Objects Database

Joe Brown Waist Belt

Accession Number

377.2014.1

Object Name

Joe Brown Waist Belt

Created

29/10/2014

Creator

Hermione Cooper

Accession Date

29/10/2014

Brief Description

Bright yellow waist belt with plastic buckle

Materials

nylon webbing, plastic

Dimensions

130(l) x 5(w) cms

Number Of Objects

1

Inscription Description

On label "JOE BROWN EQUIPMENT FOR MOUNTAINEERING LLANBERIS & CAPEL CURIG WALES"

Colour

yellow, black

Maker

Joe Brown

Object Production Place

Wales

Provenance

Mountaineering as a pastime began in the early 1800's and for the following 100 years or so the exponents of the art attached themselves to a rope by simply tying it round their waist. This was fine when everything was going according to plan, but if you happened to fall off a rock face or tumble into a crevasse things got rather painful around the midriff!
Wrapping several coils of a separate rope around your middle and attaching them to the main rope with a karabiner helped spread the load a bit - then along came nylon tape or webbing around 1960.
A piece of wide tape would do the same job as several strands of rope and if leg loops were incorporated, which they soon were, a harness could be made. Troll Equipment perfected this system by sewing sewing waist belt and leg loops together to create one of the world's first sit harness - the Whillans.
So the waist harness we have here in the collection seems to be a fairly early one, probably 1970/80's and would have been attached to the rope with a karabiner. Lots of these waist belts were used where a serious fall was unlikely such as scrambling - which is why many have survived.
This one was kindly donated by Mountain Guide, Dave (Smiler) Cuthbertson.

Acquisition Method

Donated by Dave (Smiler) Cuthbertson

Acquisition Date

29/10/2014

Condition Check Date

29/10/2014

Rules

Spectrum : UK Museum documentation standard, V.3.1 2007

Modified

29/10/2014

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