The Solution came first. So did the problem.
The Black Diamond Solution was widely recommended when I bought the first harness. It did its job, and I ended up buying three, including one that remained new. The Solution still has a role at the climbing gym. On Via Ferrata, however, the fixed leg loops kept slipping towards the knees. That was the detail I could no longer ignore.
When equipment gets described as the best, it is easy to buy the conclusion without knowing whether the reasons apply to you. That was part of this first purchase. Experience supplied a more useful requirement for the next one: adjustable leg loops. If I was paying for another harness, that adjustment had to be there.
Buying the supposed best was still only a starting point.
The Arc’teryx AR-395a had the reputation and the adjustable loops. At the time, buying it felt like moving to the best available option. The adjustable loops addressed the requirement that came from the Solution. The reputation alone could not establish how it compared with every other harness.
Is it a good harness? Yes. Is it the most comfortable harness available? I cannot make that comparison from the two models used for this purpose. There have been moments sitting in the AR-395a when it hurt, and I would have preferred not to feel that pain. The Solution has hurt too. Neither experience supports the idea that an expensive or frequently recommended harness makes discomfort disappear.
The second purchase was a different decision.
When it was time to buy another AR-395a, I did consider other brands. By then the question had changed. There was real experience with this model, a clear preference for adjustable leg loops and a limited budget. Exploring alternatives meant paying to find out whether something else would be better. I stayed with the known model and bought a different colour.
That is an important distinction if you are using this page to choose a harness. A repeat purchase can mean that the equipment meets the requirements and that the next experiment costs too much. It does not have to mean that the search for a better fit has ended. I remain interested in other harnesses with adjustable loops.
What this decision can tell you about yours
Start with the problem the harness needs to solve for you. In this case, the useful lesson came from the leg loops, not the brand name. Once that requirement was clear, the AR-395a made sense and remained familiar enough to buy again. If your existing harness has a different limitation, you may reach a different conclusion.
The AR-395a remains in the everyday climbing setup because it provides the adjustment I wanted and its behaviour is known. Comfort still has room to improve. That is the position after use: a good harness worth keeping, with a specific reason for choosing it and no need to pretend the alternatives have all been ruled out.