Sentinel AL-1 Climbing Harness

Description

Built for the long way up

The Sentinel AL-1 is our all-round alpine harness: light enough to forget on a long approach, supportive enough that you can still think straight after six hours hanging at a belay. It was designed around Australian rock — coarse granite, abrasive sandstone, and the kind of weather that arrives an hour before the forecast says it will.

Construction

The waistbelt is a single 25 mm high-tenacity nylon band floating inside a thermoformed EVA cradle. Load spreads sideways across the belt rather than biting into one edge, so the harness stays comfortable under a loaded rack. The foam is laser-perforated right through, which matters more than it sounds on a January afternoon on a north-facing wall.

Four self-locking anodised alloy buckles — two at the waist, one per leg — let you fit the harness over a base layer in November and over a hardshell and insulated pants in July, without changing size.

In the field

Four moulded gear loops hold their shape when the harness is unweighted, so you can find a cam without looking. The rear haul loop is rated for a tag line, not for climbing. The tie-in points are reinforced with an abrasion sleeve that wears visibly before it wears through — when the red indicator thread shows, retire the harness.

Care and retirement

Hand wash in cool water with a mild soap, rinse thoroughly, dry out of direct sun. Never store damp or near solvents, fuel or battery acid. Retire after any significant fall, after ten years from date of manufacture, or immediately if the wear indicator is visible — whichever comes first.