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Which climbing harness is best for you depends primarily on your individual climbing preferences.
Are you a sport climber who likes to let off steam indoors or outdoors? Then you are well-advised with a hip climbing harness. You have the necessary freedom of movement in the upper part of your body, and a hip climbing harness is also somewhat lighter than, for example, a complete or full-body climbing harness. A hip climbing harness offers you decisive advantages, especially in terms of safety and comfort.
In this article, we have compared Petzl’s four very popular climbing harnesses Sama*, Adjama*, Corax* and Sitta* and give you the information you need to make the right decision between them.
Petzl Climbing Harness Comparison Table
To give you a quick overview here is a comparison table of the climbing harnesses Sama, Adjama, Corax and Sitta from Petzl:
| Climbing harness | Petzl Sama | Petzl Adjama | Petzl Corax | Petzl Sitta |
| Image |   * |   * |   * |   * |
| Climbing disciplines | Sport, Trad, Indoor | Trad, Multi-Pitch, Mountaineering | Sport, Trad, Mountaineering, Via Ferrata | Sports, Trad, Mountaineering |
| Special features | Best all-rounder, comfortable | Lots of space for equipment, comfortable, perfect for multi-pitch | Affordable beginner’s harness | Expensive professional harness, suitable for everything, light |
| Weight (standard size) | 14.6 oz | 17.1 oz | 17.3 oz | 9.5 oz |
| Material loops | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Guarantee | 3 years | 3 years | 3 years | 3 years |
| Price | $$ (check*) | $$ (check*) | $ (check*) | $$$ (check*) |
According to which Criteria are the Climbing Harnesses tested?
In order to make your choice easier, you should stick to those criteria that are considered relevant by experts and professionals.
For climbers, the following criteria play an important role when choosing a harness:
- Wearing comfort
- Operation
- Material loops
- Processing
- Price-performance ratio
- Weight
Other factors such as fit, adjustability and belt type make it even easier for you to decide on a particular Petzl product.
What can the Climbing Harness PETZL SAMA offer you?
The climbing harness Petzl Sama* is ideally suited for sport climbing.
You can wear the belt for many hours without any problems. The high wearing comfort, as well as the low weight of this climbing harness, make it possible that no signs of discomfort are noticeable.
Here the advantages of the Petzl Sama are summarized:
- High wearing comfort
- Low weight (around 14.6 oz)
- Fast locking system (DoubleBack buckle)
- Easily customizable
Thanks to the four gear loops you are in a position to carry enough gear comfortably and safely.
You can put the climbing harness on and take it off with just a few hand movements. The locking system makes this possible because it is kept simple.
Some experts are of the opinion that the areas of application of the climbing harness Petzl Sama are not only in the field of sport climbing. The climbing harness is also perfectly suitable for multi-pitch and via ferrata climbing.
The climbing harness from Petzl has a buckle, four material loops and also padding is available.
The Petzl Sama is a hip harness, a relatively minimalist climbing harness that scores highly with functionality. The front two gear loops are stiff, but the back ones are flexible so they won’t bother you under a backpack.
At the hip, the belt has a buckle, with which you can adjust the belt completely and uncomplicated. The padding of the Petzl Sama hip belt is made of EVA foam. The relatively wide cut additionally increases the wearing comfort.
If you are already a passionate sports climber, the Petzl Sama might be simply too heavy, especially if you practice speed climbing. Otherwise, this model from the manufacturer Petzl is a perfectly good and extremely practical climbing harness for indoor and sport climbing.
Here are the exact specifications and data of petzl.com:
- Material: polyamide, polyester, EVA, polyurethane, aluminum, high strength polyethylene
- Certification(s): CE EN 12277 type C, UIAA
- Delivered in a transport bag to protect the belt
| Size | S | M | L | XL |
| Waist circumference | 71-77 cm | 77-84 cm | 84-92 cm | 92-100 cm |
| leg loops | 48-53 cm | 52-57 cm | 55-60 cm | 57-62 cm |
| Weight | 385 g | 415 g | 445 g | 475 g |
| Guarantee | 3 years | 3 years | 3 years | 3 years |
What are the Advantages of a PETZL ADJAMA Climbing Harness?
Do you need a versatile harness that you want to use for ice climbing, indoor climbing or alpine climbing? Then the Petzl Adjama climbing harness* is just the right harness for you.
Especially the adjustable leg loops of the Petzl Adjama make it ideal for alpine climbing.
This belt is considered a light all-rounder. The hip belt and leg loops are padded for maximum comfort without restricting your freedom of movement. The five gear loops allow you to carry enough gear – even on multi-pitch routes. The belt also makes it easier for you to access the equipment.
Here are the most important features of the Petzl Adjama at a glance:
- Range of application: Trad, Multi-Pitch, Mountaineering
- Two rigid material loops (front)
- Two soft loops (back)
- A lot of storage space is available for transporting the climbing equipment.
- Buckles: easily adjustable and still very secure
The wide hip belt ensures a comfortable fit. As far as wearing comfort is concerned, it is very good with this Petzl product.
The ENDOFRAME Technology design gives you good pressure distribution. You can adjust the leg loops as you wish.
The distinctive advantages of the Petzl Adjama are:
- A quick adaptation to different layers of clothing is possible.
- The rope attachment points offer you optimum protection against rope abrasion.
- The optimal comfort increases the climbing fun.
- Very good pressure distribution thanks to the two-band construction of the leg loops.
If you are looking for a comfortable and light alpine climbing harness, you will be absolutely satisfied with the Petzl Adjama. Because this climbing harness is functional and very comfortable. As usual, the workmanship of Petzl products is excellent. By the way – Luna* is the name of the female model of the Petzl Adjama climbing harness.
Here for comparison again the data from petzl.com:
- Material: polyamide, polyester, EVA, polyurethane, aluminium, high strength polyethylene
- Certification(s): CE EN 12277 type C, UIAA
- Delivered in a transport bag to protect the belt
| Size | S | M | L | XL |
| Waist circumference | 71-77 cm | 77-84 cm | 84-92 cm | 92-100 cm |
| leg loops | 47-57 cm | 51-61 cm | 54-64 cm | 56-66 cm |
| Weight | 460 g | 485 g | 515 g | 545 g |
| Guarantee | 3 years | 3 years | 3 years | 3 years |
The positive Characteristics of a PETZL CORAX Climbing Harness
The price/performance ratio of the Petzl Corax* climbing harness is very good.
High quality combined with a reasonable price, that’s roughly how the all-rounder among Petzl products can be described. No matter where you want to climb, whether on multi-pitch routes, on the rock or indoors: with this Petzl harness you are definitely on the safe side!
Seen in this light, the Petzl Corax is a real all-rounder among all the other climbing harnesses and very beginner-friendly. You can use it for a wide variety of climbing sports without any problems.
You can adjust the harness quickly and easily because it is equipped with two double-back buckles. The Petzl Corax is also equipped with buckles on the leg loops. The Petzl hip belt allows a good weight distribution due to the frame technology conception.
The advantages of the Petzl Corax climbing harness are
- The climbing harness has good adjustment possibilities.
- Attachment options are also available for ice climbing.
- The Petzl Corax offers you a high wearing comfort.
- Overall, the hip belt is considered to be extremely comfortable and at the same time quite robust.
- The good padding of the climbing harness allows you to climb longer routes.
- The climbing harness has the usual adjustable leg loops.
- At the back, the Petzl Corax has a pull-back loop.
The only disadvantage is that the weight of 17.3 oz might be a bit too heavy, especially for sport climbers.
Getting in and out of the belt is not too difficult with this Petzl product, because the belt can be adjusted to the body very easily.
The hip belt has four material loops. The two on the back are flexible, so they do not bother you under a backpack.
The front two material loops are stiff. You will be able to carry enough gear even on tours lasting several hours.
Another positive feature of the Petzl Corax climbing harness is the comfortable and quick stowage. With just a few movements you can pack the harness neatly folded into the climbing bag. In this way your climbing harness remains undamaged and you can use it carefree during your next climbing session.
Here are the exact specifications from the official petzl.com website:
- Material: high-strength polyester webbing, closed-cell foam, polyester
- Certification(s): CE EN 12277 type C, UIAA
| Size | M | L |
| Waist circumference | 65-96 cm | 76-107 cm |
| leg loops | 48.5-59 cm | 54-67 cm |
| Weight | 490 g | 540 g |
| Guarantee | 3 years | 3 years |
PETZL SITTA: The comfortable and light Harness among the Petzl Climbing Harnesses
The Petzl Sitta* is light, easy to use and super comfortable!
The only real disadvantage could be the price, because this belt is much more expensive than other models from Petzl.
If you are looking for a belt that is easy to pack and has a minimum weight, then you are in good hands with this sophisticated Petzl product.
It offers you a very good pressure distribution when standing and climbing. However, many experienced climbers complain about the rather poor pressure distribution when hanging.
You can put the climbing harness Petzl Sitta on quickly and take it off just as quickly. It is a comfortable harness that you can adjust perfectly to your needs.
The high price of this climbing harness from the manufacturer Petzl is justified, because you benefit from the quality of this model in all respects.
The advantages of the Petzl Sitta climbing harness summarized:
- Well-thought-out concept
- Very comfortable
- Individually adaptable
- Very small packed
- Perfect belt for extremes
- Good processing
- Pleasant to wear
- Plenty of space for material
- Slim design
- Very light due to a low weight of around 10.2 oz (size L)
About the construction of the Petzl Sitta climbing harness: It is equipped with a belay loop and a reinforced suspension.
In addition, the hip belt has a hole-foam-padding and stretchable leg loops. The material of this model is abrasion-resistant.
You can make good use of the front carabiner loops for different attachments. Getting in is easy, thanks to the adjustable leg loops. In addition, the material of this Petzl product is completely air permeable.
Users complain that the Petzl Sitta climbing harness wears quickly when used under rough conditions – a consequence of the lightweight construction. But it was the weight savings and the reduction in the amount of material used that made it possible to design the lightweight harness.
Less thick material and less padding was used. As a rule, light climbing harnesses offer less durability and comfort. But the engineers at Petzl have managed to achieve a high level of hanging and wearing comfort even with less material.
For completeness here are the data from petzl.com:
- Material: polyamide, polyester, EVA, polyurethane, aluminum, high strength polyethylene
- Certification(s): CE EN 12277 type C, UIAA
- Delivered in a transport bag to protect the belt
| Size | S | M | L |
| Waist circumference | 67-77 cm | 74-84 cm | 81-92 cm |
| leg loops | 48-53 cm | 52-57 cm | 55-60 cm |
| Weight | 240 g | 270 g | 300 g |
| Guarantee | 3 years | 3 years | 3 years |
Conclusion
As a beginner, you may wonder why there are so many different types of harnesses.
However, if you take a closer look at the subject, you will quickly find that this differentiation is necessary to meet the requirements of the climbers and climbing styles.
We hope that by comparing these four popular climbing harnesses from Petzl you have found the right one for you.
Every single one of them is a high-quality product and will serve you very well for a long time! – Have fun climbing!
Attention: You have to take care of your safety when climbing! The information on climbtheearth.com only helps you to learn. Before you climb, you should make sure that you have been properly instructed by an expert and that you follow all safety precautions.
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