simarghu harness review Simarghu Harness Review

[GeeSaw]

Simarghu Harness Review...

 

Having used the old faithful TM V2 for many years thought I'd try the new kid on the block.

So for the past 5 months I've constantly been using the simarghu harness and I can honestly

say as much as it has it's good points the bad seem to outweigh the good.

 

Ok, let's get the ball rolling...

 

Floating bridge:

Pro's: Great concept & works well for work positioning when you get used to it.

Con's: Because of the harness design fitting a chainsaw clip is limited. Found when you're in certain positions in a tree you're chainsaw clip &

attachment points will have swivelled around your body also so at times you'll need to be a contortionist clipping your saw on/off or will have

to re-adjust position for easier access.

 

3 bridge positions:

Pro's: Great concept for a range of work positions.

Con's: Bit of a gimmick i.m.o, Let's face it you'll probably try all three & stick with the original supplied position, but it's nice to have other options.

 

Gear attachment points:

Pro's: Ok this harness has more attachment points than I've had Sunday dinners so you won't be short of somewhere to hang your gear.

Con's:  None it's a kit junkies wet dream!

 

Waist & leg buckles:

Pro's:  Chunky & feel sturdy

Con's: None I can see

 

Bridge rope:

Pro's: Does what it says on the tin. Fitted with a Single attachment ring but plenty of room for another ring if needed or you just want to

sound like a jailer every time you move.

Con's: Never got this problem with the TM so It's probably the way this harness has been designed but personally I found the bridge rope

too long & could only get a short pull on my main line so ended up having to shorten the bridge. The only downside having to perform a

little jig in order to squeeze into harness with layers on.

 

Side attachment D's:

Pro's: Great concept & very handy having 2 side attachment points.

Con's: They are an ABSOLUTE ball ache! Side D's do not remain rigid & keep folding in so clipping in/out is not a quick easy process 

You'll constantly find yourself wasting time folding the buggers  out in order to perform what should be a quick simple task which

gets more annoying than a crotch full of wood chip!

 

Leg Loops:

Pro's: Looks sturdy & doesn't have elastic to ping back & whip ya.

Con's: Feels awkward and doesn't sit right when you have the harness on, this seems to rectify it's self slightly when you're in the tree

but definitely doesn't feel quite right or naturally comfortable.  On frequent occasions feels like ya crotch is being tortured by a Turkish wrestler!

 

Leg loop retaining straps:

Pro's: None I could find. Would be better off with a bit of blue string tied with a granny knot.

Con's: Absolutely useless! The Velcro  wears away within a short time & the straps will gradually loosen & un-feed as the buckles do not

retain a good grip to fasten the straps securely enough with usage. I constantly had to tend the straps or they would loosen, un-feed &

eventually come off on one side as I found out. Have since fed straps back through lower strap & fastened with tape hopefully this will suffice.

 

First aid kit strap (if indeed it is one):

Pro's: None. Wouldn't hold a jelly baby for more than 5 mins!

Con's: Well let's face it, about as useful as a fart in a spacesuit! If you put your first aid kit under this strap it will be on the ground quicker

than the first branch! So, you'll end up not bothering or having to fashion something like an additional quick release webbing strap to hold it in position.

 

So to summarise.....

All in all the simarghru harness seems like a great bit of kit on paper although after time spent using it, it quickly turns into the harness from hell.

As much as I've persevered & tried to make this harness work it's definitely more of a pain than a pleasure to work with & after shelling out a

wopping amount of hard earn't cash on it I honestly feel a bit conned!

 

While the manufacturer markets the Simarghru as a 'game changing' new harness! I feel it falls short of their boast. Yes it has some great

concepts but definitely feels rushed in places & needs to go back to the drawing board for refining.

So, Is this harness worth the money? HELL NO!!!!!!  

There are many harnesses on the market these days at a fraction of the cost, you'd be better off saving ££££'s & go for a cheaper alternative that

does the job just as well if not better.

 

Climb safe!

[Craig Johnson]

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts on your experience using the Simarghu Fire Harness. As someone involved in the design, thanks for your positive feedback on some of the features.  The harness has been designed with as much adjustment as possible in order to create optimum fit and balance.  It has been on the cards to produce a video showing what difference the adjustments make to the balance and loading of the harness.  My apologies that we have not yet managed to get to it - simply too busy.  We will however try to make this a priority.

 

Floating Bridge

This was specifically designed to stop the harness moving around  the body with the waist belt (and tool attachment points) remaining still as only the floating bridge should move with the body, so I am uncertain what you mean here?

 

3 Bridge Positions.

Glad you found this useful, each bridge position is designed to have a slightly different balance point to suit different peoples body mass.  It also provides the ability to have 2 independent bridges.

 

Bridge Rope

This is specifically designed to allow for shortening without removal of the factory fitted stopper knots.  This allows climbers to fine tune bridge length to suit their needs, in combination with the adjustment of the floating bridge.

 

Side 'D's'

I tend to use the lower D's for work positioning so I don't find the rings an issue as my harness is a very good fit, but I am probably biased  ;-).   I do however feel that the option of having 2 side rings outweighs any negatives.

 

Leg Loops

The reason for not using elastic in this area is because future developments will include a fall arrest chester which can be attached to the base harness and it requires tape rather than elastic to comply with fall arrest regs.

 

Leg Loop Retaining Straps

This has been addressed with a slight modification which seems to have fixed the problem.

 

First Aid Strap

This was not actually designed for first aid kits, but to cover the buckle for the Chester attachment.  However, I like your idea of the buckle, I might pinch that ;-)

 

Summary

Although we have received lots of positive reviews  we are disappointed that you have not found the harness to your personal liking.  We would have preferred to keep the pricing lower, however, by insisting on UK manufacture, in relatively small quantities, this obviously affects a comparison price had it been manufactured in Asia or Developing European Countries.  We welcome all comments and thanks for the time you have put into your review.

 

Team SIMARGHU

[jones]

horses for courses I guess.  I have this the simarghu and previously owned the treemotion.  I prefer the simarghu, not by much but I still think it offers improvements over the tree motion

I've not had a problem with the velcro on mine. I got mine when they first came out so its had a bit more use than yours I expect

[Treerover]

That is a cracking in depth review.
I think it’s to be applauded that you have persevered and tried to get the best out of the harness before giving it your thoughts. I think that’s very commendable .
I guess at the end of the day we have to remember to be objective and that what suits one person might not suit another........but all that said, you do highlight some pretty fundamental design flaws that should have evolved at the test stages and been sorted before its ‘fanfare unleashing’ on the greater money spending populous .
I can’t help but feel that the purchasers are doing the R & D here to some level and not the designer/manufacturer . Sorry Craig.
I also can’t help but be slightly suspicious of a product that came onto market at what can only be described as a pretty sensational price, only to be discounted heavily within a few months of release.
All this said, it must be pretty bloody difficult to design a harness for our profession !!!!

[jrose]

Slightly annoyed to read this, as I've only just ordered myself one from Honeys this afternoon.

 

Will post my own experience in a week or so, once I've tried it out.

 

As an aside, I'm a 34" waist and wasn't sure which size to order, so went with M-L to accomodate saw trousers, jumpers etc. Anyone reckon I would be better off with a S-M, in which case I'll email Honey Bros and ask them to change it before it gets sent out?

[Rich Rule]

I'm a 33-34 ish waste and needed the small one.

 

 

[jones]

On 4/21/2018 at 18:40, jrose said:

Slightly annoyed to read this, as I've only just ordered myself one from Honeys this afternoon.

 

Will post my own experience in a week or so, once I've tried it out.

 

As an aside, I'm a 34" waist and wasn't sure which size to order, so went with M-L to accomodate saw trousers, jumpers etc. Anyone reckon I would be better off with a S-M, in which case I'll email Honey Bros and ask them to change it before it gets sent out?

Don't be too put off by the review.  I'd be surprised if you don't like it.  Will follow this thread so please update us

[Chrissy]

One of the guys has one and loves it.  I had a go in it but it wasn't really the right size for me to get a good feel.  I like the design though

[Steve Bullman]

Whats the function of these @Craig Johnson ?

[jrose]

1 minute ago, Steve Bullman said:

Whats the function of these @Craig Johnson ?

If I understand right Steve, there are three holes you can fit the bridge to which adjusts how your body weight sits in the harness, so in the pic the bridge is through the middle hole and the one you show would be the top.

 

From watching the promo video, you can also run dual bridges? I could be completely off though!