Edelrid Ace
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This article appeared in Rock and Ice issue 247 (January 2018).
The weight-versus-comfort conundrum has boggled minds ever since we moved out of swami belts. Do you go ultralight and suffer numb legs, or do you lug the extra ounces to feel human? With the Ace, Edelrid proves that you can have comfort in a lightweight harness.
The Ace uses Edelrid’s new “3D-Vent Lite” technology—thin bands of webbing sewn into a three-dimensional shape—to distribute pressure, cut weight and allow breathability. The leg loops are non-adjustable, but their stretchiness and curved form hugs your legs, and Edelrid offers custom size combinations for the belt and leg loops.
For long project sessions, or on the flip side, endless belaying, nothing in the same weight class matches the Ace in fit and comfort.
You could use the harness for both rock and ice climbing, but the ice-clipper slots are smack-dab in the gear loops, which clusters things up, and the non-adjustable leg loops make a tight hole for alpine boots, so the Ace wouldn’t be my first pick for winter use.
The harness is, however, good for just about everything else—from projecting to send burns to all-day multi-pitch endeavors. If you could only own a single harness, the Ace is your quiver of one.
WEIGHT
-9.4 oz. (medium).
PROS
-Light, comfortable, breathable.
-Excellent “3D” fit.
-Custom size combinations.
CONS
-Small, difficult-to-clip haul loop.
-Ice-clipper slots overlap gear loops
BEST FOR
-Rock climbing quiver-of-one.