Black Diamond Technician Review

We laud the addition of the Technician to Black Diamond's lineup of harnesses, as they have been missing the versatile option that can do all styles of climbing. However, we lament that despite using the same Fusion Comfort Construction that is employed so effectively in the uber-comfortable Solution, the same effect is not replicated here. It's obvious to us that much of the comfort of the Solution comes from its suppleness, and for some reason, the waist belt and leg loops on this harness are stiff, rigid, and anything but soft. If this harness actually felt the same way that wearing a Solution does, it would be a no-brainer shoe-in for a top pick award. That said, we are happy that it has a large fifth gear loop on the back to accommodate the still pretty small rigid plastic gear loops found on the sides, and that they now offer a high-carrying capacity harness for less money than the overpriced Chaos.

Performance Comparison

The Black Diamond Technician is a versatile harness that is equally at home on granite slabs, as shown here, or in the mountains on long free or alpine climbs. It uses the same technology as the supremely comfortable Solution, but with a more versatile feature set.

Hanging Comfort

When hanging, we notice that the weight on one's body is fairly evenly distributed between the waist belt and the leg loops. Hanging in the Technician, we find that the more rigid waist belt has an effect on how this harness distributes the load, and we feel more pressure on the top of our iliac crest and in the middle of the lower back than if we are hanging in the softer Solution. The leg loops, despite also being more rigid in nature, do a just fine job of distributing the load over our hamstrings without cutting off circulation. We can't rate this harness as high as the Petzl Sama when considering hanging comfort, but we think it is better than the Petzl Sitta.

A large part of hanging, and belaying comfort, is centered on how the leg loops feel as they wrap around the inside of the legs. The Technician leg loops are not as comfortable as those on the Solution because they taper quickly to a thin strip of webbing.

Standing Comfort and Mobility

All of the harnesses in this review are relatively comfortable to hang out in around the crag, and so the complaints we are forced to point out in order to decide relative differences are minor. And so, the stiffness of this harness is noticeable when wearing it and walking around, in particular the leg loops seem to have a shape of their own that simply don't rest flush and snug against our legs. We notice that while the gear loops are plastic and rigid, they will still smush down against the body when trapped under pack straps, and so this harness is reasonably comfortable with a pack on. We don't want to be too harsh, but compared to the ultra comfortable Sitta, the most mobile and comfortable harness to wear, this one ensures that we feel very "present" in our harness.

Adjustable leg loops help one fine-tune the fit of this harness so that it perfectly suits the individual regardless of the amount of clothing they are wearing.

Features

As one would expect for a do-everything harness, the Technician has all the features one could ask for, and we feel they perform pretty darn well. It has four ice clipper slots for versatility carrying ice tools and screws in the winter, and adjustable leg loops so you can fine-tune the fit if you are wearing extra clothes.

The think black cord at the back of the Techinican harness works as a fifth gear loop that is easy to clip, and is the ideal place for extra belay gear, shoes, and a windbreaker. There is also a small 0kn rated haul loop, seen here with the BD logo on it, but the rear gear loop works just as well for this purpose.

The four rigid gear loops are not anywhere near as large as those found on the Petzl or Arc'teryx harnesses, a common "problem" with the design of all Black Diamond harnesses, in our opinion. However, this one has a very wide fifth gear loop in the back for hanging shoes, anchor building slings, and whatever else you may be carrying. One of our few complaints is that there is only one single keeper loop for the end of the waist belt buckle webbing, meaning a tab will be hanging down and loose if you fit on the small end of the spectrum.

Rigid plastic encased gear loops, like those found on all BD harnesses, make clipping gear very easy. You can also see the two ice clipper slots, mirrored on the other side of the body, that make this a great choice as an ice and alpine climbing harness.

Belaying Comfort

While belaying, the weight of your climber tends to be localized entirely in the leg loops, especially as they wrap around the inside of the legs. The Technician harness, with its adjustable leg loops, tapers aggressively in this area to a sharp-edged design before becoming just a piece of flat webbing. It is thinner and less comfortable against the inside of the leg than most harnesses we tested, and is a notable step down in comfort from the Solution or Petzl Adjama. While this isn't a reason that we would consider not buying the harness, we feel that if you're intending to put in serious belay duty at the sport cliff, you would likely be better off with a comfier model.

Lead belaying, as Peder is doing here in Chulilla, puts little to no stress on a harness or the person wearing it. However, when you need to lower your leader, most of the weight is on the insides of the legs, and the Technician is unfortunately not the most comfortable for this purpose.

Versatility

The Technician is a versatile harness, especially when it comes to rock, ice, and longer multi-pitch routes. We think it is roughly on par with the Arc'teryx FL-365 in that regard, but point out that it is far more affordable. Because of its rigid design and relative lack of comfort while walking, it isn't our top pick for mountaineering or glacier travel.

Compared to the rest of the harnesses in the Black Diamond lineup, the Technician is capable of carrying a ton of gear! This is easily one of the best traits of this harness, making it versatile enough for long routes. However, in this photo you can also see one feature we didn't like, the strap from the waist buckle has only one keeper loop so it hangs down into our gear while racked and climbing.

Best Applications

This harness is best used as a cross-over option between sport climbing, trad climbing, and ice climbing. In particular, it is a good fit for ice climbers who want to only buy one harness. If we were looking for a very versatile harness but only climbed rock, we would choose the Petzl Sama instead.

Hanging on the sloping ledge at the top of pitch 3 of the Naked Edge, in Eldorado Canyon, CO, testing the comfort of the BD Technician on one of the country's most classic free climbs.

Value

This harness retails for $85, which is a bargain when compared to other versatile all-season options such as the Sitta ($200) or the Arc'teryx AR-395a ($160). While it has roughly average performance, the relatively low price means we think it presents a pretty decent value.

Conclusion

The Black Diamond Technician fills a hole in BD's harness lineup by catering to those who like to climb dry rock in the summer as well as frozen ice in the winter, without having to own multiple harnesses to do so. We are a bit disappointed that it isn't as comfortable as the Solution, one of the comfiest harnesses we have every used, but feel like its feature set and price do a good job setting up the all-arounder for success.

Leading the first pitch finger crack of the Naked Edge in the Technician, a harness that easily carried a pair of shoes and a jacket on the back, and is equally at home on sport climbs as it is on long trad routes or ice climbs.