12/22
The Petzl Sitta, it’s one of the most expensive harnesses, and with good reason. This harness is at a higher price point due to the amount of technology they had to put into the design of this harness. And I’ve got to say that the harness is worth the money.
I used this harness exclusively last ice climbing season, and I also used it this year for sport climbing. So I’ve got a fair amount of time into it, and with that being said I’ll highlight some things that I’ve noticed.
The first thing I will mention is the leg loops. So the Sitta has non-adjustable leg loops. Now you may be thinking that you’d want adjustable leg loops for ice climbing due to layering, and while that’s totally correct I was surprised by the amount that the leg loops would accommodate. So far the only time where it got restrictive was when I was wearing my R2 Techface pants underneath my dual aspect bibs, but even that was bearable. Personally I really like non-adjustable leg loops, as there’s no messing around with the position of them. And that's great because normally the position they get into is the best for hanging pressure on your thighs.
Now that’s a great segway, the sitta is actually very comfortable to hang/belay in. I know that seems pretty weird due to the fact that the sitta really doesn’t have any padding, but that technology comes in. So rather than having traditional foam the sitta has basically cords of dyneema through the panels of the harness, and it’s super smart because these cords offer support and evenly distribute weight, thus leading to comfortable hangs and belays.
My only real gripe with the harness comes to the gear loops, and more with the size and amount. Gear storage is precious, and I definitely found myself running out of places to put things on the harness, I think the rear gear loops play a part in that because they are small and hard to reach. This is really why I switched over to the Aquila for ice climbing, and actually I’m curious to try out the sitta again this ice season. I’ll make sure to update this once that happens.
1/1/23
Funny how I was thinking I would get back in the Sitta by the end of the season, but in reality got back in it yesterday. So with that being said here's what I thought about being back in it.
For starters I had forgotten how much I actually liked to ice climb in it. It does offer a lot of comfort, and at times you forget that you're even wearing it. And that's great because it means it doesn't get in your way.
Now my one issue with it was the gear loops and dealing with racking, but surprisingly I didn't have any problems with it yesterday. And it's now making me start to think that I wasn't racking my gear the best way last season.
And speaking of racking gear I put the new Petzl Caritool on the Sitta and it worked way better than the last Caritool, and I might even add that it works better than the new Caritool with the new Aquila.
I'll have to spend a bit more time with both harnesses to really give an opinion on what harness setup is better, but regardless I'm kinda excited to climb with the Sitta again!