[Pete Walen]

Older harnesses are a pain. (Ask this old guy with back problems.) The newer Randall-May/Kilpatrick version (the one Piperrat pictured) looks to be much better.

The object is to get the weight of the drum as high up as possible, so the majority of the weight is carried on the shoulders, hence passed down through the spine (the way the body is designed to carry weight) and to the feet. Fewer back problems "later in life" is the goal...