Black Diamond is a company of users.

Walk into HQ, and you’ll find designers and engineers huddled around tables, scheming up designs, talking about recent climbs, sharing beta on trails for a post-work run, or testing a current product in the QA Lab.

What a BD employee does outside comes back into the office and influences the design process.

This design process revolves around users making great equipment that falls seamlessly into the rhythm of mountain missions and a lifestyle focused on the outdoors.

Recently, we sat down with two BD employees who were integral to designing and producing the new Zone Harness. Product designer Baylee Vogler and product developer Kyle Giaquinta explained the new innovative updates to BD’s award-winning performance climbing harness.

“The Zone Harness is well-loved, and a lot of people climb in it—it’s your go-to sport climbing harness,” explained Baylee. “But we wanted it to have more of an individual Zone identity.”

While updating an inline product can be challenging, as a company of users, there was already a lot of feedback on what did and didn’t work about the old Zone.

“Having that user feedback was really important in figuring out, ‘what do we fix and what do we just leave alone?’” said Kyle.

UNEXPECTED INSPIRATION

The new Zone Harness features laminated construction, meaning there are no sewn edges on the harness around the webbing.

This solution was necessary since key feedback on the old Zone was that it was lightweight but uncomfortable.

“We looked into how harnesses are traditionally designed, and they are typically sewn inside out and then flipped,” explained Baylee. “This means there is a clean edge, but you have a ridged edge of seam allowance—this can make it uncomfortable.”

The idea for a laminated harness came from an unlikely source.

“We sit next to the footwear designers, so we can see their prototypes and stuff they are working on,” said Baylee. “When we were looking at the shoe tongues, we thought that was pretty cool. They weren’t actually stitching anything; it was all laminated.”

“Yeah,” Kyle added. “This is where we were able to take that technology and apply it to something totally new.”

CONTOUR EDGE TECHNOLOGY

Baylee explained how Contour Edge Technology works:

“We took the idea of a progressive edge from a shoe tongue, and by trying different materials, we were able to get a softer edge on the harness that would conform to your body while still maintaining all the structure on the inside of the harness. The Contour Edge Technology creates a seamless transition between your body and the harness, instead of this aggressive transition between your soft body and a really rigid piece of webbing.”

This allows the Zone Harness to remain lightweight while greatly increasing comfort while climbing.

Baylee also elaborated on the key updates to make sure the new Zone is comfortable for all bodies.

“We’ve also improved our fit across the entire harness line, specifically making improvements to the women’s fit,” said Baylee. “Through focus groups and extensive field testing, the Zone was designed with women’s proportions, rise, and fit in mind.”

Along with making the harness more comfortable, Kyle and Baylee wanted to make sure the harness was still performance-focused. The Zone features large overmolded gear loops that are durable and optimally shaped for easy unclipping when at a bolt.

Already, the new Zone Harness is a proven high-end, performance harness. BD Athlete Connor Herson wore final prototypes during his summer of sending the hardest trad routes in the world, including the first 5.15 trad route—Drifters Escape.

When we were looking at the shoe tongues, we thought that was pretty cool. They weren’t actually stitching anything; it was all laminated.

—Baylee Vogler, Product Designer

Molly climbs The Thumb on Lone Peak.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Molly Malone is Black Diamond Equipment’s copywriter. Her expertise in outdoor apparel and equipment comes from a decade-long love affair with backcountry splitboarding and climbing. She likes low-angle powder laps on high-avy days and sending long desert splitters.