Comfort (30%) | |||||
| Standing Comfort (25%) | |||||
| Features (20%) | |||||
| Versatility (15%) | |||||
| Adjustability (10%) | |||||
| Specs | Technician | CAMP Supernova | Black Diamond... | Solution | Momentum |
| Designed for these Disciplines | Sport, Trad, Ice | Sport, Trad, Ice | Trad, Multipitch | Sport | Sport, Trad |
| Weight in ounces (size small) | 12.9 | 12.8 | 14.1 | 12 | 12.2 |
| Gear Loops | 5 (4 rigid, 1 flexible) | 4 (rigid with flexible attachment points) | 5 (4 rigid, 1 flexible) | 4 (rigid) | 4 (rigid) |
| Haul Loop | Yes (not full strength) | Yes (2 clip in points) | Yes | Yes (not full strength) | Yes |
| Adjustable Legs? | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Self-locking buckle? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ice Tool Holder Slot | Yes (4) | Yes (2) | No | No | No |
| Waistbelt Construction | Fusion Comfort Technology (3 strands of webbing) | 3 mm EVA foam padding | Fusion Comfort Technology (3 strands of webbing) | Fusion Comfort Technology (3 strands of webbing) | Dual Core (2 thin bands of webbing with foam in between) |
| Special Features | Leg loops have same wide construction as waistbelt | Leg loops detach at the legs and not the waist for less bulk in the back | Extra padding in waistband | Leg loops have same wide construction as waistbelt | trakFIT leg adjusters are low profile and lightweight |
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Black Diamond Technician had a host of "all-around" features, including adjustable leg loops, four ice clipper slots, a wide fifth gear loop in the rear, a rear haul loop, and low profile releasable leg loop holders. It weighs 12.9 ounces in the size small that we tested.
Performance Comparison
Standing Comfort
The Technician is a slim and light harness, and it felt comfortable when standing around and belaying. The rise on this one is suited to those who like to wear their harness on their hips, and we didn't have any gaping at the waist or pressure points digging into us.
Hanging Comfort
We gave the Technician the lowest score in this review for hanging comfort. This is largely due to the weird construction on the leg loops, whereby there is almost more webbing than padding. The padding barely came halfway around our legs, so once we were hanging in it, all we felt was the webbing and buckle digging into our legs. We also weren't that impressed with the waistbelt either.
Discipline-Specific Features
The Technician has a host of great all-around features, which we listed above. If you want to own only one harness and like to mix it up a bit, from sport to trad to ice, then this could be the perfect harness for you.
However, we also require some good padding from our all-around harnesses for those hanging belays or marathon belay sessions, and this one just didn't deliver in that department. We understand that manufacturers are trying to one-up each other with lighter and lighter harnesses, but we'd take a few extra ounces on our trad harness if it meant we were more comfortable on a long route.
Versatility
At first, we thought the Technician would be a highly versatile harness, but after using it, we feel like we'd never take it on a multi-pitch route due to the uncomfortable leg loops. That made us knock down its versatility score a bit. However, it is versatile if you only do single pitch trad, ice or sport, and don't hang in your harness too much!
Adjustability
While this harness does have adjustable leg loops, they get more uncomfortable the more you have to loosen them. Once again, we wanted to give this harness a high score for this category but had to knock a few points off of it.
Value
For a jack of all trades harness, the Technician could be a good option for you. However, we preferred other, cheaper, Black Diamond models for almost all disciplines.
Conclusion
The Black Diamond Technician seriously missed the mark for us. We've loved a lot of BD harnesses over the years, and have given many awards in our reviews, but this one was uncomfortable and ill-suited for its intended purpose, long routes where comfort is key.
— Jane Jackson & Cam McKenzie Ring