Because safety harnesses come in different sizes, it's important to measure yourself and make sure you get a harness whose dimensions match your body.
Wearing a harness that's the wrong size for you can cause discomfort and restrict your movement, making it harder to get the job done – and in the event of a fall, the forces may not be distributed evenly across your body, increasing the risk of fall arrest injuries.
Unfortunately, there is no standard sizing system for safety harnesses. Different manufacturers size their harnesses differently. For example...
- Kratos Safety harnesses are typically made in just one Universal size. These harnesses can be adjusted to suit wearers with chest sizes between 98 and 128cm, waist sizes between 70 and 115cm, and heights ranging from 160 to 200cm.
- Most G-Force safety harnesses are available in a size called M-XL that's suitable for chest sizes between 90 and 120cm, waist sizes between 85 and 120cm, and heights ranging from 170 to 185cm. Some of their harnesses are additionally available in Small and XXL sizes for workers whose measurements land outside those ranges.
- Petzl harnesses use numbered sizes: Size 0, Size 1 and Size 2. Typically, a Size 0 full body harness from Petzl has 44–59cm leg loops and a 65–80cm waist belt, while the Size 1 has 47–62cm leg loops and a 70–93cm waist belt. Go up to Size 2 and you're looking at 50–65cm leg loops and an 83–120cm waist belt.
You get the idea. Safety harnesses aren't like shoes, where a UK Size 9 is always a UK Size 9. If you're a Small when wearing a G-Force harness, you might find that a Size 0 Petzl harness fits you fine… or you might need to go up to Size 1.
For this reason, it's important to measure yourself before selecting a safety harness for work at height.
What to Do
- Use a tape measure to measure your waist, chest and thighs, as well as your height from head to toe.
- When purchasing a safety harness, check the manufacturer's sizing information to see which size matches your body measurements.
- Before you start working at height, make sure you don your harness correctly and adjust the straps to fit your body. You don't want it to be uncomfortably tight, but it can't be too loose either. Our 'How to Wear a Safety Harness' infographic may come in handy here.
Here at Safety Harness Direct, we stock certified safety harnesses for a variety of uses and in a range of different sizes. Hit the button below to visit our online shop, or get in touch for expert harness sizing advice from our customer service team.
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