This is such an improvement from their last big wall harness.  It’s lighter and the padding is better. The molded (stiff-ish) gear loops make clipping easier and don’t leave any space between loops.  You need all the real estate you can get and this gives it to you without double stacking gear loops which would just make accessing the gear on the lower loops harder.  I cannot praise 2 belay loops enough.  There is so much going on downtown, you need the space.  And they are infinite loops - no stitching to get stuck on gear.  Finally… self-locking buckles.  Adjusting double-backed buckles on the old harness made you feel like you were going to die every time you did it.  Not sure why a fully rated haul loop is all the rage in harnesses like this?  It’s not like you are hauling from your harness.  But if that gets you stoked, it has one!

You get something for the weight… comfort.  The steps have extra wide stiff webbing and are on every step so whether you’re chillin’ at a hanging belay or top stepping, your feet get a tiny bivy to stand on.  The spreader bar is NOT round!  The flat bar gives you the extra inches you need for top stepping the low angle part of the route without having to step awkwardly on the bolt itself.  It has a loop for your leash at the top, not just your hand.  Get different colors so you can untie the knot that you tie yourself into when everything is connected.  You can also be spicy on C1 and let your ladders free solo, making less to manage. 

What I love: The guide at the bottom keeps the rope from grinding my small fingers. When jugging on a line, the tail of the rope will run over your hand.  Gloved or not, this sucks after about 2,999 feet, so the addition of the rope guide is awesome. The other thing I love is the single keeper hole at the top to secure your rope. All the carabiners I clip to it can freely spin all the way around.  Another benefit to these ascenders is the worlds tiniest pulley if you are ascending sideways or have this mounted upside down on your anchor. A little perk for no extra weight.

What I’m neutral on: the thumb tab to open it is much smaller than either BD’s or Petzl’s ascenders.  But you can view that as being more secure too.  I think it’s something you get used to after about 2 pitches and you wouldn’t think much of it after that.  

What I hate: WHY have a 2nd hole at the bottom almost nothing fits in???  The CAMP Compact Oval Locker does, but thats about it. I intentionally stock 7mm aluminum quicklinks to solve this problem but come on.