Matt Cornell's Harness

[kevin bingham]

I was boasting about this sweet harness that a friend of mine rigged up for me the other week. I like it and find it very adjustable, simple and really everything I want in a saddle. I figured he should be the one to explain it so here he is talking about his revolutionary, or actually counter-revolutionary saddle. Rope saddles are the way to go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSQ8KahfcBU

 

[emr]

Thanks for posting. Very very interesting. It will also be interesting to see what others have to say about it. I am not exactly sure what I think about the lack of side d's. That would take some getting used to for me.

 

[tophopper]

It has side D's.....they are just rings

 

[kevin bingham]

Mine actually still has the keumerling side D's. I want to cut them off like Matt did because they are really in the wrong spot for D's to be. They are too far foward. Matt cut his side D's off and tied the rings as Side D's and he has put them in the perfect spot for him. Totally and completely adjustable.

 

[woodworkingboy]

With the rings attached by knots, is that a final product? Would there not be questions about safety with a harness sold to the general public where the knots would presumably require some degree of maintenance to remain safe? Just wondering....

 

[kevin bingham]

No I dont think this is a harness for sale at this stage. But you can make a harness like that at any stage. I think that is his point. Making a rope harness that is effective and for you is very possible, easy to do well and fairly simple. It is light, comfortable, very mobile and infinity modifiable. It is very easy to inspect. It doesn't need all those splices and rings, it can all be done with knots. Or all splices for that matter. The Kuemerling saddle is a good base because it has tunnels for the rope to run through.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Meh, I'll pass.

 

[Koala]

Thanks for sharing. Really interesting.
But like it has been said before I guess with all that knots it can become dangerous if it has to be sold to anybody.
The fact that it can be modified as you like can be a great advantage, but it can also be a factor of great risk.
Anyway I like it, and I appreciate his effort to try to make a saddle that is simple,light,effective and safe.
That is what I look for in a saddle.

 

[bonner1040]

I dont think he is trying to sell it. It seems like he really just wanted to share the idea as something that anyone could do and make for themselves.

In any event it is a novel idea for sure. I use anchor bends everyday, and imagine that with the thinner cord they would set pretty tight, a little lockstitching and a backup knot easypeasy.

I like it Matt!

 

[emr]

It has side D's.....they are just rings

Oops, my bad. I was thinking they were placed lower and more in front of the climber. I personally don't see an issue with all of the knots. If you can't be trusted to tie a couple of knots and keep them dressed and set, you shouldn't be doing tree work. Not to mention, this is one guys saddle made for him and his buddies. That is way different than Buckingham putting it out. I doubt that I will ever climb in a saddle that I make like that, but it would be a lot of fun to play round with.

 

[bonner1040]

If you can't be trusted to tie a couple of knots and keep them dressed and set, you shouldn't be doing tree work.

+a million

 

[woodworkingboy]

That seems similar to saying that if anyone ever had a biner or snap open when not so desired, you shouldn't ........ The other thread would say otherwise, I believe. Not a lot of absolutes guaranteed when it comes to people. Just saying ......

 

[emr]

That's not the same thing. The same thing would be if I said about biners...... If you can't be trusted to open and close a biners properly you shouldn't be doing tree work.

You can have biners and snaps open up even when used properly and I guess certain knots could do the same thing. Both are very unlikely to happen when using your equipment properly.

I never said anything about accidents happening or how safe the knots are. I just think it's not fair to knock a product because there are knots in it and to tie knots you must have at least a basic understanding of ropeworking.

 

[woodworkingboy]

I follow your reasoning. I think it is the knots that are out of sight that got me thinking about it. Anchor hitches were they? I know it's a trustworthy knot.

 

[emr]

It is hard to inspect them when they are under your but aren't they. When I use the anchor bend,I don't even use a stopper knot. I think if I were to make a saddle like that I would use stopper knots where necessary.

 

[DMc]

Thanks for posting that, Kevin. Kudos to Matt for coming up with a novel design and for being willing to share it with nothing more to gain than it might help a fellow climber.

I have played around with some saddle designs that had super high freedom of movement and was not pleased. It was probably just that I had climbed so many years in the Bry-Dan saddle that had a single front attachment point, but I found I missed the fact that the saddle did not want to come back to center on its own more than the freedom I gained with the extra movement.

It would also be interesting to see that saddle with the climber fully inverted just to be sure that the center of gravity did not shift so far as to make returning upright awkward or challenging.

Dave

 

[woodworkingboy]

I know that many folks have seen the photos of Jerry's hand made saddle as shown in his book. It sure strikes as a minimalistic design. Beautiful too, and the hardware.