CAMP Flash Harness Review

Flash Harness

Back in 1997 I bought my first climbing harness. It was a used (broke student) CAMP harness that I purchased from a colleague and was their lightweight offering at the time, fixed leg loops and lots of padding. It packed to about the size of a 1l Nalgene and despite all the padding was not very comfortable.

Step forward 20 years and I now have the CAMP Flash harness and my how things have changed.

The CAMP Flash is billed as a high performance sports climbing harness but that is not how I have been using it, although I am sure when I get around to projecting some routes this is the harness I will be using. This harness also excels as an alpine harness for the weight conscious climber. CAMP does make the Alpine Flash, which has adjustable leg loops, but my preference is for fixed leg loops.

In contrast to my 1997 harness this one is sleek and super light yet incredibly comfortable. The harness comes with 3mm of “honeycomb” like padding that gives comfort with very little added bulk. 3mm doesn’t sound like much but whilst hanging for 40 minutes doing crevasse rescue drills my legs and back felt surprisingly comfortable at the end. The single buckle is easy to use and stays snug. This minimal construction means that the harness packs down to around the size of an IPhone and weighs in at just 7.3oz (size small). Pretty nice for the weight and size conscious person.

I have used this harness to hang around and bolt sport routes, hang for crevasse rescue drills, climb light and fast alpine routes and spending the day top roping with clients. I have been super impressed with it and it still looks good as new.

If you are someone who is conscious about weight but not wanting to sacrifice comfort then look no further!

Written By: Colorado Mountain School Guide Ian Fowler