Blue Ice Choucas Light Harness

Simplicity and safety whilst feeling like you’re wearing almost nothing – that’s the Choucas Light Harness from Blue Ice.

On first acquaintance the Choucas Light Harness looks almost like nothing. A toy or a piece of lingerie even! But not a piece of safety equipment. Surely? But actually for skiers, glacier travel and easy (maybe even not so easy) alpinism it can be everything you need. A favourite with ski alpinists, ski rando racers, mountaineers and mountain guides, there is a lot going for this featherweight.

At 84g for a size small I think it’s still the lightest (???) harness on the market. You can put it on without lifting a foot meaning it can be put on whilst wearing skis and security comes from a simple system. There are no buckles at the waist to thread or double back, just a plastic clip whilst aluminium keepers secure the leg loops. The security at the waist comes from 2 tie in loops, rather than a central belay loop – the plastic is just to stop it falling round your ankles. For those who look at the leg loop attachments and think “woah, they can’t be strong enough” Blue Ice made sure that the Choucas Light conforms to the CE/EN 12277 type C climbing harness certification – it’s as solid as any other harness out there.

It’s quite easy to talk about minimalist kit in negatives. It doesn’t have padding, it doesn’t have real buckles, it doesn’t weight very much – but many of these “negatives” are positive. The Choucas Light does have two (albeit small) gear loops, it does have ice screw keepers on the legs loops and it does offer full protection. I’ve used mine for lots of ski mountaineering ands ski touring, I love the way I basically feel like I’m not actually wearing a harness. The same whilst mountaineering, I’ll use this harness for steady itineraries and have used it for some more technical days where I have to rappel although it’s not a harness I want to have to spend lots of time hanging in as it doesn’t have any padding.

One thing that Blue Ice mention is the sizing. They talk about it coming in small and when I received my test sample I was advised to take a medium rather than my usual size small (I have a 76cm waist, 175cm tall, weigh 68kg). Whilst the medium fits me and accommodates lots of winter layers, I do find that for the most part I would have been better with a small as once i”m down to just a base layer and soft-shell pants I feel like the harness is slipping down a bit. It’s definitely worth trying them on to find out where you stand.

I’d say that the Choucas Light Harness is perfect for minimalist missions where you need a harness but likely won’t use it (by this I mean hang in it) so much. Ski touring and mountaineering, ski racing,  easy alpinism and glacier travel are its forte. It’s light, comfortable (you barely feel like it’s there) and packs down to nothing. I’ve used mine a lot over a 6 week period and it’s also proving to be durable too.

Awarded 5 stars for basically achieving exactly what it sets out to achieve!

• Check it out for more information and buying options at the Blue Ice website.
• RRP: €70 or £70