Petzl Sitta Review: Featherweight, and You Feel Every Gram You Saved

Petzl's Wireframe construction suspends Spectra webbing between load points instead of relying on foam padding, and the result is a harness that weighs about as much as two energy bars.

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Our verdict

Petzl Sitta

Buy it for alpine and long approaches where every gram counts. If you project sport routes and hang for hours, this is the wrong tool.

$200

Check price at Backcountry· $200

Also at evo ($180)

What worked

• 270 g and packs to the size of an apple
• Wireframe technology spreads load surprisingly well for the mass
• Four rigid gear loops still usable with gloves

What didn't

• Uncomfortable on long hangs
• Very expensive
• Thin webbing shows wear fast on abrasive rock

Weight

270 g (M)

Gear loops

4 rigid

Leg loops

Fixed

Certification

CE EN 12277, UIAA

On the approach

This is where it earns its keep. Racked on the outside of a pack it disappears; stuffed inside, it takes the space of a spare pair of socks. For a long alpine day with a short technical crux, that is exactly the right allocation.

On the wall

Load spreading is better than 270 grams has any right to be — for the first ten minutes. Past that, on a hanging belay or a long redpoint rest, the thin waistbelt starts to concentrate pressure and your legs go numb before your arms recover.

Durability

The webbing is thin by design. After a month, mostly on granite, ours shows fuzzing at the tie-in points that a burlier harness would not have for a year. Inspect it often, which you should be doing anyway.

Verdict

A brilliant specialist and a bad only-harness. Priced like a specialist too.