I'm a firm believer in backing up under the right circumstances. I'm a rope and tower rescue specialist for Lansing fire department in Lansing Michigan. We back everything up to have a margin of safety in case of failure. That being said, I am also a rock climber. The sport of rock climbing really has very little margin for error. We routinely tie into a single rope at a single belay point and shock load dynamic rope hundreds of times without a second thought. I honestly can't tell you if I have ever heard of a climbing related incident related to equipment failure. Failure nearly always comes at the fault of the user. The more complicated a system is, the more possibility of clipping in to the wrong rope etc. and making a mistake. The kestrel is a well thought out and designed harness. The harness itself will not fail under its intended use, nor will the rigging if properly tied etc. My motto is keep it simple, use quality rated equipment, check your knots twice and trust your equipment.