Patent ID: 8356692

Claim:
A harness system comprising: a waist belt assembly; a first releasable retainer attached to the waist belt assembly, shoulder straps, a back plate connected to the shoulder straps, and a release system comprising at least a first release strap connected to and extending from the back plate, the first release strap comprising a first section, a second section at least a first releasable connector in operative connection with the first releasable retainer, the second section of the first release strap being connected to the back plate, the first section of the first release strap being on the other side of the first releasable connector from the second section, the first section of the first release strap comprising a first fastener in the vicinity of an end of the first section of the first release strap releasably connecting the first section of the first release strap to the waist belt assembly and a second fastener between the end of the first section of the first release strap and the first releasable connector connecting the first section of the first release strap to the waist belt assembly, the first fastener requiring application of force in a first direction by the user to the end of the first section of the first release strap to disconnect the first fastener from connection with the waist belt assembly, the second fastener requiring application of force in a second direction, different from the first direction, by the user to disconnect the second fastener from connection with the waist belt assembly, each of the first fastener and the second fastener being required to be disconnected from connection with the waist belt assembly before the first releasable connector can be disconnected from operative connection with the first releasable retainer so that the first releasable retainer becomes disconnected from connection with the back plate and the back plate can be removed by a user while the waist belt assembly remains worn by the user.